The Art of Seeing: Morning Talk at Taliesin West With Frank Lloyd Wright
I wanted to share with you something I came across in my Frank Lloyd Wright research. I am always interested in Wright's "creative process" not just the final result of it. It's not an easy subject to study but everyone once an awhile, I come across a small piece that gives me a small peak inside.
This is an excerpt from a Sunday morning talk given to his apprentices, November 29, 1952 on desert life.
Remember they are in the Sonoran desert at Taliesin West in November so I imagine them taking a little desert hike as Wright is speaking. How awesome would that be?
Wright starts off by talking about the King of the Sonoran desert, the Saguaro, he says...
"A characteristic thing in the desert here is, of course, the desert itself. And I have always regarded it as the greatest lesson in construction. Form following function if you like - or form and function being one - that exists. The saguaro is the greatest example of a skyscraper that was ever built."
Can you image a mile high "saguaro" skyscraper? Yes, please!
Then a warning that anyone walking through the desert for the first time should know. He says,
"There isn't a thing in the desert that isn't armed to the, not to the teeth exactly, but, to the top and at the top. Everywhere you go you get prodded, stuck, cut, torn or something or other if you interfere with any of it. So the best thing to do is to give it a wide berth. Just look at it and admire it because it does achieve a beautiful synthesis of form appropriate to its purpose."
Solid advice people! The desert will get you. =)
He also talks about,
"a cactus bloom is beyond any bloom"
Now here is where we get into what I believe is a sneak peak into Wright's creative process.
He writes,
"But all these things are worth studying, worth attention and your leisure hours... Now if you take advantage of that when you are here, why you will cash in on something that will stay with you all your lives. And of course we are all interested in form, in design. And if you really are interested in design you will see it in everything you look at. You will see an element and principle of design that really is harmonious, that is significant, that has individuality, that has this quality we call style which is the search always of an architect.
The great benefit to you all in being here in these circumstances is to just get into it and learn, understand, appreciate what you see around you. And it is only the seeing eye that is ever going to produce. So here you have a chance to see things, to learn the art of seeing, which is, of course, another form of being, isn’t it? You can’t see anymore than you are. You can’t see in any way other than the way you are either. But you can cultivate that. You can grow in it by exercising it little by little. And when it is achieved, it is the most remarkable wonderful resource in the world."
So a quick summary:
Get into it and learn it (from a safe distance)
Understand it
Appreciate it (love this)
See it
Cultivate how you see it
Exercise (little by little) how you see it
I believe Wright did a lot more seeing in his world than we know. He took in all the little details and structures and filed them away until he had a design in his head. He talks about wandering the hills of Wisconsin and seeing the colors and textures of the prairies. And now as an older man he is teaching that to his apprentices. He had taken the time to see and had mastered the "Art Of Seeing".
All above images taken spring 2024 at Taliesin West.