Frank Lloyd Wright's Taliesin [CD-ROM]

Susan Jacobs Lockhart (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 2004

Frank Lloyd Wright’s architectural masterpiece Taliesin served as his residence and studio from 1911 until his death in 1959.  It remains home to the architectural school he founded in 1932, and to the offices of Taliesin architects.  Designed as a self-sustaining community for working, learning, and living, Taliesin was Wright’s ongoing laboratory for testing new architectural ideas.  As a result its buildings embody a profound spirit of experimentation and improvisation.  Robert Campbell, architect and Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, has called Taliesin the "greatest single work of American art."

This interactive CD-ROM contains a comprehensive two-hour multimedia overview of the entire Taliesin estate by Susan Jacobs Lockhart. Lockhart, who joined the Fellowship in 1958 to live and work as an artist, educator, and musician, draws upon her forty-five years at Taliesin to provide insight into the buildings’ histories as well as Wright’s life and career.  Additional video interviews with Bruce Brooks Pfeiffer, Director of the Frank Lloyd Wright Archives, and other Taliesin Fellowship members who lived and worked with Frank Lloyd Wright at Taliesin, are also included.  The commentaries are profusely illustrated with historical photographs from the FLLW Archives, as well as new photographs commissioned exclusively for this CD-ROM.  Also included is an extensive interactive virtual tour that contains a unique cross-referenced archive of photographs, 360-degree virtual reality panoramas, and many of Wright’s original drawings (sketches, perspectives, plans, sections, elevations, and details.

The Planet Architecture series of e-archives provide virtual tours which transcend the capabilities of traditional media. Utilizing an intuitive multi-referenced interface, e-archives allow users self-directed experiences through a comprehensive collection of videos, photographs, VR panoramic views, drawings, and renderings.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Susan Jacobs Lockhart, the daughter of Wright clients who built two important houses, Usonia I (1936) and Solar Hemicycle (1943), now National Landmark sites, was a friend of the Fellowship from an early age. She joined the Fellowship with her first husband in 1958, after graduating in Art Education from the University of Wisconsin and working in New York. At Taliesin, her creativity in the arts was first expressed as a solo and chamber pianist and then as principal dancer with the Taliesin Festival of Music and Dance from 1958 to1970. Through apprenticeship, she became the architectural firm's graphic designer for the next ten years and, since the 1980's, has created her own abstract geometric designs in leaded and deep-carved glass, stained wood and fabric applique. Her work has been exhibited in galleries in Arizona, Wisconsin, California and South Carolina. Tableware and small glass sculptures are licensed products marketed nationwide.

Lockhart's wide variety of activities in the Fellowship have ranged from being a cook, musician, and member of the School faculty, to membership on the Boards of The Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation, Taliesin Preservation Inc and Taliesin Architects. She has served the community as a member of the Board of Directors of Rural Musicians Forum, Bach Dancing and Dynamite Chamber Ensemble, Jazz in Arizona and Frank Lloyd Wright Building Conservancy. She has also served on the American Players Theatre Advisory Committee and Arts and Culture Visioning Committee, Scottsdale, AZ. Lockhart regularly organizes cultural events and productions open to the public at both Taliesin and Taliesin West. She and her late husband, Kenneth Lockhart, together designed and built a residence and studio at Taliesin West.

Lockhart regularly speaks and writes on architectural subjects, relating to Frank Lloyd Wright and her own work in architectural glass, transformational space, and sustainable architecture, throughout the United States and abroad.

Product Details

• CD-ROM: 300 pages
• Publisher: in-D media; CD-Rom edition (October 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1893801217
• ISBN-13: 978-1893801219
• Product Dimensions: 5.4 x 4.9 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,310,541 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars A superb presentation on Wright's Taliesin, September 1, 2006

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C. Kaufmann (Chicago, IL) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Frank Lloyd Wright's Taliesin (CD-ROM)

This interactive CD ROM well exceeded my expectations. Prior to visting the Taliesin estate I watched the CD ROM to gain insight into how it was built. Not only does the publisher do a fantastic job of providing highly detailed panoramic views and floor plans of Wright's house but Susan Lockhart's narration of Taliesin's history from her own personal experience is intriguing. She goes into such depth in describing from a story-telling perspective Wright's family, his upringing, his influences, his personal relationships, his tenacious ability to overcome personal catastrophy, and of course his magnificent architectural achievments, which transcend time. I was surprised at the compeletness of the stories behind the creation and evolution of Taliesin. I wish all frank Lloyd Wright CD ROMS were like this. No book I found was as comprehensive nor as revealing about Wright. Given that the Taliesin estate does not allow visitors to shoot indoor photos of the houses, the CD's many photos and interactive panoramic images are themselves sufficient justification to buy this disk. It is well worth the $30 investment.