The only thing more audacious than Frank Lloyd Wright’s architecture was his temperament. This statement is proven true in a recently released video produced by Blank on Blank, in which the architect’s 1957 interview with Mike Wallace is set to a fun, animated short. In it, a 90-year-old Wright talks about his personal conviction that he would have been able to improve United States architecture in its entirety in just 15 years. He also combats criticism of his work and, specifically, a statement which compared his Guggenheim Museum to a washing machine, saying
“Well, I’ve heard a lot of that type of reaction and I’ve always discounted it as worthless…I think any man who really has faith in himself will be dubbed arrogant, I suppose”.
The two go on to talk about Wright’s general dissatisfaction with religious architecture, as well as the entire New York skyline, and architecture across the United States. The video ends with Wright trumpeting his clients’ feedback, saying his work has the capacity to change “the character of their whole life and their whole existence”.
Architects and citizens around the world may be divided on Wright’s talent, but his structures nevertheless remain some of the most talked-about and easily recognizable works in the modern built environment. And if you still don’t think this is so, watch the video and see if Wright’s self confidence isn’t enough to convince you of his great talent.
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