All language subtitles for [English] Frank Lloyd Wright_ Murder, Myth & Modernism [DownSub.com]

[lively classical music]

♪

male narrator: MORE THAN ANY OTHER MODERN ARCHITECT,

FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT WAS THE MASTER

OF THE BEAUTIFUL BUILDING.

THIS IS THE GUGGENHEIM MUSEUM IN NEW YORK.

WHEN IT OPENED IN 1959,

6 MONTHS AFTER WRIGHT'S DEATH,

IT CAUSED A SENSATION.

THIS WAS THE FIRST GALLERY THAT DARED

TO DECLARE ITSELF AS A WORK OF ART,

AS GREAT AS ANYTHING THAT WAS PUT INSIDE IT.

IT HAS BECOME WRIGHT'S SIGNATURE BUILDING.

AND YET, HE WAS FIRST AND FOREMOST

A DESIGNER OF HOUSES,

AND THE ALLURE OF HIS LIVING SPACES

IS AS POTENT TODAY AS WHEN THEY WERE FIRST CREATED.

- THIS WAS A POET. THIS WAS A ROMANTIC.

THIS WAS A MAN WHO THOUGHT FIRST AND FOREMOST

OF HOW PEOPLE WERE GOING TO LIVE IN HOUSES.

- THEY'RE WARM. THEY'RE BEAUTIFUL.

THEY--THEY-- THEY MAKE YOU FEEL GOOD.

THE WORD LIKE "SERENITY" WOULD BE CHARACTERISTIC

OF THE THINGS HE SOUGHT FOR IN ARCHITECTURE.

narrator: FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT EMBRACED MODERNISM,

BUT HE BROUGHT IT BACK TO NATURE.

HE MADE IT ORGANIC.

HIS HOUSES GROW OUT OF THE LANDSCAPE,

OR, AS IN THE CASE OF HIS GREATEST MASTERPIECE,

OUT OF A WATERFALL.

- HE MAKES WATER AND ITS GURGLING,

RUSHING, EXPLOSIVE SOUND PART OF THE HOUSE.

AND THEN, HE CANTILEVERS A SERIES

OF WHITE DIVING BOARDS IN THE MOST BREATHTAKING WAY.

YOU KNOW, IT'S LIKE BEING ON NIAGARA FALLS,

LIVING ABOVE NIAGARA FALLS.

IMAGINE. NOW, NO ONE HAD DONE THAT.

THIS IS, YOU KNOW, EVERYBODY'S DREAM.

narrator: BUT IT WASN'T ONLY HIS WORK THAT MADE

FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT THE GREATEST ARCHITECT

OF THE 20TH CENTURY.

HE UNDERSTOOD THAT TO BE ACCEPTED AS A GENIUS,

YOU HAVE TO BEHAVE LIKE ONE.

- I HAVE BEEN ACCUSED OF SAYING

I WAS THE GREATEST ARCHITECT IN THE WORLD.

AND IF I HAD SAID SO,

I DON'T THINK IT WOULD BE VERY ARROGANT

BECAUSE I DON'T BELIEVE THERE ARE MANY, IF ANY.

- HE WAS THE MUHAMMAD ALI OF ARCHITECTURE.

HE WAS THE GREATEST, AND HE WAS WILLING

TO TELL YOU THAT HE WAS THE GREATEST.

- WRIGHT UNDERSTOOD EARLIER THAN A LOT OF ARCHITECTS

THAT IN ORDER TO CREATE A CAREER FOR YOURSELF

AS AN ARCHITECT, YOU HAVE TO BE A SELF-PUBLICIST.

AND THE CONCEPT OF THE STAR ARCHITECT

REALLY WAS WOVEN AROUND FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT.

narrator: AND WRIGHT COULD WEAVE MAGIC LIKE NO ONE ELSE.

HIS AUTOBIOGRAPHY WAS A POETIC MYTH

OF HEROIC PROPORTIONS.

- WRIGHT INVENTED HIMSELF.

HE TURNED HIMSELF INTO THE PERSON

THAT HE THOUGHT HE SHOULD BE.

AND IF IT MEANT LYING, THAT WAS ALL RIGHT.

HE BELIEVED HIS OWN LIES.

narrator: BUT THERE IS SO MUCH MORE

TO FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT THAN HIS OWN

SELECTIVE ACCOUNT REVEALED.

IT WAS HIS SCANDALOUS LIFESTYLE THAT COST HIM

COMMISSIONS AND CRITICAL RECOGNITION FOR YEARS,

AND HE BARELY MENTIONS THE MOST HORRIFYING EVENT

OF HIS LIFE: AN ACT OF APPALLING BRUTALITY

THAT CAST A SHADOW OVER HIS CAREER FOR DECADES

AND ALMOST DESTROYED HIM.

IT WAS A TRAGEDY THAT NO ONE COULD HAVE ANTICIPATED,

AND IT HAPPENED AT, OF ALL PLACES, TALIESIN,

THE HOUSE THAT WRIGHT HAD BUILT

AS A PEACEFUL HAVEN IN THE HILLS OF WISCONSIN.

IT WAS THE 15TH OF AUGUST, 1914, A SATURDAY.

BUT FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT WAS NOT AT HOME.

HE WAS 180 MILES AWAY AT HIS OFFICE IN CHICAGO.

HIS LOVER, MAMAH BORTHWICK, WAS AT TALIESIN THAT DAY,

SPENDING THE WEEKEND WITH HER CHILDREN,

12-YEAR-OLD JOHN AND 8-YEAR-OLD MARTHA.

- IT WAS A HOT SUMMER'S DAY.

IT WAS THE NOON HOUR,

AND EVERYONE WAS ASSEMBLED FOR LUNCH.

AND AT ONE END OF THE BUILDING,

IN A SCREENED-IN PORCH, MAMAH BORTHWICK

AND HER TWO CHILDREN WERE SEATED FOR LUNCH.

- AND THERE ARE WORKMEN IN ANOTHER ROOM.

THEY ARE CARPENTERS. THEY ARE DRAFTSMEN.

THEY ARE GARDENERS.

narrator: THE SIX WORKMEN WERE SEATED

IN THE FARTHEST CORNER OF THE HOUSE,

SEPARATED FROM MAMAH AND THE CHILDREN

BY A LONG, NARROW CORRIDOR.

WRIGHT'S WEST INDIAN BUTLER, JULIAN CARLTON,

SERVED LUNCH TO EVERYONE AS HE ALWAYS DID.

BUT HE THEN RETURNED TO THE WORKMEN'S ROOM

WITH AN UNUSUAL REQUEST.

HE ASKED PERMISSION TO USE SOME GASOLINE TO CLEAN A RUG.

- PRESUMABLY, IT'S ACCEPTED

THAT THAT'S HOW YOU GET SPOTS OUT OF CARPETS.

SO HE'S GIVEN PERMISSION TO DO THAT.

HE DISAPPEARS.

narrator: UNNOTICED BY EVERYONE,

CARLTON QUIETLY BOLTED ALL THE DOORS AND WINDOWS SHUT.

THEN, HE HEADED BACK TO WHERE THE MEN WERE EATING.

ONLY NOW, HE WAS CARRYING SOMETHING.

- THE NEXT THING THE MEN SAW

WAS A BUBBLY LIQUID COMING UNDER THE DOOR,

WHICH THEN SUDDENLY BURST INTO FLAME.

IT WAS GASOLINE, AND HE HAD IGNITED IT.

- JUST AS THAT HAPPENS, JULIAN CARLTON

IS TRANSFORMED INTO A MANIAC.

HE'S GOT AN AXE.

HE GOES STRAIGHT FOR MAMAH BORTHWICK

AND ATTACKS HER SO VICIOUSLY

THAT HE EMBEDS THE AXE IN HER FOREHEAD.

HE THEN ATTACKS HER SON AND KILLS HER SON.

HE ATTACKS THE LITTLE GIRL

WHO BY THEN IS RUNNING FOR HER LIFE.

- MARTHA MADE IT OUT OF THE ROOM

BUT DIED, YOU KNOW, WITH HER CLOTHES ON FIRE

AND HER HEAD SMASHED IN.

narrator: CARLTON NOW RUSHED BACK TOWARDS THE DINING ROOM.

AND AMIDST THE SMOKE AND CONFUSION,

HE WENT ON THE RAMPAGE WITH HIS AXE.

THREE OF THE MEN, HE HACKED TO DEATH ON THE SPOT.

THREE OTHERS MANAGED TO ESCAPE BY SMASHING THROUGH A WINDOW,

BUT ONE OF THOSE DIED LATER FROM HIS INJURIES.

- THE NET RESULT OF IT ALL

IS THAT NINE PEOPLE SAT DOWN TO LUNCH

AND SEVEN PEOPLE WERE KILLED.

narrator: FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT, MEANWHILE, WAS STILL IN CHICAGO

AND COMPLETELY OBLIVIOUS OF WHAT HAD HAPPENED.

- FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT'S SON JOHN RECOUNTED

THAT THEY WERE WORKING TOGETHER

WHEN THERE WAS A TELEPHONE CALL FOR WRIGHT.

AND HE CAME BACK AND SLUMPED AND GROANED.

AND HE HAD ONLY HEARD THE WORD

THAT THERE WAS A FIRE.

BUT AS THEY GOT INTO WISCONSIN,

THEY STARTED HEARING WORDS OF DEATHS.

AND SO, HE WAS JUST DEVASTATED.

HIS COUSIN GRABBED HIM BY THE SHOULDERS,

AND SHOOK HIM, AND SAID, "FRANK.

GET A HOLD OF YOURSELF. IT COULDN'T BE WORSE."

narrator: THE HORRIFIC MASSACRE

WAS THE FINAL TRAGIC ACT

IN A STORY OF ADULTERY AND INTRIGUE

THAT HAD SCANDALIZED POLITE SOCIETY

FOR THE PREVIOUS FIVE YEARS.

WRIGHT'S MISTRESS MAMAH WAS DEAD,

AND THE HOUSE HE HAD BUILT FOR THE TWO OF THEM

A SMOLDERING RUIN.

WRIGHT WAS CONSUMED WITH GRIEF

BUT SOMEHOW FOUND THE STRENGTH

TO MAKE A PUBLIC DECLARATION.

- WRIGHT CAME OUT A FEW DAYS LATER

WITH A VERY SENSITIVE STATEMENT,

SAYING THAT TALIESIN WOULD BE REBUILT

TO HONOR THE SPIRIT OF THE WOMAN WHO HAD BEEN KILLED.

AT THE SAME TIME, IT WAS ALSO

A BIT DEFIANT STATEMENT OF SAYING,

"YOU CAN'T BURN ME OUT.

"YOU CAN'T DRIVE ME OUT.

WE WILL REBUILD. THIS WILL CONTINUE."

narrator: WRIGHT COULD NOT ALLOW HIS WISCONSIN HOME

TO REMAIN AS A BLOOD-STAINED REMINDER

OF A MASS MURDER,

AND TALIESIN STANDS TODAY

AS A MONUMENT TO HIS DETERMINATION

AND TO A LIFE OF TIRELESS CREATIVITY.

HIS AUTOBIOGRAPHY STILL FRUSTRATES SCHOLARS

TRYING TO SEPARATE FACT FROM FICTION.

BUT THE AUTHENTIC ACCOUNT OF FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT'S LIFE

IS IN THE HOUSES HE BUILT

AND IN TALIESIN MOST OF ALL.

THIS IS WHERE THE LEGEND OF THE WORLD'S GREATEST ARCHITECT

TOOK ROUTE AND FINALLY FLOURISHED.

- I THINK WRIGHT THOUGHT OF IT

AS HIS ALTER EGO.

TALIESIN REPRESENTED NOT ONLY HIM, HIS PERSONALITY,

BUT ALSO HIS ENTIRE LIFE HISTORY.

AND IT BECOMES ULTIMATELY THE RECORD

BY WHICH WE KNOW WRIGHT.

narrator: FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT BUILT HIS FIRST HOUSE IN 1889

WHEN HE WAS JUST 22 YEARS OLD.

HE CHOSE THE LEAFY SUBURB OF OAK PARK IN CHICAGO

AS THE PLACE TO MAKE HIS MARK,

A HOME FOR HIMSELF AND HIS NEW WIFE KITTY,

AND WHAT WOULD EVENTUALLY BE A FAMILY OF SIX CHILDREN.

WRIGHT WAS WORKING AS CHIEF DRAFTSMAN

IN A STUDIO IN CHICAGO WHEN THE HOUSE WAS BUILT.

BY THE TIME HE WAS 26,

HE HAD AN ARCHITECTURAL PRACTICE OF HIS OWN.

- MR. WRIGHT WAS JUST BEGINNING HIS CAREER

AT THAT TIME WHEN HE MOVED TO CHICAGO.

AND SO, HE USED THIS HOME AS AN EXPERIMENTAL LABORATORY,

WHERE HE WOULD TRY OUT IDEAS

AND DEVELOP HIS ARCHITECTURAL STYLE.

WELL, STANDING IN THIS SPACE IN THE LIVING ROOM,

WHEN YOU SEE-- YOU CAN SEE THE FRONT DOOR.

YOU COME IN THE FRONT DOOR.

IT'S A VERY WIDE-OPEN FRONT DOOR

WITH ART GLASS ON IT SO YOU CAN SEE DIRECTLY IN.

THE DOORWAY IS VERY WIDE.

THERE ARE NO DOORS ON IT THAT CLOSE OFF THE SPACES.

AND YOU CAN LOOK ALL THE WAY THROUGH

INTO THE DINING ROOM.

AND ALSO IN THE LIVING ROOM HERE,

YOU CAN SEE HOW HE OPENED UP THE SPACE

WITH DIAMOND-PANE LEADED GLASS WINDOWS.

IT LETS A LOT OF LIGHT IN, IT LETS NATURE INDOORS,

AND IT'S VERY DIFFERENT

FROM THE VICTORIAN STYLES OF THE TIME.

narrator: WRIGHT WAS CLEARLY REACHING TOWARDS

A NEW CONCEPT IN HIS OWN HOME.

BUT IT WAS WHEN HE BEGAN TO BUILD FOR LOCAL CLIENTS

THAT HIS IDEAS REALLY TOOK OFF.

THESE PRAIRIE HOUSES, AS WRIGHT CALLED THEM,

DATE FROM THE SAME PERIOD AS THEIR NEIGHBORS,

WHEN THERE WERE STILL HORSE-DRAWN CARRIAGES

IN THE STREETS.

BUT THEY ARE EVEN MORE MODERN ON THE INSIDE.

BY DISPENSING WITH DIVIDING WALLS,

WRIGHT CREATED A DRAMATIC SENSE OF LIGHT AND SPACE.

HE CALLED IT "BREAKING THE BOX."

- IN HIS AUTOBIOGRAPHY, HE DESCRIBES

EXACTLY WHAT HE THINKS PEOPLE SHOULD DO WITH THE HOUSE.

IT SHOULD NO LONGER BE A STRAIGHT-SIDED,

TIGHT, ENCLOSED VOLUME WITH EVERYTHING VERTICAL.

IT SHOULD BE LONG, LOW, HORIZONTAL,

WITH THE ROOMS MELTING AWAY

SO THAT YOUR LIVING ROOM, AND DINING ROOM,

AND STUDY WOULD FLOW INTO EACH OTHER,

AND EVERYTHING WOULD BE FOCUSED

AROUND THIS GREAT HEARTH, THIS GREAT FIREPLACE.

IT NOT ONLY BROKE THE BOX-- WHICH WAS HIS WORDS--

IT SIMPLY BROKE WITH THE PAST COMPLETELY

AND SET A STANDARD AND A PATTERN

THAT HAS INFLUENCED EVERYTHING SINCE.

- YOU KNOW, GREAT ARCHITECTURE IS ABOUT EFFECT, AFFECT.

HOW DOES IT AFFECT YOUR INNARDS?

IT'S AN EMOTIONAL EXPERIENCE. IT'S LIKE MUSIC.

IT IS, AS WRIGHT KEPT QUOTING GOETHE, "IT'S FROZEN MUSIC."

YOU KNOW, YOU'RE NOT SUPPOSED TO LOOK AT IT

IN A UNINTERESTED WAY.

YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO BE BOWLED OVER BY IT,

AND THAT'S UNIVERSAL.

WE ALL ARE. YOU CAN'T NOT RESPOND.

ANYONE WHO DOESN'T RESPOND TO A WRIGHT BUILDING

IS NOT EXPERIENCING THROUGH THE SENSES, THE FIVE SENSES.

SIGHT ABOVE ALL, BUT HEARING,

SMELL, TASTE, TOUCH, THE WORKS.

YOU--YOU KNOW, IT'S FULL OF THAT HUMAN RESPONSE.

narrator: AS FAST AS WRIGHT WAS POPULATING OAK PARK

WITH PRAIRIE HOUSES, HIS OWN FAMILY WAS GROWING TOO.

BY THE TIME HE TURNED 30,

HE AND KITTY HAD FOUR CHILDREN.

WRIGHT ADDED A PLAYROOM TO THE FAMILY HOME,

BUT WORK WAS ALWAYS HIS FIRST PRIORITY.

- WHEN HE WAS A YOUNG CHILD,

MY FATHER LLOYD WRIGHT WOULD SOMETIMES WAKE UP

AT 12, AT NIGHT, OR 1 IN THE MORNING

AND HEAR MY GRANDFATHER PLAYING THE PIANO.

AND HE WOULD PLAY THE PIANO AFTER HE WORKED.

AND HE USUALLY WORKED VERY LATE,

11, 12, 1 OR 2 IN THE MORNING.

HE WASN'T ALWAYS THERE

AS MUCH AS MANY OTHER FATHERS WOULD BE,

BUT AS MY FATHER GOT OLDER,

MY GRANDFATHER BUILT A STUDIO

NEXT TO HIS HOUSE IN OAK PARK

SO THAT HE COULD BE MORE WITH THE FAMILY.

- HE'S AN ARCHITECT-IN-RESIDENCE, AND--

AND HE'S A VERY RESPECTABLE ARCHITECT-IN-RESIDENCE.

HE'S GOT A CHARMING YOUNG WIFE, BEAUTIFUL.

SHE'S A REDHEAD, AND HE'S--HE'S--

HE'S NOT DRESSING FLAMBOYANTLY.

I THINK THAT'S IMPORTANT TO EMPHASIZE.

HE COMES ACROSS AS, YOU KNOW,

A PERFECTLY RESPECTABLE, UP-AND-COMING YOUNG MAN.

LATER ON, HE DRESSES-- HE DRESSES ECCENTRICALLY,

TO THE POINT OF MADNESS, ONE WOULD SAY.

BUT IN THESE EARLY DAYS, HE'S--HE'S JUST ONE OF THEM,

YOU KNOW, ONLY CLEVERER, BRIGHTER, SHARPER.

narrator: FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT WAS,

FROM THE VERY BEGINNING, EXCEPTIONAL.

HIS MOTHER ANNA SAW TO THAT.

SHE BEGAN PLANNING HIS FUTURE, WRIGHT SAID,

WHILE HE WAS STILL IN THE WOMB.

- WHEN DID YOU FIRST DECIDE

TO MAKE ARCHITECTURE YOUR LIFE WORK?

- IT WAS DECIDED FOR ME BEFORE I WAS BORN.

MY MOTHER WAS A TEACHER,

AND SHE WANTED AN ARCHITECT FOR A SON.

I HAPPENED TO BE THE SON

AND, OF COURSE, NATURALLY AN ARCHITECT.

I WAS CONDITIONED BY HER.

THE ROOM INTO WHICH I WAS BORN

WAS HUNG WITH THE WOOD ENGRAVINGS

OF THE ENGLISH CATHEDRALS MADE BY TIMOTHY COLE.

YOU REMEMBER THOSE?

narrator: FOR AN ARTIST WHO LIKED TO THINK OF HIMSELF

AS A NATURAL, IT WAS ONLY RIGHT

THAT HE SHOULD CLAIM TO HAVE BORN

TO BE AN ARCHITECT.

BUT THERE'S A SURPRISING TWIST

IN THIS REMARKABLE CREATION MYTH.

- SOME PEOPLE HAVE SAID THAT FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT

WOULD SPIN TALES ABOUT HIMSELF THAT WEREN'T REALLY TRUE,

OF COURSE, ONE OF THEM BEING THAT HIS MOTHER

HUNG LITHOGRAPHS OF CATHEDRALS AROUND HIS NURSERY ROOM.

WELL, THIS IS ACTUALLY TRUE,

AND IN THE ARCHIVES AT TALIESIN,

THEY HAVE THOSE LITHOGRAPHS.

narrator: ANNA WAS A PHYSICAL PRESENCE

FOR MUCH OF WRIGHT'S ADULT LIFE AS WELL.

SHE LIVED NEXT DOOR TO HIM IN OAK PARK.

BUT ALTHOUGH HIS MOTHER HAD DECIDED HIS CAREER,

WRIGHT ALWAYS INSISTED HIS WORK WAS ENTIRELY HIS OWN.

HE CONFESSED TO ADMIRING JAPANESE INTERIORS,

AN OBVIOUS POINT OF REFERENCE FOR THE PRAIRIE STYLE.

AND HE WAS CLEARLY AWARE OF ART NOUVEAU

AND OTHER IDEAS FROM EUROPE.

BUT HIS DESIGNS ALWAYS RETAINED THE DISTINCTIVE PERSONALITY

OF FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT.

- HE REALLY HATED TO BE CHARACTERIZED AS AN ECLECTIC.

AND YET, ONE OF HIS GREAT VIRTUES

WAS HIS ABILITY TO ABSORB INFLUENCES FROM EVERYWHERE

AND TO MAKE THEM HIS OWN.

narrator: BY THE TIME HE TURNED 40,

WRIGHT HAD PRODUCED OVER 100 BUILDINGS,

MOST OF THEM HOUSES IN AND AROUND CHICAGO.

CRUCIAL TO HIS SUCCESS WAS HIS ARCHITECTURAL PHILOSOPHY,

WHICH HE TOOK FROM THE ARTS AND CRAFTS MOVEMENT.

IT DECLARED THAT THE HOUSE SHOULD REFLECT A LOVE OF NATURE

AND THE SANCTITY OF MARRIAGE AND FAMILY.

THIS WAS ENORMOUSLY APPEALING

TO WRIGHT'S MIDDLE-CLASS CLIENTELE.

THEY WERE DELIGHTED TO DO BUSINESS

WITH A HARDWORKING FATHER OF SIX

WHO SEEMED TO EMBODY THESE VALUES

AS MUCH AS THE HOUSES HE CREATED,

WHICH MADE IT ALL THE MORE SCANDALOUS

WHEN IT EMERGED IN 1908

THAT WRIGHT WAS HAVING AN AFFAIR

WITH THE WIFE OF A CLIENT.

- HE STARTED TO DESIGN HOUSES

FOR VERY ATTRACTIVE WOMEN,

AND THEY WOULD FALL IN LOVE WITH HIM AS AN ARCHITECT.

HE WOULD FALL IN LOVE WITH THEM AS INDIVIDUALS.

AND OF COURSE, HE FELL MOSTLY IN LOVE WITH MRS. CHENEY,

MARRIED TO A VERY DISTANT COUSIN OF MINE, AS IT HAPPENS.

BUT SHE WAS A WONDERFUL WOMAN

WHO WAS TRANSLATING FREE LOVE TRACTS FROM THE SWEDISH.

YOU KNOW, 1907, THAT'S QUITE A THING FOR MIDWEST CHICAGO.

- SHE TENDED TO BE A RATHER INTENSE,

RATHER INTELLECTUAL SORT OF WOMAN,

THE KIND OF WOMAN WHO'S VERY INTERESTED

IN ALL OF THE LATEST THEORIES ABOUT FE--FEMINISM.

AND FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT'S COMING TO A CRISIS

IN HIS RELATIONSHIP WITH HIS WIFE KITTY.

HE'S GOT SIX CHILDREN.

SHE DOESN'T HAVE ANY TIME FOR HIM.

SHE'S TERRIBLY BUSY WITH THESE CHILDREN.

AND ONE HAS TO SEE HIM AS A NARCISSIST,

WHICH IS--I MEAN, IT'S NOT NECESSARILY A BAD THING.

THESE GREAT MEN ALWAYS ARE NARCISSISTS, YOU KNOW?

THEY WANT PEOPLE WHO ARE ONLY FOR THEM,

ONLY FOR THEM.

AND IN YEARS TO COME, HE TAKES CARE TO--

TO HAVE WOMEN LIKE THAT AROUND HIM.

BUT AT--AT THIS PARTICULAR JUNCTURE,

SHE'S NOT FOR HIM ANYMORE.

THERE'S A PICTURE OF-- OF HIM

TAKEN OUTSIDE WITH HIS FAMILY ON A WALL.

AND SHE'S STANDING, SURROUNDED BY HER CHILDREN.

AND HE'S SEATED, NOT VERY FAR AWAY,

BUT DISTINCTLY FAR AWAY FROM THE FAMILY GROUP.

AND YOU KNOW THERE'S GONNA BE A DIVORCE.

narrator: WRIGHT'S AFFAIR BEGAN FURTIVELY,

BUT SOON BECAME AN OPEN SECRET,

THANKS IN LARGE PART TO THE DESIGN OF THE CHENEY HOME.

- THE TWO OF THEM STARTED TO MAKE LOVE

IN THIS OPEN-PLANNED HOUSE, WHICH IS NOT A PLACE

WHERE YOU SHOULD MAKE LOVE IN IF YOU'RE--

IT'S AN ILLICIT AFFAIR.

AND THERE IS AN ACCOUNT OF TWO YOUNG GIRLS,

11 YEARS OLD, WHO WOULD, AS SPORT,

CLIMB UP, AND LOOK OVER ONE OF HIS HANGING CANTILEVERS,

AND WATCH THEM MAKE LOVE THROUGH THE DAYS

UNTIL THEIR MOTHER FOUND OUT.

YOU KNOW, THAT'S THE PROBLEM WITH THE OPEN PLANNING.

narrator: AND THE TOPIC OF LOCAL GOSSIP

BECAME HEADLINE NEWS WHEN WRIGHT

SUDDENLY DECIDED TO SHUT DOWN HIS STUDIO

AND SET OFF WITH MAMAH

ON A YEAR-LONG EXCURSION TO EUROPE.

- IT WAS A BIG SCANDAL IN OAK PARK,

WHICH WAS A VERY PROPER SUBURB.

IT WAS KNOWN AS THE CITY OF CHURCHES,

AND NOT FOR NOTHING.

AND OF COURSE, HE WAS WELL-KNOWN IN CHICAGO.

SO ALL THE CHICAGO PAPERS HAD A FIELD DAY WITH THIS.

narrator: BUT THIS WAS MORE THAN A MIDLIFE

MARITAL CRISIS FOR FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT.

HE'D GROWN WEARY OF THE STRAIGHT-LACED

SUBURBAN WORLD THAT REPRESENTED HIS LIFE'S WORK SO FAR.

WRIGHT'S TRIP TO EUROPE WAS PROMPTED IN FACT

BY AN INVITATION FROM A GERMAN PUBLISHER

HOPING TO PRODUCE A PORTFOLIO OF ARCHITECTURAL DRAWINGS,

A GILT-EDGED OPPORTUNITY FOR WRIGHT

TO PROMOTE HIMSELF ABROAD.

- IT WAS A VERY CALCULATED MOVE.

WRIGHT WANTED TO LEAVE HIS PRACTICE.

HE FELT HE'D COME TO A DEAD END.

HE'D DONE EVERYTHING HE COULD WITH DOMESTIC ARCHITECTURE.

HE WANTED DESPERATELY TO SEE THE BUILDINGS

THAT HE ADMIRED SO MUCH IN EUROPE

AND TO SEE THAT THIS WASMUTH PORTFOLIO

OF HIS WORK WAS PROPERLY PRODUCED,

WHICH HE HONESTLY SAID

WOULD MAKE HIM FAMOUS AROUND THE WORLD

AS ONE OF THE GREAT CREATIVE GENIUSES

OF THE MODERN ARCHITECTURE.

THE TRIP DID ESTABLISH WRIGHT'S WORK

OUTSIDE THE UNITED STATES FOR THE FIRST TIME,

BUT IT RUINED HIS REPUTATION AT HOME.

WHEN HE RETURNED TO OAK PARK A YEAR LATER,

HE HAD BECOME A SOCIAL OUTCAST.

- HE HAD ACTUALLY BEEN APPROACHED TO DO

A HOUSE FOR HENRY FORD,

BUT THAT WAS ABOUT THE TIME THAT HE LEFT

FOR EUROPE WITH MAMAH.

AND SO I BELIEVE MRS. FORD DID NOT CARE FOR THIS,

AND I THINK HE LOST SOME VERY BIG ONES

WHEN THIS SCANDAL HIT.

narrator: KITTY REFUSED TO GIVE HIM A DIVORCE,

AND IT WAS IMPOSSIBLE FOR WRIGHT

TO CONTINUE TO LIVE IN OAK PARK.

AND SO, HE LOOKED FOR A LOCATION TO BUILD A NEW HOUSE.

HE SETTLED ON SPRING GREEN, WISCONSIN,

NEAR TO THE FARM OWNED BY HIS MOTHER'S FAMILY,

THE LLOYD JONESES.

ANNA WRIGHT'S FAMILY WERE WELSH IMMIGRANTS

WHO WERE FIERCELY PROUD OF THEIR ANCESTRY.

AS A YOUNG BOY, FRANK HAD SPENT SUMMERS

WORKING ON THEIR FARM.

IT GAVE HIM A DEEP APPRECIATION OF NATURE

AND A SENSE OF IDENTITY,

WHICH EVENTUALLY INCLUDED HIS NAME.

HE WAS BORN FRANK LINCOLN WRIGHT,

BUT CHANGED IT TO "LLOYD WRIGHT"

AFTER HIS FATHER ABANDONED THE FAMILY.

FRANK HAD BEEN 18 AT THE TIME.

NOW 25 YEARS LATER, HE WAS DOING THE SAME THING,

BUT HE WAS UNREPENTANT.

- WRIGHT REALLY FELT THAT NONE

OF THE NORMAL BOURGEOIS RULES

ABOUT ANYTHING APPLIED TO HIM,

THAT BECAUSE HE WAS AN ARTIST AND A CREATIVE PERSON,

HE REALLY HAD A DIFFERENT SET OF RULES

TO LIVE HIS LIFE BY.

AND HE--OF COURSE, HE RATIONALIZED

MANY OF THE THINGS HE DID

BY THIS IDEA THAT HE COULD LIVE BY HIS OWN RULES.

narrator: SO TO BE ABLE TO LIVE AND WORK IN PEACE,

WRIGHT WITHDREW FROM THE WORLD TO RURAL WISCONSIN.

THE HOUSE HE BUILT THERE FOR HIMSELF AND MAMAH,

HE NAMED IN HONOR OF AN ANCIENT WELSH POET:

TALIESIN.

- WHAT WE HAVE AT TALIESIN

IS A STRUCTURE THAT RESEMBLES,

MORE THAN ANYTHING ELSE, AN ITALIAN VILLA,

WHEREIN WE HAVE A DOMESTIC COMPONENT,

A BUSINESS COMPONENT, AND A FARMING COMPONENT,

ALL DEFINED BY ONE CONTINUOUS STRUCTURE.

OVER HERE IS THAT COMPONENT, WHICH WAS THE HOUSE,

THAT HAS AND HAS ALWAYS BEEN DEFINED

AS MR. WRIGHT'S RESIDENCE.

AND THEN, PERPENDICULAR RUNNING TO THE WEST

IS MR. WRIGHT'S DRAFTING STUDIO.

AND THEN THERE, IT RUNS INTO A SECOND-STORY ELEMENT

AND CONTINUES TO FLOW WESTWARD.

AND THAT WAS ALL OF THE ORIGINAL FARM BUILDINGS.

narrator: WITH HIS HOUSE, STUDIO,

AND COUNTRY ESTATE COMBINED, WRIGHT HOPED

TO RESTART HIS CAREER IN SPLENDID ISOLATION,

AND TALIESIN WAS ESPECIALLY IMPORTANT TO HIM

BECAUSE IT EMBODIED A COMPLETELY NEW PHILOSOPHY.

FROM NOW ON, LANDSCAPE AND NATURE ITSELF WOULD BE

HIS FIRST CONSIDERATIONS WHEN DESIGNING A BUILDING.

HE CALLED THIS "ORGANIC ARCHITECTURE."

- MR. WRIGHT, WHAT DO YOU MEAN WHEN YOU SAY

THE DESIGN FOR A BUILDING SHOULD BE ORGANIC?

- THAT THE DESIGN FOR THE BUILDING SHOULD BE NATURAL,

THAT IT SHOULD BE AN EXPRESSION OUT OF THE CIRCUMSTANCES

APPROPRIATE TO THE TIME,

APPROPRIATE TO THE PLACE,

AND IN ALL ITS FEATURES, BELONGING TO TIME

AND PLACE, AND MAN.

ANYTHING ORGANIC IS NATURAL.

AND ALMOST ALWAYS, ANYTHING NATURAL IS ORGANIC.

- AND HERE IS THE LIVING ROOM OF TALIESIN.

NOW, TALIESIN WAS BUILT IN 1911,

AND IT WAS REFERRED TO

AS MR. WRIGHT'S FIRST NATURAL HOUSE.

WHAT WE SEE HERE IN CELEBRATION OF NATURE

IS THAT THE HOME HAS BEEN CONSTRUCTED

BY NATURAL ELEMENTS THAT ARE INDIGENOUS TO THIS AREA.

SO WE HAVE SOFT SANDSTONE.

WE HAVE STUCCO THAT IS INFUSED WITH SAND

BY THE NEARBY WISCONSIN RIVER.

THE WOOD SUPPORTS ARE TAKEN FROM THE TREES ON THE ESTATE.

IT'S ALWAYS BEEN SAID THAT THE BEST WAY

TO EXPERIENCE THIS ROOM IS TO SIT DOWN.

AND IT'S AMAZING: WHEN YOU SIT DOWN

IN THE LIVING ROOM, IF YOU LOOK CLOSELY,

ALL OF THE FURNITURE IS EXACTLY THE SAME HEIGHT.

WHAT THAT ACCOMPLISHES IS WHEN YOU SIT DOWN IN IT

IS THIS BEAUTIFUL PRESENTATION OF LANDSCAPE

THAT MR. WRIGHT WANTED YOU TO HAVE.

THIS VIEW IS THE SAME VIEW THAT MR. WRIGHT

PROBABLY SAW AS A TEENAGE BOY

WHEN HE WOULD COME UP TO THIS HILL

AND IDLE AWAY SUMMER AFTERNOONS.

TO THAT END, I BELIEVE THAT SITTING IN THE LIVING ROOM,

WE LOOK THROUGH THE EYES OF THE TEENAGE FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT

BACK IN THE 1800s.

narrator: THE NAME TALIESIN MEANS,

LITERALLY, "SHINING BROW," AND THE HOUSE

IS INDEED LIKE THE BROW OF THE HILL.

BUT THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THIS PARTICULAR BUILDING

AND ITS LOCATION HAD AN EVEN DEEPER MEANING

FOR FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT.

- TALIESIN WAS A RESPONSE TO THE LANDSCAPE.

BUT THE HILL ALSO MEANT SOMETHING VERY SPECIAL TO HIM,

AND HE WROTE ABOUT THIS.

HE CHOSE THAT HILL AS SOMEHOW

A REPRESENTATION OF THE WOMAN.

AND THE HOUSE WAS BUILT TO EMBRACE THE HILL

AS A MAN WOULD EMBRACE A WOMAN.

AND THE HILL ROSE UP THROUGH THE HOUSE AS THE FORCE

AND THE REASON, THE RAISON D'ETRE, OF THE HOUSE IN EFFECT.

AND WRIGHT LATER WROTE IN HIS AUTOBIOGRAPHY--

AND IT'S VERY, VERY MOVING, I THINK--

HE SAID, "IT WAS A HOUSE THAT HILL

COULD MARRY AND LIVE WITH HAPPILY EVER AFTER."

narrator: THE PRESS, AS ALWAYS, TOOK A LESS SENSITIVE VIEW.

- TALIESIN WAS FIRST REFERRED TO IN THE PRESS

AS A LOVE BUNGALOW OR A LOVE NEST.

AND, OF COURSE, IT--WHICH--

IT WAS NOT A COZY, LITTLE COTTAGE.

IT WAS A HUGE VILLA AND COMPLEX

IN THE HILLS OF WISCONSIN.

BUT THERE WAS THE IDEA THAT THIS WAS THEIR--

THEIR SHAMELESS LITTLE RETREAT AND REDOUBT

OUT OF THE PRYING EYES OF THE PUBLIC.

- YOU'VE GOTTA SEE IT ALSO

AS A WELSH CASTLE,

A FORTRESS AGAINST THE ATTACKS OF CHICAGO.

AND IT'S THE MOB WHO ARE AFTER HIM.

SO HOW DO YOU DEFEND YOURSELF FROM THE MOB?

WELL, YOU PICK UP ROOTS.

YOU GO PULL UP THE PORTCULLIS, THE DRAWBRIDGE.

YOU GO IN YOUR CASTLE.

YOU TURN INWARD.

AND THAT'S WHAT THIS NEW VIEW OF THE HOUSE IS.

ALL OF HIS HOUSES FROM ABOUT 1911

THROUGH TO THE '30s BECOME INWARD-LOOKING.

THERE ARE BATTERED WALLS, SMALL WINDOWS,

HARD TO GET INTO, HARD TO GET OUT OF.

narrator: AND WITH TRAGIC IRONY,

WRIGHT'S FORTRESS HOME TALIESIN

DID BECOME A DEATHTRAP.

WRIGHT WAS AWAY IN CHICAGO

WHEN, ON THE AFTERNOON OF AUGUST 15TH, 1914,

HIS BUTLER JULIAN CARLTON

DELIBERATELY AND INEXPLICABLY STARTED A RAGING FIRE

AND WENT ON THE RAMPAGE WIELDING AN AXE.

MAMAH AND HER CHILDREN WERE THE FIRST TO BE KILLED,

HACKED TO DEATH AS THEY ATE LUNCH.

THEN CARLTON ATTACKED THE REST OF THE DOMESTIC STAFF.

WRIGHT RECEIVED THE FIRST NEWS OF THE FIRE AT HIS OFFICE.

AND WHEN HE EVENTUALLY REACHED TALIESIN,

HE WAS CONFRONTED BY A TRAGEDY

WORSE THAN ANYTHING HE COULD'VE IMAGINED.

SEVEN PEOPLE, INCLUDING MAMAH AND HER CHILDREN,

HAD BEEN BRUTALLY MURDERED,

AND THE HOUSE WAS A SMOLDERING RUIN.

JULIAN CARLTON'S FATE WAS ALMOST AS GRUESOME AS MAMAH'S.

HE WAS DISCOVERED ON THE EVENING OF THE MURDERS

HIDING IN THE BASEMENT INSIDE THE UNLIT FURNACE.

HE HAD TRIED UNSUCCESSFULLY TO KILL HIMSELF

BY SWALLOWING ACID, BUT HIS MOUTH AND THROAT

WERE SO BADLY BURNED THAT HE COULDN'T SPEAK OR EAT.

CARLTON STARVED TO DEATH WHILE AWAITING TRIAL,

GIVING NO EXPLANATION FOR WHAT HE'D DONE.

REPORTERS AND BIOGRAPHERS EVER SINCE

HAVE TRIED TO UNLOCK THE MYSTERY.

- THERE ARE VARIOUS THEORIES ABOUT WHY

JULIAN CARLTON DID THIS, OF COURSE.

THERE'S A KIND OF MORALISTIC THEORY

THAT HE WAS SO OUTRAGED BY THE DEN OF INIQUITY

IN WHICH HE FOUND HIMSELF THAT HE--

HIS INDIGNATION BOILED OVER INTO RIGHTEOUS WRATH.

- THERE'S NO REAL EVIDENCE FOR THAT.

AND HE WAS A WORLDLY CHICAGOAN

AND HAD LIVED IN THE BIG CITY

AND KNEW WHAT HE WAS GETTING INTO HERE.

OTHERS HAVE SUGGESTED THAT HE WAS--

HAD A GRUDGE AGAINST MRS. BORTHWICK.

AND IN FACT, HE HAD GIVEN NOTICE OR HAD BEEN FIRED.

- AND THIS, I THINK, IS THE MOST IMPORTANT:

GIVEN CARLTON'S ACTIONS AT THE TIME

OF THE MURDER/FIRE,

WHO'S THE FIRST PERSON HE GOES FOR?

HE GOES FOR MAMAH BORTHWICK.

WHAT DOES HE DO?

HE BURIES THE AXE IN HER FOREHEAD.

SO FOR ME, THAT SAYS HE'S OUT TO GET HER.

AND SHE MUST'VE SAID SOMETHING HE REALLY, REALLY HATED.

- SO THERE ARE A LOT OF SPECULATIONS, MYSTERIES.

I'M NOT SURE THAT IT CAN EVER BE SOLVED,

BUT I LOOK AT IT AND I SAY SO CRAZY, SO VICIOUS,

BUT SO OBVIOUSLY PREMEDITATED AS WELL.

IT REALLY IS A-- A CURIOUS, CURIOUS STORY.

narrator: MAMAH WAS CARRIED TO HER GRAVE

ON A CART STREWN WITH FLOWERS.

WRIGHT BURIED HER HIMSELF AT NIGHT

IN THE GROUNDS OF THE FAMILY CHAPEL.

INSTEAD OF A HEADSTONE, HE PLANTED A TREE.

IT STILL STANDS WITHIN SIGHT OF TALIESIN ITSELF.

- THE TRAGEDY, AS YOU MIGHT IMAGINE, WAS PROFOUND,

AND WRIGHT SAID THAT AFTER THE EVENT,

HE HAD BOILS.

HE FELT CONSTANT NAUSEA.

HE SAID IT WAS LIKE SLEEPING IN A ROOM

IN COMPLETE DARKNESS ALL THE TIME.

AND IN EFFECT, HE CLAIMS TO HAVE GONE BLIND,

WHICH IS A POSSIBILITY.

I MEAN, PEOPLE DO GO BLIND FROM TRAUMA.

AND HE SAW TALIESIN AS A VOLCANIC CRATER,

AND HE WAS READY TO LEAVE.

AND THEN HE SAID SOMETHING TO HIMSELF,

THAT HE HAD TO REBUILD IT

AS A PLACE OF MEMORY.

narrator: WRIGHT'S OTHER RESPONSE

WAS TO THROW HIMSELF INTO HIS WORK.

AND IN THIS, HE'D HAD A MAJOR SUCCESS.

IN 1916, WRIGHT WAS HIRED TO BUILD

THE IMPERIAL HOTEL IN TOKYO.

WITH A BUDGET OF $4 1/2 MILLION,

THIS WAS HIS BIGGEST PROJECT TO DATE.

IT WAS PERHAPS FITTING THAT WRIGHT'S

FIRST FOREIGN COMMISSION SHOULD BE IN JAPAN,

WHOSE ART AND ARCHITECTURE HE SO ADMIRED.

BUT AT THE SAME TIME, WRIGHT COULD NEVER GIVE UP

HIS LOVE OF DESIGNING HOMES.

WHILE TALIESIN WAS STILL IN RUINS,

HE BEGAN WORKING IN LOS ANGELES

AND PRODUCED HOLLYHOCK HOUSE FOR AN ECCENTRIC OIL HEIRESS.

WITH TYPICAL FLAIR, WRIGHT TOOK HIS INSPIRATION

FROM THE LANDSCAPE AND HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA

TO CREATE THIS DISTINCTIVE MAYAN LOOK.

HOLLYHOCK BECAME THE FIRST OF A SERIES OF HOUSES

IN LOS ANGELES THAT WRIGHT HOPED

WOULD REPRESENT NOT ONLY A NEW BEGINNING

IN HIS LIFE AND CAREER,

BUT AN ENTIRELY NEW WAY OF BUILDING.

- HE WANTED WHAT HE FELT

WAS ARCHITECTURE FOR THE SOUTHWEST

THAT YOU WOULD HAVE IN THAT DRY, SEMI-ARID COUNTRY.

AND HE FELT THAT CONCRETE WAS AN IMPORTANT ELEMENT.

IT WAS AN EARTH MATERIAL.

narrator: WRIGHT'S IDEA WAS TO STAMP HIS CONCRETE BLOCKS

WITH WHAT HE CALLED A "TEXTILE PATTERN."

- THE BLOCK THAT YOU SEE HERE

IS A 16x16 WITH A CORE

ALL AROUND ALL FOUR SIDES.

AND WHEN YOU PUT TWO BLOCKS TOGETHER,

IT FORMED A CYLINDER,

AND STEEL RODS WERE PUT IN THERE

AND GROUT WAS POURED IN.

EVERY COURSE THAT YOU WENT UP,

YOU WOULD HAVE THIS SITTING THIS WAY.

THEN YOU'D FIT THE NEXT BLOCK ON TOP

SO YOU HAD THIS REINFORCEMENT AROUND EVERY BLOCK.

narrator: BUT WHEN IT CAME TO ACTUAL CONSTRUCTION,

WRIGHT'S BLOCK TECHNIQUE TURNED OUT

TO BE HORRIBLY INTRICATE,

AND HIS SHOWPIECE HOUSE, LA MINIATURA,

WAS A PUBLIC RELATIONS DISASTER:

OVER BUDGET, OVER SCHEDULE, AND THE ROOF LEAKED.

ONLY FOUR TEXTILE BLOCK HOUSES WERE EVER BUILT,

AND THEY'VE BECOME WRIGHT'S MOST CONTROVERSIAL BUILDINGS.

THE CONCRETE BLOCKS HAVE CRUMBLED

IN THE SMOG-FILLED LOS ANGELES ATMOSPHERE.

THESE WERE WRIGHT'S ONLY SIGNIFICANT COMMISSIONS

DURING THE WHOLE OF THE 1920s.

HE WAS NOW IN HIS 50s

AND DESPERATE TO REVIVE HIS CAREER.

BUT INSTEAD, HE BECAME TRAPPED

IN A LONG AND EMBARRASSING PUBLIC BATTLE.

AT THE HEART OF IT WAS THE WOMAN

WHO BECAME HIS SECOND WIFE, MIRIAM NOEL.

- MIRIAM NOEL WAS A DISASTER

IN THE MEDIA FOR FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT.

HE MET HER WITHIN MONTHS OF THE DEATH OF MAMAH CHENEY.

I THINK HE ALWAYS NEEDED A WOMAN IN HIS LIFE.

AND SHE, UNFORTUNATELY, BECAME THE ONE.

SHE WENT WITH HIM TO JAPAN.

THEY HAD A TERRIBLE TIME TOGETHER.

AND YET, WHEN HE CAME BACK, HE MARRIED HER.

narrator: AS THE RELATIONSHIP DETERIORATED,

MIRIAM BECAME INCREASINGLY VIOLENT AND UNSTABLE.

WRIGHT LATER CLAIMED SHE WAS INSANE,

BUT THERE WAS A MUCH GRIMMER EXPLANATION.

- SHE WAS A SAD CASE, UNFORTUNATELY.

SHE WAS A MORPHINE ADDICT.

SHE PROBABLY WAS WHAT WE WOULD CALL BIPOLAR TODAY,

THE WAY THAT SHE SEEMS TO HAVE BEHAVED.

- WORSE STILL, MIRIAM WAS ADDING TO THE TENSION

BETWEEN WRIGHT AND HIS MOTHER, WHO ALSO LIVED AT TALIESIN.

ANNA'S ENCOURAGEMENT OF HER SON

HAD TURNED IN LATER YEARS TO BITTER CHIDING.

WHEN FORCED BY MIRIAM TO CHOOSE,

WRIGHT SIDED WITH HIS WIFE AGAINST HIS MOTHER.

ANNA MOVED OUT OF TALIESIN IN 1922.

SHE WAS 83 YEARS OLD.

WHEN SHE DIED FIVE MONTHS LATER,

WRIGHT DIDN'T EVEN ATTEND THE FUNERAL.

A LITTLE MORE THAN A YEAR AFTER HIS MOTHER'S DEATH,

MIRIAM LEFT WRIGHT HERSELF.

BUT SHE CONTINUED TO HAUNT HIM FOR LONG AFTER,

PURSUING HIM THROUGH THE COURTS FOR MAINTENANCE

AND DENOUNCING HIM IN THE PRESS,

PARTICULARLY WHEN SHE DISCOVERED

THAT THERE WAS A NEW WOMAN IN WRIGHT'S LIFE

WHO WAS 30 YEARS HIS JUNIOR-- OLGIVANNA LAZOVICH.

- OLGIVANNA IS A WONDERFUL FIGURE.

SHE'S AS SOPHISTICATED AS MIRIAM,

SHE'S AS SENSITIVE AS MAMAH,

AND SHE'S AS DEVOTED AS ANNA.

SHE'S ALSO BEAUTIFUL. SHE WAS A DANCER.

SHE'S WELL-READ.

SHE'S EVERYTHING THE PERFECT MATE

CAN BE TO A GENIUS.

SO NATURALLY, THEY FALL IN LOVE AND FALL INTO BED,

AND PRETTY SOON THERE'S A BABY ON THE WAY.

narrator: THROUGHOUT ALL THIS TIME,

TALIESIN ITSELF WAS IN TURMOIL.

IT SUFFERED ANOTHER FIRE, ACCIDENTAL THIS TIME, IN 1925,

WHICH DESTROYED THE DOMESTIC WING AGAIN.

WRIGHT CLAIMED TO HAVE LOST $1/2 MILLION WORTH

OF TAPESTRIES AND OTHER ARTIFACTS.

BUT FACED WITH BANKRUPTCY, HE SUDDENLY HIT

UPON A NOVEL AND AUDACIOUS BUSINESS PLAN

THAT EVENTUALLY SAVED HIS RUINED HOME AS WELL.

IT ALSO EXPLAINS ANOTHER CURIOSITY

ABOUT FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT--

WHY, WHEN HE WAS 59,

HE SUDDENLY BEGAN TO LIE ABOUT HIS AGE.

- WRIGHT WAS IN TERRIBLE FINANCIAL STRAITS.

HE ABSOLUTELY HAD TO DO SOMETHING,

AND HE HAD KIND OF A BRILLIANT IDEA.

BEING A GOOD BUSINESSMAN,

HE DECIDED HE WOULD SELL SHARES ON HIMSELF.

- WRIGHT HOPED TO PERSUADE TEN INVESTORS

TO EACH ADVANCE HIM $7,500

IN RETURN FOR A SHARE OF HIS FUTURE EARNINGS.

THERE WAS ONLY ONE PROBLEM.

- HE HAD TO DO SOMETHING SERIOUS ABOUT HIS AGE.

AND HE HAD, AFTER ALL, BEEN BORN IN 1867,

AND THAT IS A POINT AT WHICH HE DECIDES

HE'S GOING TO BE BORN IN 1869.

IF HE'S BORN IN 1869, THAT MAKES HIM 57,

WHICH IS SORT OF THEN IN HIS MIDDLE 50s,

WHICH IS MUCH MORE SELLABLE THAN SOMEONE

WHO'S JUST ABOUT TO BE 60.

AND HE WAS AMAZINGLY SUCCESSFUL AT SIGNING PEOPLE UP.

narrator: 1928 WAS A TURNING POINT.

IN JULY, THE BANK REPOSSESSED TALIESIN.

BUT, FUNDED BY FRIENDS AND SHAREHOLDERS,

WRIGHT WAS ABLE TO BUY IT BACK AT A KNOCKDOWN PRICE.

IN AUGUST, HE WAS GRANTED A DIVORCE FROM MIRIAM,

AND HE IMMEDIATELY MARRIED OLGIVANNA

AND MOVED BACK TO TALIESIN.

THESE WERE STILL DESPERATE TIMES,

BUT WRIGHT HAD A FRESH IMPETUS.

SINCE HE HAD NOTHING TO BUILD,

OLGIVANNA ENCOURAGED HIM TO CAPITALIZE

ON HIS TALENTS AS A SELF-PUBLICIST.

THE RESULT WAS WRIGHT'S AUTOBIOGRAPHY,

PUBLISHED IN 1932, AN EXTRAORDINARY ACT OF BRAVURA

THAT WAS PART MEMOIR, PART MYTHOLOGY,

BUT MOST OF ALL, A MANIFESTO FROM A FRUSTRATED ARTIST

ANXIOUS TO RECLAIM HIS REPUTATION.

- PEOPLE WERE FASCINATED BY IT.

THERE WAS A LOT THEY DID NOT KNOW.

AND, OF COURSE, THIS WAS ALSO

ONE OF THE MAIN MEANS BY WHICH WRIGHT

ESTABLISHED CERTAIN LEGENDS ABOUT HIMSELF.

THIS WAS THE POINT OF THE-- THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY,

THAT I AM AMERICA'S GREATEST ARCHITECT,

AND HERE'S WHY AND HERE ARE MY STORIES.

narrator: THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY WAS A SURPRISE BEST SELLER,

BUT THERE WAS NO IMMEDIATE UPTURN IN COMMISSIONS.

THIS WAS, AFTER ALL, THE PERIOD OF THE GREAT DEPRESSION.

BUT WITH THE HELP OF OLGIVANNA,

WRIGHT HAD DEVISED ANOTHER MONEYMAKING SCHEME,

AND THE BOOK WAS INSTRUMENTAL IN ITS SUCCESS.

IN 1932, HE INVITED STUDENTS TO ENROLL

IN HIS OWN ARCHITECTURAL SCHOOL AT TALIESIN.

FOR AN ANNUAL FEE OF $650,

THEY COULD LIVE, STUDY, AND WORK WITH HIM

IN A SELF-SUSTAINING COMMUNE.

WRIGHT CALLED IT "THE FELLOWSHIP."

- I HAPPENED TO READ MR. WRIGHT'S AUTOBIOGRAPHY.

IT APPEALED TO ME SO GREATLY IN EVERY SENSE

THAT I FELT THAT I HAD TO GET TO TALIESIN.

WHEN I CAME, I WAS 21 YEARS OLD.

THAT WAS IN 1934.

AND AT THAT TIME, THERE WERE ABOUT 20 PEOPLE HERE.

THERE WERE NO COMMISSIONS.

THEREFORE, WE SPENT ALL OUR TIME OUT WORKING ON THE FARM.

MR. WRIGHT INSISTED THAT THE GIRLS

DO ALL THE WORK THE MEN DID.

AND HE USED TO SEND ME OUT INTO THE FOREST TO CUT LOGS.

AND I WOULD GET SO EXHAUSTED

THAT I'D GO BEHIND A TREE AND CRY...

[laughs] AND COME BACK

AND CUT LOGS AGAIN.

narrator: ONE OF THE FIRST PROJECTS FOR THE APPRENTICES

WAS TO BUILD THEIR OWN STUDIO.

- HE CALLED IT "LEARNING BY DOING,"

AND HE WAS IN THE PROCESS ALWAYS OF REBUILDING TALIESIN.

SO HE USED THEM AS LABOR.

AND YOU GOT TWO KINDS OF RESPONSE TO THAT.

YOU GOT THE PEOPLE WHO FELT,

"I AM LEARNING A GREAT DEAL,

"AND I AM NEAR A GREAT MAN,

"AND I AM ABSORBING IDEAS,

"AND I'M WORKING LIKE THE DEVIL,

BUT I'M LOVING EVERY MINUTE OF IT."

AND THEN THE OTHER KIND WOULD SAY,

"HE'S JUST USING US AS LABOR.

"WE PAY HIM TO LABOR AND MAKE HIM

THE GRAND SEIGNEUR OF THIS PLACE."

AND THEY NEVER LASTED. THEY LEFT.

SO YOU ENDED UP, OF COURSE,

WITH THE PEOPLE WHO WERE TRUE BELIEVERS.

narrator: ALTHOUGH THE TALIESIN FELLOWSHIP

WAS A GREAT SUCCESS, WRIGHT'S CAREER HAD STALLED.

HE WAS NOW IN HIS 60s

AND HAD NO COMMISSIONS TO SPEAK OF.

WORST STILL, ARCHITECTURE SEEMED

TO HAVE MOVED ON WITHOUT HIM.

A NEW GENERATION OF EUROPEAN MODERNISTS--

LE CORBUSIER, WALTER GROPIUS, AND MIES VAN DER ROHE--

WERE ATTRACTING INTERNATIONAL ACCLAIM

WITH AUSTERE STEEL-AND-GLASS CONSTRUCTIONS

THAT WERE THE ANTITHESIS OF ORGANIC ARCHITECTURE.

WRIGHT, IT SEEMED, WAS YESTERDAY'S MAN.

- HE WAS CONSIDERED BY MANY PEOPLE

TO HAVE BEEN WASHED UP,

I MEAN, BEEN FINISHED AS AN ARCHITECT.

IN FACT, IN 1932,

THE VERY IMPORTANT SHOW, THE INTERNATIONAL STYLE SHOW

WAS ORGANIZED, AND APPARENTLY,

PHILLIP JOHNSON-- WHO WAS ONE OF THE ORGANIZERS--

WAS ASKED IF WRIGHT SHOULD NOT BE IN THE SHOW.

AND PHILLIP JOHNSON SAID, "WELL, I THOUGHT HE WAS DEAD."

narrator: BUT AGAIN, THE FELLOWSHIP

CAME TO WRIGHT'S RESCUE.

IN 1934, DEPARTMENT STORE OWNER EDGAR KAUFMANN

APPROACHED HIM WITH A COMMISSION FOR A SUMMER HOUSE.

KAUFMANN'S SON HAD BEEN A MEMBER OF THE FELLOWSHIP

AND HAD SUGGESTED WRIGHT'S NAME TO HIS FATHER.

THE HOUSE BECAME KNOWN AS FALLINGWATER,

AND THE STORY OF HOW IT WAS CREATED

HAS PASSED INTO ARCHITECTURAL LEGEND.

WRIGHT ACTUALLY DREW THE PLANS FROM SCRATCH

IN LESS THAN THREE HOURS,

AS THE CLIENT WAS DRIVING TO INSPECT THEM.

- WRIGHT HAD NOT DONE ANY DRAWING OF ANY SORT

BEFORE THAT MOMENT THAT HE WOULD START DOWN

AND--AND DO-- DO THE WHOLE PLAN, YOU SEE.

WRIGHT SAT DOWN ON THE DRAWING TABLE,

AND BOB MOSHER AND I SAT ON THE OTHER SIDE OF HIM,

AND HE STARTED TO DRAW.

AND HE DREW THE FIRST FLOOR.

AND THEN HE DREW THE SECOND FLOOR.

AND THEN HE DREW THE THIRD FLOOR, THE TOP FLOOR.

THEN HE STARTED TO DO THAT ONE BIG ELEVATION.

HE WAS DRAWING SO FAST

THAT HE WOULD BREAK THE PENCILS OFF.

AND WE--BOB AND I, WE'RE JUST--

THE MOMENT ONE WAS DONE,

WE'D HAVE ANOTHER ONE TO HAND HIM.

BUT HE WAS WORKING, JUST PLAIN WORKING.

HE HAD IT ALL IN HIS MIND,

AND HE KNEW THIS WOULD HAVE TO BE

SOMETHING MUCH DIFFERENT

FROM ANYTHING ELSE THAT HE'D EVER DONE.

HE'D NEVER DONE ANYTHING QUITE LIKE THIS AT ALL.

narrator: KAUFMANN APPROVED THE PLANS ON THE SPOT,

AND FALLINGWATER BECAME THE MOST FAMOUS

MODERN HOUSE IN THE WORLD.

WRIGHT'S CAREER WAS RESURRECTED ALMOST INSTANTANEOUSLY.

HERE WAS THE HARD EVIDENCE TO BACK UP

THE BOLD RHETORIC OF HIS AUTOBIOGRAPHY

AND TO SHOW THAT WRIGHT-- WHO WAS NOW NEARLY 70--

WAS STILL A FORCE TO BE RECKONED WITH.

- FALLINGWATER IS OFTEN THOUGHT OF

AS THE GREAT BUILDING OF WRIGHT'S COMEBACK IN THE 1930s.

AND THERE'S NO DOUBT THAT WRIGHT WAS VERY CONSCIOUS

THAT HE HAD TO PROVE HIMSELF AT THAT TIME.

AND HE CLEARLY PICKED UP

SOME OF THE IDEAS OF THE INTERNATIONAL STYLE,

IN PARTICULAR THE FLOATING HORIZONTAL PLANES.

HE RAISED THE BUILDING OFF THE GROUND

AND HID THE SUPPORTS UNDERNEATH

SO THAT IT LOOKED A LITTLE BIT LIKE LE CORBUSIER'S PILOTI.

HE HAD HORIZONTAL, METAL FRAME STRIP WINDOWS.

HE DID THE KINDS OF THINGS

THAT PEOPLE COULD RECOGNIZE AS INTERNATIONAL STYLE

BUT SHOWED THAT HE COULD TRANSFORM THEM

INTO HIS OWN WAY OF THINKING ABOUT BUILDINGS

NOT AS MECHANICAL OBJECTS,

BUT RATHER AS PARTS OF THE LANDSCAPE.

- FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT'S MODERNISM WAS DIFFERENT

FROM EUROPEAN, WHITE INTERNATIONAL-STYLE MODERNISM,

WHICH WAS MUCH MORE SEVERE

AND MUCH MORE REDUCED, MUCH MORE MECHANISTIC.

HE SAID, "MUCH MORE FLAT-CHESTED."

HE DIDN'T LIKE IT.

HE THOUGHT IT WAS RIGID, FRIGID, AND UNATTRACTIVE.

FALLINGWATER DRAWS ON NOT ONLY NATURE

AND THE ENVIRONMENT, BUT IT DRAWS ON THE PAST

IN OUR CONNECTION TO THE EARTH AND THE SKY.

IT HAS THE METAPHOR OF LIFE THROUGHOUT.

AND FOR THAT REASON,

IT'S A MUCH MORE POPULAR BUILDING

THAN THE FARNSWORTH HOUSE OF MIES VAN DER ROHE

OR OTHER MODERNIST MASTERPIECES.

narrator: AND FALLINGWATER'S EXTRAORDINARY GRACE

OWED EVERYTHING TO WRIGHT'S FIRST NATURAL HOUSE, TALIESIN.

- FALLINGWATER COMES SO MUCH OUT OF TALIESIN.

THE SAME STONEWORK IS USED

TO GIVE A SENSE OF THE BUILDING

AS LITERALLY BEING PART OF THE WALL OF THE GLEN...

JUST LIKE TALIESIN LOOKS LIKE PART OF THE HILLSIDE.

AND JUST AS TALIESIN STARTED WITH THE HILL,

IN FALLINGWATER,

THE WATERFALL CAME FIRST, AND THE HOUSE CAME SECOND.

AND THIS IS ABSOLUTELY CRUCIAL

BECAUSE THE HOUSE THEN BECOMES, FIRST OF ALL,

AN EXTRUSION OF THE SITE

AND THEN A MAGNIFICATION OF THE QUALITIES OF THE SITE.

SO IT'S NOT JUST A WATERFALL.

IT'S WHAT A WATERFALL MEANS IN TERMS OF LIFE CYCLES,

OF MIST AND CLOUDS AND TREES,

OF WHITE WATER COMING DOWN IN THE SPRING

AND DYING OFF IN THE FALL, SNOW COMING,

AND THEN THE WHOLE CYCLE STARTING AGAIN.

narrator: FALLINGWATER RESTORED WRIGHT'S REPUTATION,

AND IN ITS WAKE CAME MORE AND MORE OFFERS

TO DESIGN PUBLIC BUILDINGS.

THESE WERE THE KINDS OF COMMISSIONS

HE'D ALWAYS YEARNED FOR BECAUSE THEY REPRESENTED

CRITICAL RECOGNITION IN THE MAINSTREAM.

BUT THROUGHOUT HIS CAREER, WRIGHT COULD NEVER

RESIST THE CALL OF DOMESTIC ARCHITECTURE,

WHICH HAD BEEN THE BEDROCK OF HIS SUCCESS.

- WE HAD NEVER SEEN A WRIGHT BUILDING

UNTIL WE SAW FALLINGWATER.

AT FIRST, IT WAS RATHER STARTLING.

WHEN YOU'RE NOT ACCUSTOMED TO MR. WRIGHT'S ARCHITECTURE

AND YOU SEE FALLINGWATER FOR THE FIRST TIME,

YOU CAN IMAGINE--

IT'S A SHOCK IN A WAY.

BUT THE MORE WE SAW IT, THE BETTER WE LIKED IT.

WE ASKED MR. KAUFMANN, SR.

IF HE THOUGHT MR. WRIGHT WOULD DO THE HOUSE,

AND HE SAID, "CALL HIM.

DON'T WRITE. HE WON'T ANSWER A LETTER."

SO WE PUT IN A PERSON-TO-PERSON CALL.

AND HE SAID, "WELL, COME ON OUT."

narrator: THIS WAS THE STANDARD INVITATION

FOR PROSPECTIVE CLIENTS, TO VISIT TALIESIN,

WHERE WRIGHT HELD COURT.

- YOU WERE INVITED FOR DINNER,

AND WE SAT WITH THE WRIGHTS,

BUT THEY--THEY SORT OF--

IT WASN'T ROYALTY AS YOU KNOW ROYALTY.

IT WASN'T LIKE THAT, BUT IN A WAY IT WAS.

THEY WERE LOOKED UPON LIKE THAT BY THE FELLOWSHIP.

- TALIESIN WAS A PLACE

THAT WAS THE LOCUS OF HIS OPERATION.

NOT ONLY THAT, IT WAS THE PLACE

I THINK THAT WRIGHT USED TO TEST PEOPLE.

AND WHEN WRIGHT WOULD INVITE CLIENTS

TO COME TO TALIESIN...

TO SEE IF THEY WOULD GET ALONG,

IF HE WOULD BE REALLY THE RIGHT ARCHITECT FOR THEM,

IN A WAY, HE WAS INVITING THEM

TO SEE HOW LIVING IN A BUILDING BY HIM

WAS LIKE LIVING WITH HIM.

- THE BIGGEST PROBLEM WAS THE KITCHEN.

SO I TOOK IT UPON MYSELF

TO BE THE ONE TO SPEAK UP ABOUT THAT.

AND I SAID, "MR. WRIGHT,

"WE REALLY SHOULD HAVE SPACE FOR A FREEZER

SO WE COULD HAVE FOOD ON HAND."

WELL, HE PONDERED OVER THIS FOR QUITE A LONG TIME.

FINALLY, HE SAID, "WE WILL ALLOW YOU

A SMALL BASEMENT."

IT WASN'T, "WE WILL, YOU KNOW, GIVE YOU A BASEMENT."

"WE WILL ALLOW YOU A SMALL BASEMENT."

BUT HE WAS VERY GRACIOUS.

HE SEEMED TO LIKE TO DO THE SMALL HOUSE.

THAT SEEMED TO BE ONE OF HIS FAVORITE THINGS.

AND WE--WE REALLY GOT A MARVELOUS HOUSE, I-I THINK.

narrator: THE SUCCESS OF WHAT WAS EFFECTIVELY

WRIGHT'S SECOND CAREER WAS REFLECTED

IN THE TALIESIN FELLOWSHIP, WHICH HAD GROWN IN NUMBERS

AND NOW INCLUDED A WINTER STUDIO IN ARIZONA.

WRIGHT HAD ORIGINALLY STARTED THE FELLOWSHIP

AS A WAY OF GENERATING INCOME.

BUT AS HIS REPUTATION FLOURISHED,

HE WAS LOOKED ON MORE AND MORE

AS AN ARCHITECTURAL GURU.

- AS I WAS DRIVING UP HERE,

I GOT THE FUNNY FEELING I'M NOT GOING SOMEWHERE.

I'M RETURNING SOMEWHERE.

NOW, I THOUGHT MR. WRIGHT WOULD BE ABOUT 10 FEET TALL.

HE WAS 5'8". HE'S ACTUALLY MY HEIGHT.

HE CAME UP, SHOOK MY HAND, AND SAID,

"YOUNG MAN,

"YOU HAVE A VERY PALE COMPLEXION.

OUR WAY OF LIFE IS GONNA DO YOU A WORLD OF GOOD."

- I JUST THOUGHT, "I HAVE COME HOME.

"THIS IS WHAT I HAVE BEEN LOOKING FOR

"IN THE ARCHITECTURE, IN THE LIFE,

IN THE PHILOSOPHY, IN THE PEOPLE."

THE BEAUTY OF IT ALL

AND THE FACT THAT IT WAS LIKE A ROCKET

WHICH WAS GOING OFF INTO SPACE,

AND I HAD THE CHANCE TO GET ON THAT ROCKET.

ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I MOST ENJOYED

AT TALIESIN WHEN I CAME HERE

WAS THE UNPREDICTABILITY OF EVERYTHING.

EACH DAY, WE GOT UP,

AND THERE WAS GONNA BE A NEW ADVENTURE.

AND LEADING THE PARADE WAS FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT.

HE WAS THE YOUNGEST OF US ALL.

NATURE WAS HIS INSPIRATION,

AND HE WAS ABLE TO LOOK AT THAT.

AND THEN, WHEN HE WOULD DESIGN SOMETHING,

HE WOULD BE INSPIRED BY IT,

BUT YOU WOULDN'T BE ABLE TO MAKE THE CONNECTION YOURSELF

BETWEEN WHAT INSPIRED HIM AND WHAT HE'D DESIGNED.

IT WAS A MAGICAL PROCESS.

narrator: WRIGHT WAS NOW IN HIS 80s,

AND ALTHOUGH HE WAS STILL CREATIVELY ENERGETIC,

HE RELIED INCREASINGLY ON OLGIVANNA

AS THE FRONTLINE MANAGER OF THE FELLOWSHIP.

- WELL, IF FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT WAS OUR FATHER,

OLGIVANNA LLOYD WRIGHT WAS LIKE THE MOTHER OF US ALL.

AND IF WE HAD ANY TROUBLES,

WE WOULD GO TO MRS. WRIGHT,

AND SHE WAS ALWAYS VERY UNDERSTANDING.

AND IT WAS LIKE IN--

I SUPPOSE IN THE CATHOLIC CHURCH,

YOU HAVE CONFESSION.

narrator: AND AS OLGIVANNA'S ROLE EXPANDED,

HER OWN INTEREST BECAME MORE CONSPICUOUS.

DURING THE 1920s, SHE HAD STUDIED

UNDER THE GERMAN MYSTIC GEORGE GURDJIEFF,

AND SHE BEGAN TO BRING SOME OF HIS THEORIES

OF PSYCHOLOGY AND HUMAN RELATIONS INTO TALIESIN.

- SHE LIKED TO BE THE MATCHMAKER

AND TO ARRANGE COUPLES.

AND THAT WAS A PART OF HER.

SHE WAS VERY INTERESTED IN THE HUMAN PSYCHE.

SOME OF HER WAYS WERE MACHIAVELLIAN, AND--

AND SOME PEOPLE REALLY RESENTED THAT.

THEY FELT THAT SHE WAS MANIPULATIVE,

AND THAT--THAT DREW AWAY FROM FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT.

- I MEAN, I WAS MARRIED AT HER SUGGESTION.

THE PERSON I KNEW WAS 19 YEARS OLDER

THAN I WAS AT THAT TIME,

AND SHE SAID, "BRUCE, WHY DON'T YOU MARRY HER?"

BUT TO THINK THAT SHE WAS PLOTTING PEOPLE UP?

NO, I THINK THERE WAS SOME OVER-EXAGGERATING OF THAT.

HER ROLE? SHE USED TO SAY

THE MOST IMPORTANT THING IN HER LIFE WAS HIS HEALTH.

AND ALSO, SHE SURROUNDED HIM WITH A GROUP OF PEOPLE

WHO WERE CONDUCIVE TO BEING CREATIVE.

IF AN APPRENTICE WAS NEGATIVE,

THEN SHE DREW A BARRIER BETWEEN THEM AND MR. WRIGHT.

IF THE APPRENTICES WERE THERE BECAUSE THEY LOVED HIM,

THEY LOVED HIS WORK, SHE OPENED THE DOOR.

- IT'S VERY HARD TO KNOW EXACTLY

WHAT WRIGHT HIMSELF FELT

ABOUT HIS OWN CULT OF THE PERSONALITY.

HE WAS SURROUNDED BY ACOLYTES WHO HE HAD TERRORIZED

TO FOLLOW THE WRIGHTIAN STYLE,

AND HE MUST'VE SEEN THE PROBLEMS

WHEN OLGIVANNA AND THE CULT OF THE PERSONALITY TOOK OVER,

AND THEY PRODUCED REALLY BAD WRIGHT ARCHITECTURE.

AND IT'S INTERESTING--

HIS CHIEF DRAFTSMAN, WES PETERS, MARRIES

STALIN'S DAUGHTER, SVETLANA.

AND SHE COMES TO TALIESIN, SAYS,

"THIS IS AS BAD AS MOSCOW UNDER STALIN."

narrator: FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT DIED ON APRIL 9, 1959.

HE WAS 91 YEARS OLD.

THE LAST TEN YEARS HAD BEEN THE BUSIEST OF HIS LIFE.

HE WAS CARRIED TO HIS GRAVE ON A FLOWER-COVERED CART

AND BURIED IN THE GROUNDS OF THE FAMILY CHAPEL IN WISCONSIN,

JUST AS MAMAH HAD BEEN OVER 40 YEARS EARLIER

WITHIN SIGHT OF THE HOUSE HE HAD FIRST

BUILT FOR THEM BOTH, TALIESIN.

IN 70 YEARS AS AN ARCHITECT,

FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT PRODUCED OVER 400 BUILDINGS.

A CAREER THAT BEGAN IN THE VICTORIAN AGE

HAS EXTENDED POSTHUMOUSLY INTO THE DIGITAL AGE.

WHEN JOE MASSARO BOUGHT HIS OWN ISLAND

IN UPSTATE NEW YORK, HE DISCOVERED

THAT WRIGHT HAD DESIGNED A HOUSE

SPECIFICALLY FOR THAT LOCATION IN 1949,

BUT IT WAS NEVER BUILT.

- WHEN I DECIDED TO BUILD THIS HOUSE,

I HAD ONE REQUIREMENT MYSELF,

AND THAT WAS TO BUILD IT EXACTLY TO HIS PLANS.

IF YOU LOOK AT THIS HOUSE, IT HAS SOME UNIQUE FEATURES.

LIKE IT HAS A ROCK INSIDE THE HOUSE

THAT'S 12' HIGH AND 50' LONG BUILT RIGHT IN.

IT'S CALLED "THE WHALE ROCK."

THIS IS THE MAIN ENTRANCE.

YOU'RE SQUEEZED INTO THIS TINY ENTRANCE.

FROM OUTSIDE, IT'S LIKE COMING INTO A CAVE.

BUT ONCE YOU OPEN THESE DOORS

AND YOU WALK INTO THIS VAST ROOM,

YOU KNOW YOU'RE IN A FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT HOUSE.

THIS DECK IS THE LARGEST CANTILEVER HE EVER DESIGNED.

THE PROBLEM WAS WHEN HE DESIGNED IT,

IF HE BUILT IT BACK IN 1950,

IT WOULDN'T BE STANDING.

WE USE NEW CONSTRUCTION TECHNOLOGY

TO BUILD THIS DECK TODAY.

INSIDE THE CONCRETE, EVERY 6 INCHES

IN TWO DIRECTIONS ARE 5/8THS-THICK CABLE

THAT, TWO DAYS AFTER THE CONCRETE DRIES,

ARE PULLED TO 33,000 POUNDS

TO GIVE THIS ALMOST THE EFFECT OF A BRIDGE.

SO THIS BUILDING WILL BE HERE

AS LONG AS THE PYRAMIDS, THE WAY I SEE IT.

narrator: IT'S WRIGHT'S DESIGNS THAT MOST FREQUENTLY

MAKE THE NEWS THESE DAYS,

BUT FOR REASONS THAT HE AS AN ARCHITECT MIGHT REGRET.

FALLINGWATER'S BREATHTAKING CANTILEVERS HAVE SAGGED,

THE GUGGENHEIM IS CURRENTLY SURROUNDED BY SCAFFOLDING,

AND THE ENNIS HOUSE-- WHICH HAS BEEN

A FAVORITE LOCATION OF HOLLYWOOD DIRECTORS FOR YEARS--

IS IN DANGER OF COMPLETE COLLAPSE.

THERE'S AN IMPLIED CRITICISM IN ALL THESE PRESS REPORTS

THAT WRIGHT'S WORK JUST DOESN'T STAND UP.

- ALL OF WRIGHT'S BUILDINGS HAD SHORTCOMINGS

OR DEFECTS OF SOME KIND

BECAUSE HE WAS ALWAYS AHEAD OF THE TECHNOLOGY.

BUT THERE'S A KIND OF SCHADENFREUDE,

YOU KNOW, THAT WONDERFUL FEELING

OF DELIGHTING IN OTHER PEOPLE'S MISFORTUNES.

"OH, YOU'RE SUCH A GENIUS.

YES, LOOK, YOUR BUILDING'S FALLING APART."

THAT'S MUCH MORE FUN.

THEY TAKE MUCH MORE PLEASURE IN THAT

THAN SAY, "BUT THIS MAN WAS SO BRILLIANT.

"HE WAS TRYING SO HARD TO DO SOMETHING

"THAT COULDN'T EVEN BE DONE FOR ANOTHER 50 YEARS,

AND HE DID IT IN AN AMAZING WAY."

- THERE'S SO MUCH TO ADMIRE IN FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT.

THERE'S A SENSIBILITY THAT WE'VE LOST

THAT FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT NEVER LOST SIGHT OF,

AND THAT IS, "WHAT IS IT GONNA BE LIKE

"TO LIVE IN THIS HOUSE?

HOW DOES THIS HOUSE RELATE TO ITS SURROUNDINGS?"

EVERY HOUSE HE EVER BUILT

WAS BUILT WITH THAT IN MIND.

AND THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THAT, TO ME,

IS HOW DOES MAN RELATE TO HIS WORLD?

HOW DOES HE BECOME AN ESSENTIAL,

INTEGRAL PART OF THAT WORLD?

HOW DOES HE LIVE IN HARMONY WITH THAT WORLD?

- AS AN INTELLECTUAL YOURSELF, MR. WRIGHT,

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF-- - I DON'T LIKE INTELLECTUALS.

- YOU DON'T LIKE INTELLECTUALS? WHY NOT?

- BECAUSE THEY'RE SUPERFICIAL. THEY'RE UP TOP.

THEY'RE FROM THE TOP DOWN, NOT FROM THE GROUND UP,

AND I'VE ALWAYS THOUGHT OF MYSELF

AND WHAT I REPRESENTED WAS FROM THE GROUND UP.

DOES THAT MEAN ANYTHING?

- I'M TRYING TO FIGURE IT OUT.

[laughter]

[intricate classical piano music]

♪