“Frank Lloyd Wright and the House Beautiful” exhibit opens in Reno, Nevada, at the Nevada Museum of Art, on April 19 and runs through July 20.
This exhibition is divided into three themes that represent the methods by which Wright practiced the philosophy of the “house beautiful.” Each section is presented through period and contemporary photographs of Wright interiors to provide context for the original objects on view. The first section introduces how Wright sought to develop a modern interior reflective of a uniquely American spirit of democracy and individual freedom. The next section illustrates Wright’s development in integrating the space with furnishings and architectural elements. Finally, the exhibition explores his experimentation in bringing these ideas to the homes of average Americans.
I caught the exhibit last year in Midland, Michigan and it is terrific: the items are well-chosen, with an innovative organization and well-annotated.
The Nevada Museum of Art is also planning a slate of interesting events, including a lecture by Virginia Terry Boyd (the exhibition’s currator) on April 18, Eric Lloyd Wright talking about Organic architecture and green design on May 16 and a trip to Phoenix that includes Taliesin West leaving May 29.
PrairieMod had a great catch today : a link to a nice post on the sprout dc weblog drawing attention to Wright’s solar hemicylce design for the Jacobs II House.
I find the home most interesting because of its relationship to the site and its integration with a landscape that extends from the north berm all the way to the southern sun. The entry procession cuts through the ground and bleeds sunlight on the other side.
The post includes two photos of the rarely seen house.
The Jacobs II house demonstrates Wright’s mastery of siting and the use of simple, passive energy saving features that are rare even today.
Architectural Digest has a listing for Frank Lloyd Wright’s La Miniatura (Millard House) in Pasadena. Recently renovated (reportedly costing more than $1 million), the asking price is $7.5 million. The property includes a studio designed by Wright’s son Lloyd.
Zaha Hadid, who designed an addition to the Price Tower Arts Center, has been chosen for a possible addition to the Guggenheim stable of museums.
The architect Zaha Hadid was selected on Wednesday to design a proposed museum, above, in Vilnius, Lithuania. The competition is part of a feasibility study by the Guggenheim Foundation and the State Hermitage Museum of St. Petersburg, Russia. The directors of both institutions participated in the jury selection. In addition to Ms. Hadid of London, Daniel Libeskind of New York and Massimiliano Fuksas of Rome submitted designs. The Guggenheim said that it was by no means certain that the museum would be a Guggenheim.
On Saturday, I made it out the “Moving Day” event at the Weltzheimer-Johnson House in Oberlin, Ohio. The event was nicely done, and the tour experience was as good as always.
Weltaheimer-Johnson is worth the trip for anyone who lives in (at least) the northern third of Ohio, or anyone traveling through Ohio on the Turnpike (Oberlin lies just 10 minutes from 80/90). The house itself is modest, only about 1500 square feet; the tour doesn’t take long. The big attraction isn’t the guided tour, but the attitude of the docents — they actively encourage you to sit in the Wright-designed furniture, hang out in the living room, and explore the house plans displayed on the piano — in fact, they will be disappointed if you don’t. You’re allowed to wander through and around the house to your heart’s content.
It’s been said that you cannot appreciate a Wright house until you’ve lived in one. At the Weltzheimer-Johnson House, you’ll at least experience a Wright house much like the invited guests of the original owners did — and it’s pleasantly different from the herded cattle approach (necessarily) used at the more popular Wright sites.
Nicely dovetailing with the open philosophy is the fact that the house is well documented — not just on the original design and experiences of the original owners, but also the subsequent changes to Wright’s design. Point to a section of wall, and it’s a good bet that a volunteer can tell you what it was made of, when it was covered with drywall and white paint and what year it was restored. Robert McCarter has written that the single-building study is one of the best ways to approach Wright’s work; a visit to the Weltzheimer-Johnson House serves as a nice single-building study in the round (the written kind is also available for purchase at the house).
There are big plans for Wright events in Northeastern Ohio in the coming months and the staff at the Weltzheimer Johnson House is at the center of it all — stop by and they’ll put you in the loop.
The house is open for tours the first and third Sunday of each month and the (ok, I forgot to write it done, so double check) the last Saturday of each month. Tours at other times can be arranged in advance.
Today is my birthday, so I’m taking the day off
(This is old news, from March, sorry)
Frank lloyd Wright always said you should own the view from your house. The next best thing might be to have the view owned by a nature preserve.
The Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation is working with McDowell Sonoran Preserve Commission to preserve the hillsides surrounding Taliesin West. Since Wright designed the campus with the desert views as an integral part of the design, preserving the view is a vital concern for protecting the site.
“They’re trying to provide a permanent solution to land that should remain open space,” Cafarella said. “Both Taliesin and the city want to ensure that the hillside behind Taliesin is preserved in perpetuity.”
Although the commission’s agenda stated the closed discussion would be about the potential “purchase, sale or lease for inclusion in the McDowell Sonoran Preserve” of land at Taliesin West, Cafarella said talks with the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation, which operates the campus, have included a wide range of options for desert preservation there.
Construction on Taliesin West, a National Historic Landmark, began in 1938. The site hosts a school of architecture and attracts about 150,000 tourists a year.
The campus sits on 491 acres of the Sonoran Desert, with spectacular views across the Valley. The land slopes upward to the northwest toward Thompson Peak in the McDowell Mountains.
Eventually, Scottsdale hopes to set aside a total of more than 36,000 in those mountains for preservation.
“Certainly the foundation supports the city and the aims of the McDowell Sonoran Preserve in seeking to protect the open desert lands,” said Mark Lynch, foundation spokesman.
Short notice, sorry, but Saturday, April 5 is Moving-in day at the Weltzheimer-Johnson House in Oberlin, Ohio (blame the WJ folks who never send me announcements). The day celebrates the 59th anniversary of the day the Weltzheimer family moved in.
Admission is free (normally $5) and a number of family events are planned, including The Oberlin College Jugglers, croquet on the lawn, and readings from classic children’s books.
The event runs from 2:00 to 5:00.
Note: Sunday, April 6 is the Weltzheimer-Johnson House normally scheduled Open-house, so if you can’t make today’s event, you can still visit the house.
2001: A Space Odyssey turned 40 years old on April 2. That’s the date it premiered in Washington D.C.
As I said last month, this is the masterpiece of modern art, an opinion possibly confirmed by Roger Ebert writing in 1997:
The genius is not in how much Stanley Kubrick does in 2001: A Space Odyssey but in how little. This is the work of an artist so sublimely confident that he doesn’t include a single shot simply to keep our attention. He reduces each scene to its essence, and leaves it on screen long enough for us to contemplate it, to inhabit it in our imaginations. Alone among science-fiction movies, 2001 is not concerned with thrilling us, but with inspiring our awe.
And, as Ebert wrote in his orgiinal review: “it fails on the human level but succeeds magnificently on a cosmic scale”, a comment that one could apply to some of Wright’s work as well.
The Fabyan Villa in Geneva, Illinois is undergoing a round of repairs. Damage due to aging, woodpeckers and squirrels will be completed before the house’s opening for public tours in May.
Interior repairs of cracked walls and ceilings will be completed this week, while exterior fixes for “critter damage” and rot will begin (and be completed) in May.
The bill for the repairs is expected to be around $18,000.
