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ericmayyesterday at 3:24 PM2 repliesview on HN

> You think Frank Lloyd Wright designed big picture windows and open floor plans because he was afraid of humanity? He was afraid so he tried to induce fear?

No, I was speaking about the exterior. The blending in of the surroundings, and hiding of things like the entrance are the hallmark of post-war architectural trends. Not that I'm claiming Lloyd suffered from the same PTSD that returning American veterans did, but his building follows some of the same patterns.

For example, here: where's the door? http://www.wright-house.com/frank-lloyd-wright/fallingwater-...

But moving to the widows, even from that photo you can see how while the interior gives the occupants a nice view, the exterior hides them - sort of like a bunker.

> Through asymmetry? What then of William Blake’s “fearful symmetry”?

Idk, can you elaborate? We know as a matter of scientific study that asymmetry in architectural design introduces stress, let me know if you'd like a source in case you are curious.

> Amazing that FLW is still traumatizing conservatives 100 years later. Ayn Rand was a fan, didn’t you know?

I don't understand this comment. Why would I care what Ayn Rand thinks or thought?

> Picasso was trying to convey the feeling of being bombed from the sky in a civil war, so at least your reading there is accurate.

Sure. But in that interpretation I find cold, calculating, death, and fear. None of which I find particularly attractive in art. And Picasso in these years is probably the best "good" example of this style of art. Afterwards it gets more and more psychotic to the point where you've got the whole banana taped to a wall for $6 million. Western artists have forgotten what art is and what the purpose of it is, in my opinion.


Replies

amanaplanacanalyesterday at 3:52 PM

Yes please, for the sources on assymetrical architecture and stress. That's totally new to me, and I'd love to read about it.

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relaxingyesterday at 6:17 PM

> No, I was speaking about the exterior.

But windows are exterior? The idea that massing of interior influences the form of the exterior is part of Wright's philosophy. I don't believe you know what you speak of.

> The blending in of the surroundings, and hiding of things like the entrance are the hallmark of post-war architectural trends. Not that I'm claiming Lloyd suffered from the same PTSD that returning American veterans did, but his building follows some of the same patterns.

First I've heard the sensitivity to natural surroundings was because of war. Wright lived through the Spanish-American war and the Great War, but completed Fallingwater before WW2 (which is what we generally mean by "postwar.")

> For example, here: where's the door? http://www.wright-house.com/frank-lloyd-wright/fallingwater-...

You can look up plans online if you're really curious, but since you asked it's right there, in the shadow. Maybe stop basing architectural opinions on underexposed photos. Or is it because you want a grand entrance that announces the owner's ostentatiousness?

> I don't understand this comment. Why would I care what Ayn Rand thinks or thought?

You're espousing some conservative viewpoints, so I figured you'd be interested in others.

> Western artists have forgotten what art is and what the purpose of it is

Bizarre opinion. Artists philosophizing on the definition of art and its purpose is the defining feature of modern art. You're just mad they concluded it extends beyond Renoir's florid, gauzy depictions of girls.

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