Architecture fans will enjoy these two Charlie Rose interviews.
Philip Johnson at 90:
Philip Johnson at 95:
And for those who haven’t seen it, you must watch the two 1957 Mike Wallace interviews with the 88 year old Frank Lloyd Wright. They just don’t make people like FLW anymore. A paragon of confidence, a wellspring of opinion. What a treasure.
Walter Davis
on 07 Apr 08These are great, but I have a tiny gripe. The audio on the 95 one is so low volume or quality, I could barely understand Philip speaking half the time. There’s no such problem on the 90 one. Who encoded these interviews?
Matt Radel
on 07 Apr 08I love the smoking ad at the beginning of the Wright interview. Great stuff.
Anonymous Coward
on 07 Apr 08Walter, I think Philip is just really soft spoken at 95.
aw
on 07 Apr 08“They just don’t make people like FLW anymore. A paragon of confidence, a wellspring of opinion. What a treasure.”
Actually I think 37Signals falls into that realm quite a bit. Perhaps your too humble to realize it, but its quite true. Many of your ideas and approaches to business, work, life, and design that have been developed in your blog are spot on.
Since some readers egos can’t handle when 37S gets a compliment, DHH & JF, get the troll monitor ready.
Tor Løvskogen
on 07 Apr 08Great interview, the last one had very low audio as reported. Do you have any other interviews to recommend? Not just architects, but typographers, graphic designers and interior designers – old and wise people who have done their craft through decades. They have so much experience, such an source of inspiration and wisdom.
Thanks, Jason!
Stephan
on 07 Apr 08The FLW Interview is outstanding. I wonder how many of us will reach such a high age and will still poses such a clear and focused spirit. Also the clip conveys how much has changed in just 50 years of time, some for better, some for worse. I love the scene where the interviewer tries to offer a cigarette to FLW.
martin
on 08 Apr 08I’m no expert, but one of the key foundations of Frank Lloyd Wright’s approach to design is that Form follows Function. That is that design should follow requirements and not allow aesthetics to get in the way. That is the reason that I admire Wrights work and that is the same reason that I admire 37 Signals. There is a lovely Frank Lloyd Wright quotation on Organic architecture [design].
martin
on 08 Apr 08Messed up that link, so here’s the quotation:
‘Organic architecture more or less means organic society. An architecture inspired by this ideal cannot acknowledge the laws imposed by aestheticism or mere taste, just as an organic society should reject any external imposition on life that contrast with nature and the character of the man who has found his work and the place where he can be happy and useful in a form of existence suited to him.’
izidor
on 09 Apr 08Thank you very much for bringing the Frank Lloyd Wright interview to our attention.
I had no idea how great the man was. This is the person that one should aspire to be. Just watching the interview is inspiring. This is the best post ever on SVN, and that means a lot.
P.S. Among many gems, there is one that applies to this blog (and especially to a certain webframework author :-), too. FLW’s definition of arrogance should be solace for any original, self-confident and outspoken thinker in the world.
This discussion is closed.