Posted on 05/04/2009 1:32:42 PM PDT by earlJam
NYC's Guggenheim celebrates Frank Lloyd Wright
By ULA ILNYTZKY, Associated Press Writer Ula Ilnytzky, Associated Press Writer – 47 mins ago NEW YORK – For Frank Lloyd Wright, the slow rise of the spiral ramp at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum allowed paintings to be displayed as if on an artist's easel.
When the museum opened 50 years ago, the groundbreaking design embodied the architect's guiding ethos that form and function are indistinguishable.
That philosophy was expressed in projects large and small but perhaps best realized in his then-controversial, now-revered design for the art museum on Manhattan's Upper East Side.
This spring, the museum is paying homage to its visionary 20th-century architect with a special exhibition titled "Frank Lloyd Wright: From Within Outward."
Co-curated jointly with the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation in Scottsdale, Ariz., the show celebrates Wright's prolific output of private residential commissions and public projects, both realized and unrealized.
The museum was "definitely one of his strongest examples of 'breaking out of the box,'" with the interior ramps articulating the exterior's cylindrical form, David van der Leer, the museum's assistant curator of architecture and design, said. "It changes how you think about and display art."
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
GEORGE: I’m an architect.
LOIS: Have you designed any buildings in New York?
GEORGE: Have you seen the new addition to the Guggenheim?
LOIS: You did that?
GEORGE: Yep. And it didn’t take very long either.
I believe Art Vandelay designed the new addition.
I like the episode where George pretends to be employed at “Vandelay Industries”, and Cosmo, who had just walked in to Jerry’s apartment, answers the phone and has no clue about George’s clever plan. What a hoot!
That man had a crazy (and sad) life.
Did you know that all the furniture in the Guugenheim is designed by Karl Farbman?
Cool! I have the privilege to drive by a FLW home in Palos Hills everyday!
I’ll take Wharton Esherick over Wright any day of the week. Wright’s work was about glorifying himself, and his furniture was about decoration, not practicality.
The veneration of Wright is becoming knee-jerk, almost cultish.
I’ve visited a number of Wright homes. Pleasing to look at? Yes - but “built to last” is not a phrase I would use for Wright homes.
My parents pre-fab 1919 Sears bungalow seems to have lasted longer and with fewer problems.
I toured Wright’s Home and Studio in Oak Park a few years ago, pretty impressive for an old home. And old studio.
Hubby and I visted the Robie House in Hyde Park. They have spent millions renovating it, and will have it’s 100 year celebration and grand reopening next year. We like his style...especially his art glass windows.
Many of the homes he designed fell into disrepair after the original owners died. The houses were often placed on historic registers, but nothing was done to maintain them. Thankfully many have been restored in recent years.
His use of space is pretty impressive. My favorite example is the grand piano installed over the stairs in the upstairs playroom in his Oak Park home. I was also amazed at the acoustics in the Auditorium at Taliesin West. You could literally hear a pin dropped on the stage from the back of the auditorium.
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