"Great artist," "Masterpiece," "Architectural miracle" etc etc and etc.

Oct 01, 2003

"Great artist," "Masterpiece," "Architectural miracle" etc etc and etc.

I add Janet Maslin to my list of people who assume FrankLloydWright's magnificence but can never seem to get around to articulating why. Her review of a new book about Fallingwater mentions nothing about the house itself but only about the personalities and sociology surrounding its building. (I assume that Maslin's comments should, for the review to be a decent one, reflect the tone of the book.)

I've really got to get to the bottom of this.

Oct 1, 2003 12:29:00 PM

3 Comments

About Janet Maslin's review in the
September 29 2003 New York Times of my
new book, "Fallingwater Rising," and your
charge that the book probably says little
about Wright and architecture: not true.
Get the book: you'll see that its 14
divisions cover EVERYTHING, from design,
construction, engineering, PR, Luce, FDR,
Ayn Rand--all that went into what is
truly among the greatest of America's creations.

Posted by: Franklin Toker | Oct 04, 2003 at 12:29 AM

The author responds and I thank him.

Maslin's review must indeed be indeed a shallow one, which does not alter my larger question, of course, which is why is the thing (Fallingwater) so important?

Posted by: David Sucher | Oct 06, 2003 at 07:58 AM

Moreover, the whole thing illustrates my point: Maslin can be lazy and simply assume Wright's genius and give us a puff piece review which focusses on gossip not the work.

Posted by: David Sucher | Oct 19, 2004 at 08:08 AM

The comments to this entry are closed.

Reflections on a supermarket Samizdata (Johnathan Pearce) offers some interesting reflections on a supermarket "I say that if small stores are indeed being forced under, it has more to do with the burdens of regulation and tax which necessarily weigh more heavily on small firms than on larger, more established ones." Possible explanation but from my experience I'd suggest that small stores with limited stock and higher prices cannot compete ---except on the basis of convenience --- that carton of cigarettes or milk ---...

I don't watch enough TV Sneaking Suspicions missed it too but went back to read the transcipt of a 60 Minutes piece on eminent domain i.e. condemnation or compulsory sale. It is indeed an outrage that one of the essential requirements of eminent domain --- "public purpose" --- can be so easily degraded to mere "it would be nicer this way."