Frank Lloyd Wright and MoMA’s Exhibit

I recently visited the exhibit, Frank Lloyd Wright at 150: Unpacking the Archive at the Museum of Modern Art just before it closed the day after.  The museum celebrates the anniversary of Wright’s birth through an extensive collection of his works.  Instead of showcasing one aspect of Wright, the museum divided the space into 12 parts in order to create a more comprehensive story.  While the size of the exhibit was a bit daunting, choosing to only display one feature of Wright’s architecture would be doing him an injustice.

After observing many of the floor plans and framed drawings, I realized the space of the exhibit itself complimented the thesis of the show, which explored the multi-directional nature of Frank Lloyd Wright.  I had to turn about two corners in order to enter the exhibit and was prefaced by a timeline of some of Wright’s buildings as well as some blurbs introducing the viewer to Wright as an architect. Whether or not this was intentional, I thought that entering the main space of the exhibit from the side while having to turn a few corners reflected the way Wright treated space in many of his homes (he would often position entrances off to the side, where they were not traditionally the focal point).  The exhibit itself created a similar effect of having the viewer walk around in order to enter the exhibit. I thought this only emphasized the way Wright tried to imagine moving around a space in a unique way.  Like Wright’s prairie homes, the exhibit was made up of several rooms while still maintaining an openness. Therefore, although each section was slightly walled off, after entering the space, I was aware of each section by standing at the center. I thought this paid tribute to the way Wright created his floor plans, with the center of the house being the core and all other rooms circulating around it in a pinwheel effect.

In order to show Wright’s multifaceted nature, the exhibit provided different types of art pieces as well as educational tools. For example, there were drawings, models, film clips, furniture, tiles, and textiles. I thought the use of three-dimensional models especially was really effective, engaging, and necessary in order to create an architecture exhibit. I also learned in Section L, “New York Models Conserved,” that Wright often took advantage of models in order to best represent his work and many were showcased in museums, like his model of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum. The display of these models in the museum paralleled the function of the exhibit by getting the public interested.

Model of Wright’s “Imperial Hotel” on the left and the Guggenheim Museum on the right

After leaving the museum, I realized I learned a great deal from the form of the exhibit and its features.  While it is obvious that the main focus of an art show will be the works on display, the layout of a space itself plays a large role in what the viewer takes away.  Especially for an architecture exhibit, where it is difficult to showcase buildings and homes, the three-dimensional and interactive feature of this museum allowed for a successful presentation.  This exhibit was definitely unique and I appreciated that it exposed the hands behind the showcase.  The name of the exhibit recognizes the scholars, historians, and curators who examined and ‘excavated’ Wright’s ‘portfolio’ of materials.  Next time I visit a museum, whether about architecture or not, I will be sure to acknowledge the physical space itself and how that affects my interest or what I have learned.  Perhaps the real art of museums lies in the museum itself.

-Stephanie Montalti