RACINE, WIS., (August 8, 2012) - In the late 1800s, Frank
Lloyd Wright pioneered the Prairie-Style home which
resulted in a residential architecture revolution across
the country. The debut exhibit at The SC Johnson
Gallery: At Home with Frank Lloyd Wright, explores
this transformative style and examines Wright's impact on
the American home. Located on the Wright-designed SC
Johnson campus in Racine, Wis., The Gallery is free and
open to the public with tours available on Fridays and
Saturdays.
"Frank Lloyd Wright's Prairie-Style designs are iconic and
we are so excited to add The Gallery and this
exhibit to our campus. It's an opportunity to showcase some
of these never-before seen items and provide a more in
depth experience for our visitors," said Kelly M. Semrau,
Senior Vice President - Global Corporate Affairs,
Communication & Sustainability for SC Johnson. "Globally,
architecture has been significantly influenced by Wright's
Prairie-Style, but he only designed and built 55*
Prairie-Style homes and buildings in the United States.
We're thrilled to feature his work and display some of his
unique designs and artifacts."
The Gallery, housed in the Fosters + Partners
designed Fortaleza Hall on SC Johnson's campus, is also
home to the Frank Lloyd Wright Research Library which
features a collection of more than 800 items. The
Gallery is co-curated by Bruce Brooks Pfeiffer,
Archives Director at Taliesin West, Ariz., and Brady
Roberts, Chief Curator of the Milwaukee Art Museum.
The Prairie-Style Primer
The notion of how people connected with nature shaped the
foundation for Wright's highly influential Prairie-Style
designs, which established his reputation as a world-famous
architect. Simultaneously, Wright and several other
architects from the Midwest came to be known collectively
as "The Prairie School." This group preferred an
architecture style that stressed horizontality in houses -
the line of the prairie - and evolved into a style in which
rooms opened unto each other and extended the spatial
enclosure into the site.
On the exterior of Prairie-Style homes, the walls started
at the ground on a cement or stone water table that looked
like a low platform under the building. The windows were
designed as a continuous band of light and the roofs were
gently sloping or flat and they extended out over the
open-swinging windows for protection from the elements. The
interior of Prairie-style homes relates to and plements the
exterior shape, creating organic architecture. Wright only
used elements in their natural state (wood, brick, stone)
in the homes he designed. As Wright's designs evolved, he
planned the living room, library, and dining room as one
continuous space free from partitions and doors, which is
what later became known as the "open plan."
Prairie-Style artifacts explored at The Gallery include:
• Reception chair, Frank Lloyd Wright Studio,
1895, Oak Park, Ill.
• Library Table, Edward C. Waller House,
remodel, 1899, River Forest, Ill.
• Slant-back dining chair, Hillside Home
School, 1902, Spring Green, Wis.
• Hanging lamp, William R. Heath House, 1905,
Buffalo, N.Y.
• Flag and Balloon Window (architect's sample
window), Coonley Playhouse, 1912, Riverside, Ill.
• Weed-holder, 1895
See More Wright
The Gallery adds to a number of Frank Lloyd Wright
landmarks across the Midwest. Racine is situated in the
midst of a 220-mile span between Oak Park, Ill. and Spring
Green, Wis., additional works of architectural importance
within the area include:
Visiting SC Johnson
SC Johnson offers three tour programs which run from 1 hour
to 3.5 hours. Tours are on Fridays and Saturdays and are
all free of charge. They include:
-
The Legacies Tour (3.5 hours) - In this in-depth,
3.5-hour tour, explores the Frank Lloyd Wright-designed
SC Johnson Administration Building as well as the
award-winning Foster + Partners-designed Fortaleza Hall
with the Spirit of Carnaúba airplane soaring at its
heart. See Sam Johnson's acclaimed film Carnaúba: A
Son's Memoir, with its enduring family message, and
enjoy the Academy Award-winning documentary To Be
Alive! This tour also includes The SC Johnson Gallery:
At Home with Frank Lloyd Wright.
-
The Landmarks Tour (2 hours) - Designed in 1936, the
Administration Building was the first project that
Frank Lloyd Wright designed for SC Johnson. Renowned
for its unique dendriform columns, open concept
half-acre of workspace, circular "bird cage" elevators
and 43 miles of glass tubing, this landmark is
celebrated as one of the top 25 buildings of the 20th
century. In this 2-hour tour, explore the
Administration Building and visit the award-winning
Foster + Partners-designed Fortaleza Hall. Then, enjoy
The SC Johnson Gallery: At Home with Frank Lloyd
Wright.
-
The Gallery Tour (1 hour) - The 1-hour Gallery Tour is
designed for those who want to focus on The Gallery and
its debut exhibit.
The Lily Pad
, a unique gift shop featuring exclusive SC Johnson
memorabilia and Frank Lloyd Wright-inspired items, is
open in conjunction with all tours. For more
information on tours of the SC Johnson campus, please
call
, email Tours@scj., use the online scheduling tool at
www.scjohnson./visit or visit us on Twitter
@VisitSCJ.
About SC Johnson
SC Johnson is a family-owned and managed business dedicated
to innovative, high-quality products, excellence in the
workplace and a long-term mitment to the environment and
the munities in which it operates. Based in the USA, the
pany is one of the world's leading manufacturers of
household cleaning products and products for home storage,
air care, pest control and shoe care. It markets such
well-known brands as GLADE®, KIWI®, OFF!®, PLEDGE®, RAID®,
SCRUBBING BUBBLES®, SHOUT®, WINDEX® and ZIPLOC® in the U.S.
and beyond, with brands marketed outside the U.S. including
AUTAN®, TANA®, BAMA®, BAYGON®, BRISE®, KABIKILLER®, KLEAR®,
MR. MUSCLE®, and RIDSECT®. The 126-year-old pany, that
generates $9 billion in sales, employs nearly 13,000 people
globally and sells products in virtually every country
around the world. www.scjohnson.
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