Further information: Barbara Evans, Frank Lloyd Wright: By the Book
Expanded description:
This class will be closely tied to the required reading with the instructor augmenting the readings as necessary for better understanding of the concepts presented. The book discusses the stories and architectural concepts that became parts of some of FLW’s most famous buildings. I will present definitions or other information necessary in the session prior to the assigned readings to explain unusual terms or introduce people who will be part of the reading.
Class assignments will include reading and may also include video viewing of links sent by the instructor that will illustrate or explain a relevant concept or building elements.
Chapter contents will determine the buildings that we examine. Elaborating on those buildings will be part of the class activities and instruction for the sessions. Participants will also be encouraged to share their experiences in Wright spaces, as they are able, via Zoom. A class survey distributed before the class begins will aid the instructor in knowing the experiences of class members and how that may fit into the class sessions.
Our text is divided into Five Parts with several chapters in each. Reading assignments will be by chapters. Expect to read 80+ pages per week most weeks.
Schedule:
Session 1: Intro to class, Zoom, participants
Overview of text and course
Begin with names in first reading: Silsbee, Corwin, Louis Sullivan
Define “Prairie School” and core architects
Session 2: Part I: Longing on a Large Scale: 1887-1909
“The Enigma of Arrival”
“The Lost Architect”
“Ships on the Prairie”
Buildings: Home and Studio (Oak Park, IL)
Moonlighting
***Additional activity—Froebel Kindergarten exercise
Session 3: Part I (continued)
“Attended by the Gothic”
“Unity and Mamah”
Buildings: Unity Temple (Oak Park, IL)
Larkin Building (Buffalo, N.Y.)
Robie House (Chicago)
Session 4: Part II: “Chains of Moral Consequences”
“Coming Before Him in His Dreams”
“Connective Tissue: One”
“The Man on the Station Platform”
Buildings: Midway Gardens (Chicago)
Taliesin (Spring Green, WI)
Imperial Hotel (Japan)
Session 5: Part III: Shaking It From His Sleeve: The Year 1936
“Blood and Bones”
“Connective Tissues: Two”
Buildings: Johnson Wax buildings (Racine WI)
Wingspread (Racine, WI)
Session 6: Part III (continued)
“In the Fourth Dimension”
Buildings: Falling Water (Bear Run, Pennsylvania)
Other homes in other parts of the U.S.?
Others from participants
Session 7: Part IV: At His Father’s Stone
“The Sad Ballad of William Carrey Wright (1)”
“The Sad Ballad of William Carrey Wright (2)”
Buildings: the Usonians (Jacobs)
Participant experiences with Usonians
Session 8: Part V: The End Story (the last 9 years, 33% of output, 346 projects, fire at Hillside)
“Terminals (1)”
“Terminals (2)”
“The Last Word”
Buildings: Guggenheim Museum
60 Years exhibition and TV appearances
Seth Peterson Cottage