Issue 367  July 19th 2023

Online Event Today: Rethinking Frank Lloyd Wright

Don't miss the Frank Lloyd Wright Building Conservancy's online discussion, Rethinking Frank Lloyd Wright: A discussion with Neil Levine & Richard Longstreth, today at July 19, 2023 4:00–5:30pm CDT!

Rethinking Frank Lloyd Wright, just published by the University of Virginia Press, explores the position Wright holds in modern architectural thinking. Join its editors, architectural historians Neil Levine and Richard Longstreth, in conversation with Janet Parks as they discuss these historical and critical essays by leading scholars on Wright’s relationships with fellow architects and critics, and his influence on historic preservation. The book is based on the proceedings of the Conservancy’s 2017 annual conference, coinciding with the Museum of Modern Art’s exhibition, "Frank Lloyd Wright: Unpacking the Archive," which marked the completion of the transfer of the Wright archive to the Avery Library, Columbia University and the Museum.

Speakers: Neil Levine, Emmet Blakeney Gleason Professor Emeritus of the History of Art and Architecture, Harvard University Richard Longstreth, Professor of American Civilization, George Washington University

Tickets and registration: Advance registration is required. Tickets are $10 for the general public, or complimentary for Building Conservancy members.

Click for more details: savewright.org  

American Icons: Wright & O’Keeffe

Taliesin West presents American Icons: Wright & O’Keeffe, a new photography exhibition spotlighting Frank Lloyd Wright and Georgia O’Keeffe, luminaries in American art and architecture. Over the course of their storied careers, each changed the way we see the world and left their mark on American Modernism. You may have heard these names before, but you have never seen them quite like this: Twenty images shown in an intimate setting, against the backdrop of North Scottsdale’s McDowell Mountains.

The portraits give us insight to their lives and the uniquely American style that Wright and O’Keeffe brought to art, design, and culture.

American Icons is a chance to see another side of these legends – a more human, personal side – and explore what they have in common. Both were born in rural Wisconsin and had careers that took them to big cities – but ultimately, they made homes in the southwest – Wright in Arizona, O’Keeffe in New Mexico. Both were deeply inspired by nature and created abstractions of the natural world in their work. They each possessed keen powers of observation and became reflections of their own art and style. They had a mutual admiration for one another’s work, but few realize they met in 1942 and exchanged letters, books, and ideas for more than 20 years.

Wright and O’Keeffe were photographed by Tony Vaccaro for Look Magazine – Wright in Wisconsin, 1957, and O’Keeffe in New Mexico, 1960. When paired, the images have genuine visual symmetry, even though they were taken years apart.

Michael A. “Tony” Vaccaro (1922 – 2022), was an American photographer perhaps best known for his World War II photos. After the war, he became a fashion and lifestyle photographer for American magazines, capturing the joys and beauties of the world we live in. He lived to be 100 years old.

This carefully curated exhibition has been organized by The Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation in partnership with the Tony Vaccaro Studio and the Monroe Gallery of Photography. The result is a new collection of photographs, some of which have never been seen before, visually connecting Wright and O’Keeffe.

Through Vaccaro’s images of Wright and O’Keeffe, this exhibition gives you an intimate look into the lives of two American icons, how they inspired one another, and how they continue to inspire us all. Frank Lloyd Wright and Georgia O’Keeffe, two legends of American art and architecture, were both photographed in their homes by Michael A. “Tony” Vaccaro while on assignment for Look magazine.

It’s an intimate, behind-the-scenes visual pairing of Wright and O’Keeffe in their homes and studios, through the lens of photographer Tony Vaccaro. We explore their similarities including the homes they built, the studios where they created, their love of music, and their passion for nature. The photos were taken years apart, but when paired, are striking in their similarity as they visually connect the two iconic figures.

The exhibition’s images feel intimate, intense, and personal. Displaying them at a moderate size, in a comfortable but small space at Taliesin West, provides visitors with an extraordinary experience, far surpassing what an airy gallery could deliver.

Special Exhibition Included with a Taliesin West Highlights Audio or In-Depth Guided Tour Ticket Purchase Starting Friday, October 20.

Click for more details: franklloydwright.org  

Butterfly Wood Book Wins Award

A new book on "Butterfly Wood" — the Frank Lloyd Wright home built in Montecito — was the recent recipient of the Next Generation Indie Book Award for Art and Architecture.

The book, titled Butterfly Wood, was a labor of love by recently retired Santa Barbara County architect, Robert Ooley. He spent a good number of years studying the house and its architecture, its additions, restorations and family histories before penning his book. The work includes a forward by acclaimed Montecito author T.C. Boyle.

Click for more details: noozhawk.com