Monday 19 September 2005

Celebrating genius

This Thursday marks the 70th anniversary of the morning architect Frank Loyd Wright received a call from his client Edgar Kaufmann to say he was driving out to see Wright's progress on the house he had commissioned from him. Wright got to work, and in a few short hours drew up the idea that was already full-grown in his head: what he produced was the twentieth-century's architectural masterpiece. It became known around the world as Fallingwater. That's it there on the right (and in larger form if you click on it.

It's an inspiring story of human creativity, and an event well worth celebrating. A new exhibition opening soon at Pittsburgh's Carnegie Museum celebrate's Wright's creativity by showcasing two more examples of his genius: the 1903 Darwin D. Martin House, and the 1952 Harold Price Tower.

And a new feature at America's PBS allows you to use an online map of Frank Loyd Wright's creations to plan a series of Wright-based discovery trips (one of my seven things planned for a time in the future) . As the Kansas City Star notes, it's just one of a "whole new world of maps unfolding online" that, following on from Google Maps, are revolutionising the way maps, landmarks and locations are displayed online.

4 comments:

XXX said...

Sorry for no relevant post. I thought you might like this article

http://www.enterstageright.com/archive/articles/1000taxfair.htm

Anonymous said...

Peter thanks for the info on the maps and the exhibition. Fallingwater is indeed worth celebrating.

Don said...

This is the only one I've seen regularly:

http://www.storrer.com/fllwhall.html

http://www.co.marin.ca.us/depts/CU/main/flw/cctours.cfm

But only from the freeway. I like your idea of a tour. Across California, in an E-type Jag, seeking FLW, Bernard Mayback and Julia Morgan. And producing from it a photographically illustrated novel that somehow combines Howard Roarke and Raoul Duke with a timely angst that people will pay me to read and make some surprisingly popular indie move out of. You know, long as I'm dreaming.

Don said...

Maybeck, not Mayback. I know better.