That Far Corner: Frank Lloyd Wright in Los Angeles | Artbound | Season 9, Episode 1 | KCET
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- Опубликовано: 5 мар 2018
- During his time spent in Southern California in the late 1910s and early 1920s, Frank Lloyd Wright accelerated the search for L.A.'s authentic architecture that was suitable to the city's culture and landscape. Writer/Director Chris Hawthorne, architecture critic for the Los Angeles Times, explores the houses the legendary architect built in Los Angeles. The documentary also delves into the critic's provocative theory that these homes were also a means of artistic catharsis for Wright, who was recovering from a violent tragic episode in his life.
Want to learn more? Watch more Artbound at bit.ly/3zc97G0
Want to learn more about Frank Lloyd Wright's Los Angeles architecture? Check out the following articles and more on kcet.org!
Preserving Frank Lloyd Wright's Place in Los Angeles Architectural History
www.kcet.org/shows/artbound/p...
The Warp and the Weft: Frank Lloyd Wright’s Textile Block Houses Weave an Enduring Legacy
www.kcet.org/shows/artbound/t...
Mapping Frank Lloyd Wright's California Landmarks
www.kcet.org/shows/artbound/m...
Frank Lloyd Wright's Textile Block Houses and the Maya Revival
www.kcet.org/shows/artbound/f...
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Want to learn more about Frank Lloyd Wright's Los Angeles architecture? Check out articles and more on kcet.org!
Preserving Frank Lloyd Wright's Place in Los Angeles Architectural History
www.kcet.org/shows/artbound/preserving-frank-lloyd-wrights-place-in-los-angeles-architectural-history
The Warp and the Weft: Frank Lloyd Wright’s Textile Block Houses Weave an Enduring Legacy
www.kcet.org/shows/artbound/the-warp-and-the-weft-frank-lloyd-wrights-textile-block-houses-weave-an-enduring
Mapping Frank Lloyd Wright's California Landmarks
www.kcet.org/shows/artbound/mapping-frank-lloyd-wrights-california-landmarks
Frank Lloyd Wright's Textile Block Houses and the Maya Revival
www.kcet.org/shows/artbound/frank-lloyd-wrights-textile-block-houses-and-the-maya-revival
Wrightcraft: Minecraft Meets Frank Lloyd Wright
www.kcet.org/shows/artbound/wrightcraft-minecraft-meets-frank-lloyd-wright
FLW had an acute awareness of America's new establishment within the global playing field that ultimately enabled him to produce vanguard architecture although not without it's faults due to his being embroiled with conceptualisation. A trap all designers need to be wary of.
Thank You SO Much for this video. I'm an art fan but I've never gotten into architecture. This video on FLW really opened a new world of art for me. Thanks again !!!
*I desire to inhabit a Frank Lloyd Wright Creation!*
Maybe I should complete a *"GO FUND ME"* for this goal - ??? lol
😉
I'm still enjoying this -
Thank You!
@@bethbartlett5692 let me know if you need a house mate...
I am an architect, and was an apprentice at Taliesin about 30 years ago.. This is one of the better documentaries on Wright that I have ever seen. I especially appreciate the photos and articles on the Taliesin fire that I had not seen.. Very, very well done. Wright is one of the singular creative minds this country has produced, and i hope Mr. Hawthorne will make time to bring more films like this one into the world.
yes, indeed..very well done Video..good research..seious and methodical, house by house and the overall context ..the storyline..spinning a plausible Yarn backed by Facts..somebody should do a Movie on FLW..what an interesting life..lets get to it Martha Stewart..lol..I know shes a Big Fan of his also...lol
Omg epic, when I travel to Portugal I get amazed at how Intricate in the designs of the cobblestones. knowing it was individually done, my grandfather was a masonry good ones are hard to come by
I was fortunate to live in and be a groundskeeper and "fixer" on a Wright property. Ours was built much later toward the end of his career. I spent a great deal of time reassembling stone walls. Masonry was a skill they valued of me on that property. The property I lived in was in the hot southwest. Large (textile) blocks and stones absorb heat when massed in walls. This serves to lower the interior temperature without needing A/C as much making for a comfortable space. You see he puts heavy wall on south and west exposure. The dominant sun is muted except where is diffused with overhangs and filters. By contrast he uses lots of floor to ceiling glass usually on east and north exposure especially later in more modern designs later in his career. Enjoyed this program!
Admin The Park APP Thank you for telling your story about it. It helps to understand how people can live in his houses. What about every day life? The light, the kitchen, the normalcies of life in the house. I know it’s been a while since you wrote this comment but I’m both fascinated and very curious.
Seems very tranquil to live there. I love the security & privacy they afford.
Lucky You :) Love That!
Wow lucky
I soent time at one of his last houses as well, the Penfield house, as a child and i def understand the huge windows.
I actually find his architecture very calming, and comforting, despite the narrators opinions of his architecture. It feels like a cavern, a blanket, that protects you.
His architecture varies greatly by time and location, so to say his homes have all these things in common is unrealistic.
I agree 100%! It’s a beautiful house.
I see your point of view and totally respect that, but having spent time in a Wright house, it does sort of smother you with his intentions and manipulation of the space and it is so total and permeating it is a bit like a voice or sound that is impossible to turn off. So I can not imagine peace in such a space long term. I get why people just could not take it and had to get away either for the technical issues or maintenance failures the houses had and the complexity and totality of how he designed the spaces so utterly there was no where to put your belongings. In fact, he wanted the owners to only use his furnishings in his arrangements and essentially denied them any other option by putting windows or walkways just his hand molding YOU in every square inch- so owners lamented it felt like the house and he were in control of them. It is a sort of totalitarian design approach. But I say all of this with total admiration for his intense creations and hope to get to be inside as many of them as I can. Because they are really elegies and not meant to hold peoples stuff they are truly like temples and I hope as many can be saved and preserved as possible. For me, to spend a day with one is like experiencing a symphony and I walk away enchanted and elevated.
@Thornback Who wants to live in a concrete coffin?
I thought the SAME THING
The documentary does not take into account that the houses were built to shield off the LA sun and heat , keeping the interior cool in summer in an era without electrical air conditioning.Wright succeeds in integrating this technical necessity into a unique Art Deko style so fitting in this city.If the building in doing so produces emotions as a side note then the Architekt has succeeded 100 %!
plan pitz Flw way ahead. He understood the Timeless Way of Building. 😉
But what is a building without emotions?
plan pitz
Very well said!
Except his flat roofs are very bad in rain and in the SW it rains very hard when it rains.
@@emsnewssupkis6453 I've always admired the practicality of using the roof as living space. Its so common in many tropical countries. If there's proper drainage what's the problem? Obviously everything has to be sealed. Is there anything else we need to be aware of?
There's something about Wright's creations that transcends mere architecture, I always view him as an artist first and foremost.
That's a good way to put it. I highly appreciate the aesthetics and artistry put into his buildings, but many of them are maintenance nightmares.
I've always loved Frank Lloyd Wright's houses. I used to live in Los Angeles during the 70s and 80s just a few blocks from the Hollyhock House (Barnsdall Art Park Foundation). I'd heard that there was a Wright house up on a low hill behind the local Jon's Supermarket, and one afternoon at lunch time I walked 3 blocks and climbed the steep hill in back of the supermarket, and sure enough, there was the Hollyhock House in its strange Mayan, cast concrete beauty. It was, as usual, under construction at the time, but since no one was about I got to walk around and peer into windows and view the grounds. It was an unplanned, spur of the moment visit, and I unfortunately didn't bring my camera with me, but it was an amazing experience. I was only there for about 30 minutes, but the impact of the place was enormous.
I was a tour guide there in the 90s. Too bad it wasn't open when you were living in LA. It was owned by the City for most of the 20th century and they didn't do much to keep it up, but it's in better hands now, repaired & restored.
I’ve been fortunate to have helped care for Frank Lloyd Wright’s property he built for his son, the David and Gladys Wright house. It was through synchronicity, and grace that I was able to for years. It was a lovely, and unique space, the only one he had built circularly to resemble his love of balloons.🎈I loved caring for it, it was so unique and special. My love of architecture and Franks works grew due to this house. You’d never believe it if I told you, but again it was grace that kept me there, and that house and the people associated was integral in my companies growth and ability to BE. In my beginning days there, long and private story, there was a time I was going to possibly no longer care for it… I was mortified and prayed to God and Frank in sincerity that I wished to stay… through truly synchronistic and miraculous events, I was able to return and care for it for another few years. It was like a sweet relationship. As someone mentioned in comments that they worked and lived in a Frank House, it is truly like a meditation. There’s something magical about the essence Franks homes brings when experiencing one. One can spend much time, in appreciating the ornate, and beautifully thought out details of creation Frank brought to the world. Thanks for sharing this, his architectural style sparks a certain fascination and feel that cannot ever be matched in its uniqueness.
Personally, I like 'crypt like' architecture and somber motifs, and find these buildings mix a sense of grandeur and mystery with an intense peacefulness. None of these are what I think of when I imagine a dream house, and yet I'd be very drawn to these and I think I'd be very happy in it. Also, I do really love ancientry in general. I like that haunting feeling of timelessness. I'm actually more comfortable in such an atmosphere.
Beautiful cinematography. I vehemently disagree with the notion that these houses are off putting. They are thoroughly beautiful, and each master pieces of American Architecture.
You haven't tried to live in any of them, or even spend any time in them, I'd wager.
ide love to live in them: altars to the gods....fascinating.
Daniel Zambrano Go live in one.
If you can afford a FLW house and it’s maintenance, you can afford the house next door to it to store all of your stuff, like the
Closet for my clothes for starters, or the blender, washer/dryer, jet ski, surfboard, suitcases, oh yeah, where are the kid’s rooms again? Where can I put their toys. And if you are elderly, well, you had better be handi-capable, because his houses have treacherous l/dangerous elements at times. The maintenance alone will break anyone who wants these houses.
So, anyway, live ling and prosper.
I mean love ling and prosper.
I live in an 800 year old stone house in Italy. When I first moved here, and bumped into a stone door surround or a stone wall, I remember saying to myself "this house is unforgiving." I've learned to live in it, but it will never exude the "comfort" and "welcoming embrace" of a home designed specifically for people to live and relax in. So in my small way, I agree with Chris Hawthorne. Maybe Wright's Mayan design houses are not "off putting" but in their beauty and grandeur they are certainly more monument than home.
I am not in any way “into” architecture. I am however a maker of art and appreciate history and other human’s art.... this was a beautiful piece of art about art. Thank you.
These homes are not shadowed by violence or death. The Hollyhock house is very calming. Wright beautifully incorporates light and water in that home. Perhaps it’s a matter of perspective.
Oh reallY? Have you ever heard of the Black Dalia?
GMAMEC I think the L.A. concrete block homes are his attempt at bringing light and resolution to his own state of being. How so? He confines his design to the limitations of a concrete block system. Sure, at first it seems like an efficient and effective way to build. But I think it says way more about him, too. He was left with a cold world to deal with after the death of Ms. Cheney. That comes through in wanting to work with the cold material of concrete. Then, he must have also felt limited in his own life on how to fully have joy and love in his life. This I think comes through in his usage of a limiting system using a not-so-warm material. Look at the difference in Falling Water. That house is alive and warm, lovingly embracing it’s surroundings and the people that will live in it. The concrete block homes do feel morbid, and play off of a culture that would execute innocent people in a very gruesome fashion. I think that all made some kind of connection to him during that period of his life. I think it was inescapable for him to design like that, then. Maybe even therapeutic, in a sense, though not even realized as such by himself at the time. We are interconnected to all things around us, more than we know. Evidence of such is in FLW’s L.A. concrete block homes.
@@thefrontporch8594 The Hollyhock House had nothing to do with the Black Dahlia Murder, that's the John Sowden House which has that reputation and was built by his son, Lloyd Wright.
Man, the Ennis House is just spectacular. You can spot it on the side of the hill from miles away. While visiting the Barnsdall House, I couldn't help but notice that they're practically aligned with each other. Perhaps that's not a coincidence.
Good thing that Ron Burkle came along & helped restore Ennis. By contrast, even though Wright's Freeman house is owned by USC, it apparently is more in limbo. But Aline Barnsdale donating her Hollyhock house to the city probably protected it. Other than his LA projects, I think only his Falling Water house in PA, Guggenheim in NYC and Johnson Wax bldg in WI stand out to me. The hillside settings of his key LA's properties, plus the larger, more exotic, monumental format of a few of them, help make them more noticeable than his smaller prairie houses in the midwest are. If his Imperial Hotel in Tokyo, however, hadn't been torn town (only a portion of it was saved & relocated), that would be another eye-catching landmark of his. A *Frank* Gehry (& projs like a Disney Hall) has a serendipity quality to *Frank* Lloyd Wright being in LA over 70 yrs before (or, later, his son Lloyd Wright)
I've been in many of Wright's Houses. A genius of design goes without saying. Less than a genius of longevity. Like fine art, his buildings can only withstand the tests of time with great care and maintenance. I believe they are art.
This was fantastic. I’ll never look at his work the same way again. Very well put together. Thank you!
I agree totally. So many experts weighing in on these odd houses, mausoleums, if you will. Very odd that nobody seems to want to live in them.
I also agree. I've never seen his work presented so well.
Same here. I’ll never look at FLW the same way again; how his life has bled through and blended in so expressively with his building.
They are a mix of ancient temples and tombs.
Vogel that is Wright.
I find the Mallard and the Freeman homes actually soothing. I love how he’s allowed light to come through the walls, not just the windows. I think because of the grandeur and weight of the material it’s so easy to see it as violence and death, but I see it as a peaceful way to live with sadness.
Poetic, Thank You🌹
Frank Lloyd was a design genius.. phenomenal.. I've never seen houses looking like that. So futuristic, modern but with a down-to-earth touch. That one Hollyhock House, just wow.. an easy favorite.
I agree, the Holly Hock home is gorgeous!!! If the earthquake wouldn't have destroyed the one overlooking Highland, it would still be a masterpiece...
Best description of FLW’s work I’ve ever read. Yes!
I like his interiors.... but the exteriors are often hideous. Like this one. First impression is... oh that's a mausoleum in a creepy Gothic manner using Meso-American motifs... not a family home.
That's such a great description - futuristic but down-to-earth
I have to disagree with the specialist. I see this as a genius approach to bringing the past to the future. It is a joyous success of adapting the genius of the Mayan architecture with the future of American architecture. These houses aren't meant for the average family, these are the American castles that are a resolve of grief and a breakthrough to beauty of life. They are not brutal, they are sublime.
beautifully put- I agree I hear more brutal designs often dismissed as dystopian- I think they speak to the quality of human endurance and collective subconscious and like you mention, grief and strength
Completely agree
And yet a dozen years later, he created the stunning, life affirming house, Fallingwater.
nowhere as impressive as the ennis house though.
@@notyourfriend-li7rq One can’t compare an artist’s creations thus , appreciating each piece as owning its personal and wonderful eventuality.
Wow. I hadn't made that connection. So interesting!
Which fits perfectly with this video’s thesis.
Fallingwater was also an abject failure. Unlivable
I find his houses peaceful, and they inspire this feeling of "holiness" and renewal, to me. It's like, anything can happen there, even the renewal of a soul. I was absorbed and forgot the laundry I was folding.
"She's, also, buried in Los Angeles." So well spoken!!!
Not well spoken at all. It should be "She's also buried in Los Angeles.
Agreed.
Love that! No worries on the Commas lol. Artistic license to a crazy dramatic awesome subject or just a typo lol but who cares. We get the awesome reference note 😍
@@TheresaPowers She's also buried, in Los Angeles. IMHO
@Annabel Lee just, use, one, after, every, word. Sorry, but you're wrong. There are rules about commas. She's also buried in Los Angeles.
Growing up and moving around in LA, you can't help but relate to these buildings on a subliminal plane. Even though you may sometimes never notice them, their energy translates and permeates the tragic beautiful story that is Los Angeles. Thank you for delving into these sacred spaces and revealing them so intimately, it really touched my heart.
Wholeheartedly agreed, I grew up in Glendale just a mile from one of the Cinder Block homes which I believe was put on the market recently. Got to tour the Ennis Brown home in the 90s, and there is such a protective, serene, even spiritual quality within - and that multimillion dollar view!! The homes exterior required major restoration due to damage to the cinder blocks, and I fervently hope the new owner allows tours again.
Hold on now, how the heck does a piano teacher end up being a caretaker for a historical home no one lives in? We need some details here.
I understood she's the daughter of FLWs partner/ mistress / associate ...
Granddaughter ???
FLWs Grandson is 88 years at this time !?? 😮
...and that was 5 years ago 😳
Yeah! How do I get that job?
Wright was a great architect, a brilliant structural engineer, a sculptor, artist, and a huge influence on architecture.
He didn't like arches. He also made flat roofs popular which then leak easily in thunderstorms.
"a brilliant structural engineer"
Perhaps bold and willing to experiment, but some of his engineering didn't have the best longevity.
@@vidcas1711 Very true. Part of that poor longevity and extensive maintenance issues is due precisely to his daring and the technology and materials of the day just not being mature enough to stand up to his experiments - but we also shouldn’t forget that he had no formal architectural training, and quite simply clearly didn’t know how to do some pretty basic things, like create windows and roofs that didn’t leak, doorways tall enough that even short people don’t hit their heads, and hallways wide enough for an average-size person to walk straight through without having to turn sideways. (If you’ve ever been to Fallingwater, you will understand when I say that the experience of parts of that house is, quite frankly, akin to crawling through a tight cave. I’m all of 5’1” and was still wearing petite sizes when I was there, and even I was very cramped.)
His genius just simply did not extend to such practical matters - although admittedly he didn’t care about them, either, and held his clients’ quite understandable concern for them in great disdain.
According to some books I’ve read, he was actually quite unsuccessful overall for most of his career, owing in no small part to practical issues like these, as well as great difficulty getting along with people, at least until Fallingwater, which of course he built very late in life. What he did produce was unquestionably genius, but it’s a surprisingly small body of work for as long as his career was.
I've had the pleasure and I feel the honor of working in or on the Lloyd Wright Jr., Snowden House, the one shown with the pyramid style blocks and the open courtyard and pool.
Photos don't do these homes justice. That goes in two directions of meaning. One is the spectacular design and details of each individual block used and the space and light being used along with the color of the cement at certain times of day and then at night when lit by the landscape and interior lighting.
Then there is the imposing, cold, dark, foreboding, and even looming feeling that is present even during the daytime.
The Snowden House is now owned by a very great, nice, and warm couple and they have the house decorated very comfortably without trying to take away the building's strength. Snowden House is not their full-time home from what I was told but used mainly for entertaining. I was there doing some electrical work swapping out one off chandeliers in the home for a movie that the house is used as a character's house.
Being born and raised in Los Angeles and having a love of architecture, I've driven by a couple of the other houses but never been inside or even on the grounds behind the gates. Maybe one day.
My favorite house of all time it's definitely number 1 it's so beautiful it just draws you in it's so inviting it's like it calls to your soul the beauty of it the way dining room / lounge with the doors open is like being outside but inside and yet inside but outside it's delightful I'd love to see it in person myself to feel it soak it in I have dreams about that house if I had money it would be mine 😍 I wish 🙌✨
When I look at these, I see an architect grappling with the challenges of the material, first and foremost. His drive to challenge himself to build with concrete, his connection to ancient architecture, and the way he interpreted both, all connect to his emotional state. But I think it's a discredit to ignore the way these embrace the landscape, the majesty they convey. Like ancient monuments. They aren't hideous, they aren't uninhabitable, but they do seem like they've been there long before you, and will remain after... despite the reality of the materials.
"A means for Wright for finally putting a troubled period behind him, for good . . . she is also buried in Los Angeles." On point.
Whether one agrees with Hawthorne’s final conclusions or not, the analysis and recognition how historical perspectives and personal circumstance shape creativity is presented with deftness. Beautifully engaging documentary.
Which is considered art my friend, "it's provocative"!!!
Well stated. One of the best FLW documentaries but ends with the wrong conclusion. The piano teacher was right.
What an iconic master builder. He's always high on top of my chart. His visionary is impeccable!
I remember taking summer art classes at Barnsdall Park . I always made an effort to a tour of the Hollyhock House when it was open. This was before I even knew about Mr. Wright. I just remember admiring the beauty and imagining myself living in the home. It’s an absolutely beautiful home.
I had a art piece on display at Barnsdall Park museum, display room, in 1969. I was only 12 and had I had known it was a Frank Lloyd Wright property I would have spent more time checking it out. The LA school district display was open at night, so no chance of checking out the house! So beautiful! We had a very modest Frank Lloyd Wright that was built a mile down the street on Tampa Blvd. in the SFValley, we all loved it, everyone still inquires about it at class reunions! No Sale. The owners and family know what they have, it is a small home too, but will never sell!
@@lauranardoni5626 What wonderful opportunities!
Your family’s home was no doubt one of his Usonian houses, and they have become very popular indeed.
I absolutely Love all of Frank Lloyd Wright's buildings they are mysterious and protective.
His house falling water from the 40s is still the most modern/natural looking house I ever seen with the water flowing thru the house into a waterfall with a then futuristic and now modern appearance
The man was an absolute GENIUS ! Just amazing......well beyond his years. I would have loved to have had an opportunity to meet him.
We happened upon the back of the Alice Millard house one day walking in the area....it was truly magical.....we would definitely have brought a very good bottle of wine and begged for a tour.....don’t think the piano teacher was there at the time.....we were already in love with Frank Lloyd Wright work....a few years later we did the tour of his office....house....neighbourhood....and the church nearby....🙏 loved it all
OK: when Frank moved to Arizona and did a much more hippie thing, his buildings there were lighter and more open, he loved the desert and the monsoon season and the saguaro in particular, he healed in some ways, during that time. (I was a child who lived not too far from some of his Camelback Mountain creations) while he was building these, we kids would go over to the construction sites to play. I eventually became a builder, too.
This is why I want to be an architect. Many years after I'm gone, my legacy will be remembered in the form of flowing lines sharp curves and strong bold designs
When I was in college, I stayed in the library for hours of my free time reading books on Wright's architectural works. I so admired him after seeing his falling water house in a book.
A balanced and poetic presentation of a mystical and bold era...an era that is somehow as uncomfortable as the homes wright created in this time. The raw beauty, the life and death...the living ruins of the LA era are unparalleled expressions of human conditions that must be lived through and embraced to overcome.
The final sentence was perfect.
Yep 👍🏽👍🏽💒 What a terrible tragedy! God bless.
An absolute gift. Thank you once again.
I did not anticipate the level of detail and high production quality exhibited here. Bravo! LA is not a geography one typically associates with sadness and grief, but you can't deny the fact that his mental and emotional state poured forth into these structures.
FLW's houses speak to me on a deep level, I actually feel comfortable & cosy when I see these compositions, almost as if primal fear has a counterpart in "primal comfort" or something like that. I'd just LOVE to sit there, in a corner and exist, or read a book by all means. It's the repetetive relief, the fact, the eye has everywhere something to see without being fundementally surprised, a kind of security in that. If that makes any sense.
What is it about his work that gives us such feeling?!! Isnt it strange that these buildings stir something in us? Incredible.
@@fleaflicker1451 The main things that produce these feelings are that he designed pretty much everything on one sort of grid or another, and he was a master of proportion. Sometimes those grids were triangular or even circular or octagonal, not always rectilinear, and he pushed and pulled at them all over the place, often to the point that the casual eye simply couldn’t discern what the system was or where its lines were, but at core, they were always highly orderly systems regardless of the specific forms, and expressed in 3D and through every single element in the buildings. You can always trace them through on his drawings - and feel them when physically in his houses or even just looking at pictures. Of course, that grid is particularly literally expressed in this group of houses thanks to the concrete blocks. He also designed every single element in all of his buildings, including the light fixtures, so each was a particularly cohesive work.
His work in Japan influenced him tremendously, though, and he made great use of tatami mat proportions in particular in many of his buildings thereafter, also in 3D, not just in plan.
Those mats have particularly pleasing and calming proportions (which is a big part of why Japanese houses always feel so peaceful), and that element also permeated every aspect of his designs, right down to the stained glass windows, furniture, and even the light fixtures. The Robie House is probably the most understandable, human-scaled, and fully-developed expression of this specific device, but our minds are simply wired to prefer such proportions, at any scale, especially when carried into full 3D.
I’d have to sit down with a set of drawings and a scale to be sure that the tatami mat proportional scale is what’s operating in these particular houses, but it’s a reasonably good bet, although in early form.
@@wendyannh Wendy!!!! Thank you so much for breaking that down for me! You must be an architect, engineer or probably a professor since you did that so well. Ive been fascinated since I was a child seeing his work in books. There's the home with the waterfall, I would just stare, imagining its my treehouse. Maybe thats why his work is emotional to me? I go back to those times subliminally? I dont know but wow, still makes me pause anytime I see his work. Again THANK YOU! I hope you teach in some capacity, you are excellent at explaining something so complex without losing my pea brain. 🤓👍👏👏👏
@@wendyannh *Fantastic* comment, internet stranger. That is a perfect analysis, in my opinion, of what is soothing in these designs, even when done in such hard materials.
Omnihil, I couldn’t agree with you more about the feeling of “everywhere something to see without being surprised” or startled. It’s almost meditative or dreamlike in that way.
that almost made me cry, there is undoubtedly something profoundly sad and beautiful about these buildings.
Life IS dark and macabre unless WE find the light.
Like these homes.
I love them.
Fantastic. Just what I have always wanted to see. I designed and built the structure I live in with Wright in mind. It came out exactly as I wanted. I grew up in a house that was semi inspired by Wright. His ideas have given my life a lot of satisfaction.
fascinating when you think the “gilded” age was happeneing all around and it was sparkle and luxury when here he’s introducing clean lines and peaceful tones
Huh? "Gilded" age was 1870s, Hollyhock was built around 1920, just when Mies van der Rohe started to build the 1st glass sheathed skyscrapers, Perhaps you meant "Art Deco". Wright is beyond category.
I don't necessarily agree with all the conclusions of this film, but so much has been said and written about Wright over the years, that I found this point of view very refreshing and interesting! Take it more as an essay on a brief period of Wright's work and life, rather than some kind of definitive biography.
The cinematography of this film is also truly astonishing, really glad I saw this!
Wright was not only an architect, but also sculptor, artist and independent thinker, he built distinctive buildings for those that appreciated his work, such as I and many others. IMO he was a brilliant man.
A well thought out examination of just one part of Wright’s personality. As a child I was very attracted to these designs but also realized as a child these were not something I would like to reside in.
I guess like the maya culture there are so many conflicting elements much like wright himself. I respect the man and am also put off by him at the same time.
My complement to makers of this documentary. Deep knowledge of all influences and true insight into FLW as never told before. As a architect who was taught to respect FLW , the Master , as a student. I grew to see his designs as flawed. I never wanted to forgo the most important part of design (durability) for the sake of some ideology. I think beautiful features can be preserved in a form that can be easily maintained. That can be livable. Not burden the occupants with the architects own hang ups. Bring joy to people who experience the space. Make something timeless. Thanks 🐚
You will do well designing tract homes with flat roofs on zero lot lines.
Donde Fact, not at all !
I have been fortunate to design/ build several hundred million dollars worth in luxury residential and commercial.
I frown on Flat roofs personally. Prone to leak in the long run. Good luck with your flat roof track home though.
Went to visit Hollyhock house, I could have moved in, such style and a unique atmosphere, AMAZING!.
I think they are beautiful and could be made very warm and inviting regardless of his mood and the cold materials he used to make them.
Yes it's, how are you doing Barbara?
Wow. The show Westworld features the Millard House. This makes much more sense now given the history of the LA Homes' usage, design and popularity in video games!
Thank you KCET and Public Television ! Exquisite programming . What an extraordinary life of Frank Lloyd Wright.
Thank you for putting this all together.
I fantastic depiction
Great Job
Absolutely amazing and very well done. I think they are funeralistic, but I don't think they are off-putting. I think the average person wouldn't see them as 'homely' or family orientated. But that's because our ideas have been shaped but such simple designs and never ending suburban neighborhoods that have permeated America since the 1950's. I think these homes are immaculate, triumphant, and honest all at the same time. I would live and love in any of them.
Triumphant is the correct descriptor. Well said.
Well said.
It is precisely the fact that they *are* funereal and the polar opposite of the typical American home, as you say, and not at all “homey,” that many people do find off-putting, though.
Hope some day at least two documentaries more... prairie style houses and usonian houses...!!! please..!!
A fascinating documentary. I look at these beautiful works of art through eyes untainted by the tradgedy, and so I simply see them as gorgeous homes, any one of which I would love to live within.
Me too. The piano teacher got it right.
If I had that kind of money, I would definitely love to purchase and restore one of Wright’s LA homes. I find them to be beautiful. He was ahead of his time!
I lived in Chicago so I've toured Wright's home and studio in Oak Park, IL. I've also seen and studied many of his homes through out Chicago and it's suburbs. He was wonderful with symmetry.
FLW’s use of artistic and construction material design to encourage harmonic natural sight lines, flow and movement throughout the space in such incredibly complex micro/macro detail on every surface, texture, and angle is mind boggling. The amount of thought put into every single design element no matter how small is staggering when you consider they all fit together to form such a complex cohesive multidimensional and multifunctional puzzle that ultimately feels good and is over 100 years ahead of its time. It’s far beyond genius. The man was either a time traveller, an alien, or both. He possessed a poetic artistic material spacial environmental design intellect and deep understanding of how humans sense and feel our surroundings that was immeasurable.
I watch Frank Lloyd Wright documentaries everyday almost. His architectural and design genuis never fails to take my breath away 💜💜💜
Stunning video. Very interest analogy to the tragedy is Wright's life prior to coming to LA.
This is the best documentary I have ever seen. Presenting both a California dream as a former Angelino and architect. I spent my childhood in Detroit California dreaming. Experienced the Los Angeles utopia and distipia. I went to graduate school in SoCal studying architecture and practiced for over a decade working on Disney to celebrities projects. The great recession and the California social and political issues such as homeless encampments sent me packing and I went for SoCal lite - Arizona. However now Arizona in the past decade has become much like Los Angeles. This documentary is so poetic and on point. This is the second time I watched and it brought me to tears this time years later. Great work! Very inspirational! Great theming of the Lost LA series.
This show is so well produced and directed it needs an Emmy or something.
This film gave me new perspectives into Wright's life. Having been raised in the Austin neighborhood of Chicago, we were admirers of Wright's creations in the neighboring suburb of Oak Park. I've enjoyed both indoor and narrated walking tours. Even here in Grand Rapids, MI, I've toured three of his homes - one a museum of sorts and two private homes. Although spectacular, the concensus is that they are "money pits" to maintain. Still, I love them!
Most homes still around from that era are, to be fair, money pits. It’s part and parcel of “antique“ home ownership. When you consider the electrical and plumbing that was standard at the time… a home of that age would’ve by now likely needed to be completely re-wired and re-plumbed three times over. Then there is the installation of HVAC systems in structures never designed to hold them, and air quality issues that simply weren’t a factor when built. That’s in addition to normal wear and tear, settling, etc. in homes that were not built with any sort of codification.
It’s daunting to maintain *any* older home, but I can only imagine the pressure seems **so** much more intense when dealing with a property designed and built by America’s most famous architect, and having to abide by any standards enforced by local historic registers. With many old homes, to save on costs and logistical headaches, you could gut them down to the studs and modernize them, while still maintaining the “feel”… but with a Wright property, you just wouldn’t want to do that, (even if the materials used allowed for it) due to who built it. Obviously the unsealed concrete just adds to all the above exponentially.
(Edited for clarity)
Congrats on the Hollyhock House becoming a UNESCO World Heritage Site!
CoderatheGreat that means rich globalist own it. That’s a bad thing.
@@thebluedan No, it doesn't.
I pass the Guggenheim all the time in my travels though the city and never considered MR Wright’s work. What an amazing man and American what a life..
My son is an architecture student UWM. My wife and I were in Spring Green and Richland Center last weekend. The world is more connected that we can even imagine.
Of all the documentaries I've seen, why has no one mentioned one of his largest commitions in Lakeland Florida. Florida Southern College, known as 'Child of the Sun'. What an incredible collection of his work!!!
A big reason that FLW's buildings on the Florida Southern campus haven't received much attention is a legal issue. Apparently, they never paid all the architectural fees, so they were forbidden from promoting it in conjunction with FLW. Now that's been cleared up. The tour is wonderful.
Thanks for the reply. My sister & her family have lived in Lakeland for the past 35 yrs. Been to that campus many, many times. Still one the most beautiful campuses in the country. She got the Tri-Delta sorority chapter there & is the advisor for the sorority! ☺
What A wonderful amazing documentary. Photography and music are outstanding .
This narrator made me just keep watching this. So so good!
I must add that the saddest part of Mr. Wright's home, their legacy is lost because they have no one to LIVE in them. They are just museum pieces today. That's sad because it would be nice to see kids swimming in the waters of Falling Water as they did before the home was built.
Awesome documentary. I learned so much more about Frank Lloyd Wright than I ever knew before.
"the opposite is true. I think none of them are used as a full time residence, precisely because they're off putting and crypt-like".
Or maybe, it's because some rich guy who collects famous houses, buys them, and leaves them empty and lets them go to ruin, instead of take care of them.
Waskelwee Wabbit I agree with you on the crypt-like aspect, but other than the warehouse, and the Freeman's place which i will come back too. The other buildings in L. A. look well maintained, or at least well looked after. As they in all rights should be. I do feel perhaps like you may...a bit sad there are none of life's sounds resonating off those walls.
I am certain the Freeman's thought there would be no better entity than the University of Shouthern California, to donate their dream home too. After all both the University and the School of Architecture would be able to scrape the money together in order to repair things in a timely fashion. And if by some chance, they were unable to come thru with the needed repairs as expected. Then certainly no entrusted Dean would ever be allowed to have his little puke future son in law and his "i am Elizabeth to him" daughter. Have the 'benefit' to live in the Freeman's house that now felt in 'ruins', and rent free I'm sure. However he wasn't just the School of Architecture's Dean. He was a father, and as such he was able to acquire the funds for some tarps and squeegees to bring over for the kids. Used as a tax write-off i bet. You can almost hear Elizabeth say "condemned building"as she describes their living there.
Never mind Trudi Sandmeier, Director of USC and her bullshit "complicated knit sweater" comparison. All the while putting on her please believe me face.
Samuel and Harriet would be appalled with their home being used as an example of a crumbling building to future architects ...and disgusted with the attitudes displayed by those they trusted . Its a shame really.
In all seriousness now. A big thank you to Chris Hawthorne
With few and modest exceptions, the Wright houses were all trophy houses, where even the wealthy who commissioned them visited, rather than lived.
@@shirleeeyyy Wow! Tell us how you really feel...
Waskelwee Wabbit... I was expecting all seriousness here, but you charmed me with your screen name! Thanks!
@@normaevett Wabbits wike architecture too yanno.
As an architect of no small talent and sixty years of practice, most places I’ve visited seem within my ability to do as well - except for Wright’s work; they are truly humbling - his is the Beethoven level; it’s just at a whole different strata.
This was amazing to get your perspective on these intriguing LA homes.
This is really great, thanks for posting it.
Thank you so much for uploading this, his architecture has always amazed me. Watching his evolution as an architect is even more fascinating.
I used to think his Mayan houses were just weird looking, but over time I've come to see how beautiful they are and how Los Angeles has allowed architects to be at their most experimental and creative without restrictions and rules.
Yea, this was absolutely fascinating. Thank you for posting it on youtube
What an amazing documentary, very inspiring to someone who is currently studying this architect.
Being one half Welsh, I can fully understand periods of brilliant mania coupled with dark despair
Wow. That last line gave me chills.
One of the most profound documentaries I've watched on Wright. Eye-opening
I've been aware of Wright's LA houses for many years, but this is the first in depth documentary that I've watched about them. Have to say, though, that I have always felt attracted to them, particularly to The Miniature, but have also liked the Ennis House. Whilst the latter is pretty dramatic, neither is off-putting to me. Whilst I cannot challenge the author's conclusion that they were meant to be a mausoleum, I definitely don't see them as such. Rather as mysterious and inviting.
Irene DP These "intellectual" documentaries must always take us to odd places in the mind and speculate on the subject's psychology, even if the person who wrote the script or did the research has no psychological training. I ignore most of it. But the murder of your soulmate & her children at your home by your servant would make anyone grieve & want to get away to a restorative place.
Yes, Wright's tragedy was horrid, no doubt.
These buildings blends well with the land.
I loved the last sentence...beautiful.
The Wright’s specifically Frank is a huge inspiration. I believe he is one of the most astounding architects and minds. I enjoy his designs in Los angles as a native and one day it seems I would enjoy to be not only a care taker of one of these beautiful pieces of art. I do believe in part sorrow drove the ideas of his designs and aesthetics. However it’s his life’s work and the people that understand and are astounded by it are those who will keep his spirit alive in his design and talents. They are designed to be lived in and have life operating and utilizing it as it was intended not off putting what so ever. RIP
Just watched this on KCET...fascinating, and I absolutely love the houses. Would love to tour, spend some time, in every single one of them.
Amazing production, I learned things about Frank Lloyd wright architecture that they forgot to teach me in college.
I watched this video a couple years ago. I was at work the other day daydreaming about these houses and I could not for the life of me figure out if it was a dream I had one day or if the houses were real. I thought maybe my mind made up these places but I finally put it together. Definitely says something about his work. Incredible.
BRAVO KCET! So very well done. Thank you so much.
Easily one of the best documentaries I have ever watched. Bravo! Excellent and intriguing presentation. I thought the part with the piano teacher talking about her personal experiences was incongruent and a little out of place. A very well done film overall, thank you for sharing.
Thank you for the video! I worked as a docent for the Frank Lloyd Wright Hollyhock House from 2006-2013 when I was a student of art/architecture history at CSULB and for a spell afterwards (I couldn't find a job or museum internship anywhere being a "straight white male" so I gave up in this field...who cares about someone like me being discriminated against!). I narrated one hour tours for the public in addition to doing private tours. FLW's prairie houses (AKA the Prairie School) in the Midwest were influenced by traditional Japanese architecture after he visited Japan. In turn, his prairie houses influenced the German Bauhaus style of architecture and the American bungalow and Arts & Crafts style of houses. The main issue of FLW houses is that they have a "shelf life" and fell apart due to him focusing more on "the art" and less on engineering. The textile block houses of L.A. involved using his concept of the "art stone" but these textile blocks would eventually crumble apart due to interior moisture (the textile blocks weren't waterproof). Many of the spaces in FLW's textile block houses (the Hollyhock house is considered to be a transitional house between his prairie school designs and the textile block houses) have a low ceiling to create a dramatic experience when traveling through the different spaces (also, FLW was only 5'7" tall so he never had to bump his head on the ceiling!). I'm glad to see the new videos of the Hollyhock House after the restoration! It pretty much looks the same...the small pool now has water in it and the landscaping, originally designed by FLW's son Lloyd Wright, looks awesome. Virginia Kazor was the knowledgeable curator when I came on board and she unfortunately retired halfway through my tenure working at the Hollyhock House. I'm also glad to see the Ennis House restored...the last time I was in there it was falling apart and the City of Los Angeles had declared it unsafe for occupation. To my dismay the Freeman House is in much worse condition from when I was in there last about 10 years ago...hopefully there will be funding to restore this important house. The Lloyd Wright Sowden House still looks good and it still looks the same from when I was in there last about 10 years ago. I'm glad to see that Eric Lloyd Wright is still alive...I met him at a docent function about 10 years ago and he is a nice man. I, as a Frank Lloyd Wright scholar, have to dismiss the claim that the L.A. textile block homes serve as a "mausoleum for death" due to his experience from the past. The concepts of Mayan architecture is not centered around "death" and how would FLW even consider this when seeing the facsimiles of small models shown at an exhibition? I argue that FLW, being the artistic person he was, up and beyond an architect and engineer, saw the artistry in the designs of Mayan architecture and felt that it would be a decent "artistic expression" for Southern California (based on perhaps naïve understanding of the similar climate and physical environment to Mexico). Again, thank you for the video share...it took me back to my younger days and I learned a few tidbits about FLW that I was unaware of. :)
Wow ... these buildings are beautiful / terrific production on this doc, also - thank you for your excellent work and sharing it
can't think of a more wonderful way to spend an hour. mesmerized the whole time. excellent work.
A very touching ending to the video. Well said.
Agreed! That last line really captures it all.
I greatly enjoyed this, as I generally do with any exploration of Wright's fascinating architecture. Thank you for this thoroughly enjoyable hour of programming. With regards from Chicago.
Great documentary! Thanks for putting this together