Taliesin West

On a whim this past Saturday we toured Taliesin West, the former winter residence and brainchild of pioneering American architect/designer/eccentric/genius/egomaniac Frank Lloyd Wright. According to Deidre, our efficient tour guide, Mr. Wright would affix a tile (see above) with his signature to those projects not deviating from his original design. Considering this, I find the tile he attached to Taliesin West absolutely hilarious. As are several other bits of information...that he and his wife Olgivanna would host large parties for dignitaries and movie-stars, requiring all the apprentices (slaves) to prepare the food and serve. Apart from serving and studying, the apprentices were encouraged to: play a musical instrument, sing, dance, read poetry, act----all under the guise of achieving well-roundedness----but probably more likely to entertain the many guests invited to Taliesin West.

Mr. Wright was a seventy year old man when he hiked into the Arizona desert to find the perfect site for his winter residence. Taliesin West is built by means of the very place it inhabits using desert masonry, a method and term of FLW's own creation. Of course, the apprentices hauled the matter to the site and certain rocks are noted by how many cadets were needed to carry them. Originally the site was open to the air---consisting of canvas, void of glass and electricity. The encroaching power lines of the ever expanding Phoenix area angered Mr. Wright. To express his displeasure he had a part of Taliesin that used to look out over the valley walled up so that he no longer saw it. But, in a turn of sentiment not too long after, demanded that electricity be accessible before his winter arrival. When he decided to install glass in the complex he refused to move several vases even a few inches to make way for the new substance. As a result the apprentices cut the glass to the vase and part of it sticks outside and part inside.

In the short tour---ninety minutes---I was briefly acquainted with the importance of the person behind the design. I marvelled at his stubbornness, his willingness to try new things, his confidence. Often I had heard of the natural elements Mr. Wright incorporated in his designs, but i was never informed that the man himself was a force of nature. His creative flair and proliferation ceased only with his death at ninety-one. Taliesin West is a tribute to energy at any age. Whether you decide to trek out to the desert at seventy or seven...it's all in what you make of it. Though I'm sure it helps to be a genius and have a few apprentices at your disposal.