The apprentices would rise early and bring the firewood to set the studio up for the day, when they were at work early in the morning at Mr Rights studio. The apprentices would draft on their wooden drawing boards, dressed beautifully and to perfection, Mr Right would enter sometime later at 8am and the Apprentices would rise, just like in a Roman Catholic School and the room that Mr Wright entered would automatically change whilst simultaneously automatic respect would be given to the master.
Today our culture is changing, when was it the last time you actually wore a suit? had a shave (sorry ladies :)) or took care of business like a true gentlemen? what happened to that golden handshake, the gesture? the smile? the ideal utopian life that we wish to desire? the robes and the dedication to a good dress sense would enable one to accomplish anything. We would feel pure, almost magical when we step out of the shower, so yes we are human and we deserve the best. We may compare here the dress code of the creative director of Gucci, Tom Ford, for him dressing well was the ultimate desire, the great balance of ambiance and harmony, it was a shield to protect him from the outside world and the suit would represent positive focus to harness his creative energy. Mr Wright had all of these qualities, and his suits and robes represented a modern day superhero, where his spirit lives on, make no Mistake he is a Master, maybe even a Jedi Knight, and he would write with such passion that I believe you would be encapsulated by his handwriting and drawings and painting, the list is infinite....even though it was in a different era.
Frank Lloyd Wright had a prolific career and shaped America and the world. A master who became a world champion in architecture.
Let us not forget our masters or our teachers. As time went by...the teachers taught the apprentices, they eventually became masters. There was only ever one apprentice who overtook the master and his name was John Lautner. Who became the master of concrete. He would shape the houses of California and play with concrete like it was a musical instrument. Was he a reincarnation of Mozart? or did his buildings represent the dedication and training of the clarinet of Elle Golding from the age of 9? who knows but it was a new form of passion beyond silk itself.
In the rural highlands of Pennsylvania you will find the iconic Edgar J. Kaufmann house. "Fallingwater" 1935. With the strong horizontal and vertical lines and integration with nature. Fallingwater was born from the rocks, in fusion and in separation but at one with nature. The building can only sit here, it can't sit anywhere else. Frank Lloyd wright knew the formation of how Fallingwater would be created even at the pressure of the client and the apprentices, he would not worry, he would let nature bring him the instruments he would need. Fallingwater represented everything about Frank Lloyd Wright, when we talk about his famous works what do we remember the most? Falling Water right? so its true then.
The Civic Centre building was monumental and represented a building ahead of its time. A time of UFO's perhaps?, maybe Wright had the HG Wells time machine at heart, whilst Broadacre City demonstrated the need for one to grow their own food in an acre of land. The flying machines again creates the linkage to the modern world we live in today, against the urban sprawl of the cityscape one needs nature to contemplate the desire of ones thoughts. Let us not forget the ambition of Mr Wright, some 400 buildings were built in his lifetime which is an average of 10 buildings a year for 40 years! Amazing is all I have to say, Architects are truly a unique species at last someone we can admire in spirit. The sprit of Fallingwater lives in the past, present and future...a timeless masterpiece!
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