This is Taliesin, the home of the brilliant architect Frank Lloyd Wright, and I had the chance to tour it! By accident. While sitting on the plane for two and one-half hours on the taxiiway at LaGuardia, I struck up a conversation with the woman sitting next to me. She said she was headed to Wisconsin to visit friends, and that they were going to Taliesin. I have known of this house, and the stories about it for years, but it was not in my mind exactly where it was. It is only one hour from Madison, where I have been staying. So, I woke the next morning, called them, and was able to get a reservation for a two hour tour, both inside and out. Unfortunately, we are not allowed to photograph inside the house, but it was just stunning to be able to have plenty of time to walk around in this amazing home. It is not possible to give you any idea of the structure in just one photograph, but this photograph probably gives the best sense of part of it.
So glad you got there. Good for you. I thought the beauty of the day and the countryside really added to the experience. The new thing I learned was that he was not concerned about the house looking like a finished piece of work. It was always looking like a work in progress. That surprised me. I would have thought him a perfectionist. Janet
ReplyDeleteI didn't hear that comment from our tour guide. Seems like a really important point, although it does feel as if it is actually finished. It was a most amazing day, and I was pleased that there was more than enough time to really get a feeling for the house, both inside and out.
ReplyDeleteOn the outside there was a fireplace stack which was rather hodge podge construction and cement sloppily pplied. The guide said that Wright would sketch what he wanted with a cane in the dirt and leave it to the young (many as young as 18 year olds) to figure out how to put it together. (I think funds were also an issue). She said in the modern preservation they are not dolling up this type work. It shows how Wright worked. Often it could be less then a totally finished look because he knew once constructed he might then decide to take it down and try something else. It is why when his sister asked to have a house built she specified it was not to be an experiment.I agree it generally looked very complete.
ReplyDeleteI think, however, It was in a constant state of evolution. I think it makes it all the more interesting. Janet