Frank Lloyd Wright The Houses by Alan Hess
|
List Price: Our Price: $50.34 You Save: $34.66 (41%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $41.48 (click here) Category: Book See more book details and other editions |
|---|
Book Reviews of Frank Lloyd Wright The Houses
Book Review: Gift for Dad
Summary: 5 Stars
I bought this as a gift for my dad. No clue why he wanted it, but he and my whole family loved looking at it all Christmas long.Book Review: Interesting houses
Summary: 5 Stars
Just read the novel of his life and found the houses described a big part of the storyBook Review: Wrights' houses at their best
Summary: 4 Stars
There are many different aspects to highlight when studying the work of one of Americas' greatest architects. The part of his work that is probably the most accesible, are his private houses. It was great to see all these houses together in one beautiful volume. The photographs are stunning, and it is great to see so much attention paid to the interior of these houses, as Wright was responsible for most interior design too.
As a professional or just a fan, when you love Wrights' work and want to visually enjoy it to the fullest, this book is a must have. The only thing better is to buy one of his houses...
Book Review: Well photographed and well organized
Summary: 4 Stars
Wonderful pictures of his houses that I fully enjoyed. I also appreciated the chronological presentation of the photos so I could see the growth and development of his style myself, rather than just read about it. The text seems unimportant by comparison. I was somewhat disappointed that there were not more interior photos, but overall, well worth the investment.Book Review: Grand in concept, uneven in execution
Summary: 3 Stars
This book has more plusses than minuses, but it is organized in an odd way and many of the pictures are less than perfect. Ironically, for a coffee table picture book, its essays are its most outstanding feature. Alan Hess provides an introduction to each chapter, but his overview and comparisons among the houses of each period would greatly benefit from moving some of the pictures from the back into the text itself. Each chapter ends with a guest essay, all of which are very insightful, but most of which do not really limit themselves to the chapter just covered. While the reader can overcome these problems by flipping back and forth in the book, that is not easy given its great heft!
The pictures pose a number of issues. Most of the interior shots are in the same golden hue, suggesting the use of the same filter or of a specific kind of lighting. Some pictures focus on so limited an area that, for instance, a gorgeous stained glass ceiling is omitted. Others are of relatively mundane bedrooms and bathrooms. Pictures are included of additions to the houses by Wright apprentices, while really interesting Wright-designed features of some houses are not pictured at all. An example of this is the omission of any photo of the marvelous kitchen in a cairn in the Hagan House. Finally, numerous exterior shots were taken when the facades were in shadow.
The photographer can certainly do better than this, as demonstrated in the book he did with the author on John Lautner. And Rizzoli can as well for Wright, as demonstrated in Masterworks.