Analysis of the Frank Lloyd Wright's Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum by Frank Lloyd Wright - Coursework Example

Frank Lloyd Wright Biography of Frank Lloyd Wright Frank Lloyd Wright was born on 8th June 1867 in Wisconsin, United s of America. His personality stems from the fact that he was one of the most sought after architects of his time. His characteristic styles as concerns to architecture are something that is spoken of highly even in the present era. American architecture and building works owe a lot of appreciation and praise for Frank Lloyd Wright and his work undoubtedly is the face of modern America as we see it today. For this reason, he is remembered as America’s most famous architect. When we take a closer look at his life, we find that Frank Lloyd Wright was renowned for having a colorful and exciting personal life. Due to these reasons, he frequented headlines of leading dailies. He had three marriages to his credit – with Catherine Lee Tobin in the year 1889, with Miriam Noel in 1922 and lastly with Olga Milanov Hinzenberg in 1928. Frank Lloyd Wright had Welsh descent and his birth took place couple of years after the American Civil War ended. One can easily see that his upbringing owes a lot to the Unitarian and transcendental ideologies. Since childhood, he showed a lot of interest in building blocks that the young ones played with at the kindergarten. These educational blocks were given to him by his mother. These blocks consisted of geometrical shapes and thus from the early days Frank Lloyd Wright was very clear about the geometrical sense and the same is even visible in his work. A number of his architectural works manifest the geometrical clarity which is so very important to have on the part of engineers and architects. His formal education began in the year 1885 when he enrolled at the University of Wisconsin-Madison School for Engineering. He was an apprentice for a local builder known as Allan Darst Conover which really helped his engineering skills endlessly. Soon he left the university without having the degree under his belt and came over to Chicago where he joined an architectural firm called Joseph Lyman Silsbee. After that he started to work for Adler & Sullivan within a period of 12 months. He did a lot of residential design work for this firm and an unfortunate event happened when the firm came to know that Frank Lloyd Wright was accepting individual clients. This forced Frank Lloyd Wright to establish his own practice and started his work from home in Chicago. During his life long work endeavors, he completed round about fifty projects which included a number of different houses in his native land. In order to gain an economic standing within the society, he married the daughter of a well known business man who was known for his lavish spending. This raised his stature within the society and thus his work started to blossom as a result of the same undertaking. Some of his significant works included the Robie House, Fallingwater, Johnson Wax Building, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum and the Florida Southern College. Frank Lloyd Wright died on 9th April 1959 in Phoenix, Arizona. Analysis of Robie House Frank Lloyd Wright constructed the Robie House. It is basically a residential prairie school style piece of art which was built in the year 1910. The Robie House is located in the campus that is encompassed by the University of Chicago situated in the Hyde Park. Developer William Zeckendorf in the year 1963 presented this piece of art to the University of Chicago. In the current times, the Robie House serves as a museum which is being operated under the auspices of the Frank Lloyd Wright Preservation Trust. Its renovations started in the year 2001 and have continued from time to time. Chicago Alumni used to hold different functions here at the Robie House in the past. The art glass windows present a serene look to the whole architecture where different colors and lighting effects are prominent to the eye of one and all. The architecture of the Robie House presents a modern look to it. One can easily feel the warmth and a sense of liking as far as its architectural basis is concerned. Also the fact that the Robie House is something of a fashion symbol raises more attention nonetheless. Not only is art pretty much evident from the work of Frank Lloyd Wright in the shape of the Robie House but there is an attachment of spirituality attached with it as well. For this reason, the Robie House has been voted as being one of the top ten buildings within America in present times which is no mean feat by any account. The integration of materials and the design aspects for domestic life to harness within it are some of the significant features that encompass within the Robie House. The structure and the furnishings are properly integrated which makes it all the more appealing to a commoner and even a student of architecture can learn a whole lot more out of it. The Robie House project is indeed way ahead of its time as it has captured the imagination of one and all. The commemorative stamps in the name of Frank Lloyd Wright and the Robie House suggest that it indeed was something to cherish as far as the American nation is concerned. More than anything else, one should believe the fact that the Robie House not only presented a design of its own self in the form of its basis but also opened the door for a number of aspiring and to be architects within the lengths and breadths of the United States of America. Frank Lloyd Wright considered the Robie House as one of his most significant creations and thus it is rightly judged by the critics and architects alike in different surveys which are held from time to time. The manner in which it has caught the eye and indeed the imagination of one and all is something to write home about. Analysis of Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum Another of Frank Lloyd Wright’s structural geniuses is in the form of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum. It is a modern art museum which is situated in the New York City. Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation owns a number of different museums but indeed the best known amongst the lot is this one, which at times is also known as ‘The Guggenheim’. As far as the New York City is concerned, The Guggenheim Museum is surely one of the best known ones. Some people in the past have critically judged this museum as the one that depicts non-objective painting and for this reason is known time and again as the ‘Museum of Non-Objective Painting’. The avant-garde form of art was the main focus when The Guggenheim came into being and with it brought a whole list of different architectural endeavors and projects. Early modernists who were more closely attached with the avant-garde art did their best to showcase their talents. Amongst these were Wassily Kandinsky and Piet Mondrian to name a few. The Guggenheim overlooks the Central Park and moved to this location after Frank Lloyd Wright’s design for the said project was accomplished. Indeed this is Frank Lloyd Wright’s last significant works and for this reason it has great attachment with the personality and even the masterpieces that Frank Lloyd Wright built during his time period. The class and elegance are easily manifested by The Guggenheim and this makes all the more reason for it being remarked as one of the very best when one speaks of the architectural geniuses. The completion of The Guggenheim brought a polarization as far as the architectural critics were concerned and thus there was a hit debate which is still existent to date. Such was the class and finesse of this museum that people even in the current times have one thing or the other to suggest about it. The white ribbon look of The Guggenheim slacked into a cylindrical stack makes it all the more appealing since its variations are a bit more wider at the top than at the bottom. The Manhattan buildings look very different from The Guggenheim since it has a contrasting look to it and thus adds to the charm and charisma offered by it. The viewing gallery inside is in the form of the spiral pretty much visible right from the top down towards the bottom. The spiral has different walls which have paintings hung upon them and for having extra paintings; there are separate rooms so that viewing rooms have varied stages within The Guggenheim. The basic criticism that has come out of The Guggenheim is that the building itself overshadows much of the artwork which is on display but when seen from the broader context, this is not a mistake which has been done by Frank Lloyd Wright rather there must be a shortcoming on the part of the painters who fail to match or even go ahead when the architectural designs and masterpieces are concerned. They must give in their due just like Frank Lloyd Wright has contributed. BIBLIOGRAPHY Larkin, David Frank Lloyd Wright: The Masterworks Rizzoli, 1993 Sands, Ellen Frank Lloyd Wright: Building Case for Genius The Washington Times, 1998 Sherer, Daniel Fragments of the Modern Art Journal, Vol. 62, 2003 Smith, Dina The Narrative Limits of the Global Guggenheim Mosaic (Winnipeg), Vol. 35, 2002 Word Count: 1,522 Read More