UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
Wednesday, July 26, 1995
3B
Professor's Wright stuff on display
New book, exhibit illuminate lives of genius, apprentice
Edmee Rodriguez / KANSAN
By Mark Luce
Kansan staff writer
Curtis Besinger, an 81-year-old professor emeritus of architecture and urban design, still refers to his mentor as Mr. Wright.
Besinger is talking about Frank Lloyd Wright, the most prominent American architect of the twentieth century, for whom Besinger was an apprentice from 1939 to 1955.
James Heylar, curator in graphics, looks at one of the books in the Frank Lloyd Wright exhibit he put together at the Spencer Research Library.
"I never called him Frank to his face," he said. "It wasn't a question of stiffness, rather it was a question of respect for a unique architectural talent."
Besinger's new book "Working With Mr. Wright," (Cambridge University Press, $49.95) is a marvelously detailed memoir that describes Besinger's association with the Taliesin Fellowship, Wright's community of apprentices.
Tailiesin, a Welsh word meaning shining brow, was Wright's attempt to integrate a system of work, music, film, philosophy, farming and, of course, architecture, to pro-
vidie not only buildings, but also better lives. There were two communities, situated in Wisconsin and Arizona.
Especially intriguing in the book is Besinger's treatment of the tensions at the fellowship during World War II. The group took an anti-war stance, and Wright's vociferous opposition
to the war led to many problems, logistically and financially, for Taliesin.
often tempestuous demeanor and his failure to follow through on certain buildings, Besinger points to the Community Christian Church in Kansas City, Mo., as one of Wright's poorer conceptions, calling it raw and unfinished.
Wright, who died in 1959, emerges from the book as a self-absorbed genius, whose megalomania is tempered by a desire for camaraderie with and acceptance by his apprentices. Besinger does not hesitate to criticize his former mentor for his
As the book progresses, Besinger's inner conflict between wanting to create on his own and remaining
committed to Wright becomes prominent, especially in his dealings with Wright's wife, Olegianna.
ther forward after Wright's death.
Seeing this increasing problem, which Besinger felt was destroying the group's mission, he decided to break with the group in 1955 to take a position at the University of Kansas, where he taught until 1984.
In his correspondence, Besinger's vulnerability and discomfort are wonderfully, if painfully, delineated. It is his self-critical honesty that ultimately makes "Working With Mr. Wright" successful. Besinger, while compiling a portrait of the architect as an old man, manages to capture the creatively progressive and oftentimes tension-filled flavor of life at Taliesin.
In connection with the book, an exhibition of photographs, correspondence and memorabilia entitled "Frank Lloyd Wright: American Architect," was collected by James Helyar, curator in graphics at the Spencer Research Library.
The show, which runs through the middle of August, features many of Besinger's letters, old editions of the periodical House Beautiful featuring Wright's work, numerous plans and drawings, and copies of the Talesin newsletters that were produced exclusively for the members and friends of the fellowship.
Besinger has given the library documents and photos for nearly 30 years, and Helyar said that the strength of Besinger's collection had led to other donations of materials related to the Taliesin Fellowship.
"Effectively, we are using the exhibition to do two different things," he said. "In general terms, it offers a view of the sequence of Wright's major works. Quite separate from this is the material which provides an intimate view of what life was like at Taliesin."
It's Easy No Tricks Necessary
944 Mass.
832-8228
BIG BUCKS FOR BOOKS
Jayhawk Bookstore
1420 Crescent Road Phone 843-3826 "At the top of Naismith Hill"
Red Lyon Tavern
- Professionally designed interiors
- Three bedrooms, two full baths
- On KU bus route-Great Location!
843-6446
- Private balcony or patio
- Trashservice
- Washer/dryer included
2310 West 26th St
Don't Just Toss It - Recycle!
- Ceiling fans
Thinking Fellers Union Local #282
18 & Over Boy's Life
8/11 Built to Spill
6/14 Dave Alvin
8/23 Royal Truck
At the Granada:
8/13Everclear ¨
8/14ThePharcyde
8/23Spearhead
MOLLY'S FOR A CHANGE
LOOK FOR OUR NEW MENU THIS SUMMER!
Weekend Specials
Fri. $2.25 Mr. Beers
$2.95 Long Island
& Long B
Sat. $2.25 Selected Imports
Sun. $1.25 Domestic Drafts
*NEW SPECIALS
- NEW ITEMS
*NEW DRINKS
grill & bar
2429 IOWA
841-9922
BLUE HERON
·FUTON SLEEPER SALE·
--now $129
OUR LOWEST PRICES
OF THE YEAR!
CHEAPY SLEEPY frame & Foam Core Futon combo
BLUE HERON
Futons & Home Furnishings
937 Mass. St., 841-9443
open mon.-sat, 10-5:30, thurs. 10-8, sun. 1-5