By the time I first visited Taliesin in Spring Green, I had all but discounted Frank Lloyd Wright as a cliche, the cliche, of American architecture. By the time I left from that visit, I was humbled by the architecture and reminded why Wright, after all these years, is still the measure of American architecture and architects.
Having the opportunity to stay at Taliesin overnight was one of my great life experiences. It’s easy to see why Wright was continually drawn back to the spectacular landscape of the area. Experiencing that landscape in early morning fog, the golden light of late afternoon, or in the starlit night allowed me to understand how not only that place but all places have varied moods depending on weather, time of day, and time of year.
I saw Taliesin first in 1962 with my father on my way to college. I had written a fictional account of going there that appeared in the high school literary magazine after reading Wright’s Autobiography. My interest in Wright was stimulated by my architect-father’s library. Taliesin is about time; how a building can be constantly changing and continually itself. The poise expected of great architecture is in service of the evolution of life...
Visiting Taliesin, I was most inspired by how Frank Lloyd Wright lived within the exploration of his profession. Signs of additions and removal of elements reflect the structure’s continual evolution. It certainly feels organic in the way it evolved. It grew and changed over time like the trees in a landscape. I’m inspired by that open-minded perspective, embracing continual change. How liberating would it feel to live this...
Taliesin transports you to another place. It has a mysterious quality in the way it is built into the landscape, but it is stories of what kind of life was lived in such a place that fascinated me. Built for a woman who was not Wright’s wife, suffering through crazed murders and two fires, a setting for unusual programs of spiritual gurus, all made for a place that seemed far removed from south-central Wisconsin. The art all around from Asia...
By the time I first visited Taliesin in Spring Green, I had all but discounted Frank Lloyd Wright as a cliche, the cliche, of American architecture. By the time I left from that visit, I was humbled by the architecture and reminded why Wright, after all these years, is still the measure of American architecture and architects.
