The Tender Detail : Ornament and Sentimentality in the Architecture of Louis H. Sullivan and Frank Lloyd Wright

"The Tender Detail tells a story about the repression of sentimentality through architectural ornament. The protagonists are Louis H. Sullivan and Frank Lloyd Wright, two of the most important architects and designers of ornament in American history. Exploring how both men worked to solve the problem of late nineteenth-century ornamentation, the book interweaves close readings of their buildings and writings with wide ranging discussions across the fields of architecture, sexuality, gender, and philosophy. It suggests that their solutions, while widely different, were both intimately rooted in the tender emotions of sentimentality. Viewing ornament in this way reveals much, not only about Sullivan and Wright's artistic intentions, but also about the role of affect, the value of beauty, and the agency and ontology of objects. Illuminated by personal stories from their respective autobiographies, which add a level of human interest unusual in an academic work, The Tender Detail is a readable, scholarly study which sheds fresh light on Sullivan and Wright's relationship, their work, and on the nature of ornament itself."-- Provided by publisher "The Tender Detail tells a story about the repression of sentimentality through architectural ornament. The protagonists are Louis H. Sullivan and Frank Lloyd Wright, two of the most important architects and designers of ornament in American history. Exploring how both men worked to solve the problem of late nineteenth-century ornamentation, the book interweaves close readings of their buildings and writings with wide ranging discussions across the fields of architecture, sexuality, gender, and philosophy. It suggests that their solutions, while widely different, were both intimately rooted in the tender emotions of sentimentality. Viewing ornament in this way reveals much, not only about Sullivan and Wright's artistic intentions, but also about the role of affect, the value of beauty, and the agency and ontology of objects. Illuminated by personal stories from their respective autobiographies, which add a level of human interest unusual in an academic work, The Tender Detail is a readable, scholarly study which sheds fresh light on Sullivan and Wright's relationship, their work, and on the nature of ornament itself"-- Page 4 of cover The Tender Detail tells a story about the repression of sentimentality through architectural ornament. The protagonists are Louis H. Sullivan and Frank Lloyd Wright, two of the most important architects and designers of ornament in American history. Interweaving close readings of their architecture and writings with wide-ranging discussions about sexuality, gender, and philosophy, the book explores how both men worked to solve the problem of late nineteenth-century ornamentation. It suggests that their solutions, while widely different, were both intimately rooted in the tender emotions of sentimentality. Viewing ornament in this way reveals much, not only about Sullivan and Wright's artistic intentions, but also about the role of affect, the value of beauty, and the agency and ontology of objects. Illuminated by personal stories from their respective autobiographies, which add a level of human interest unusual in an academic work, The Tender Detail is a readable, scholarly study which sheds fresh light on Sullivan and Wright's relationship, their work, and on the nature of ornament itself. Cover 1 Contents 10 List of Illustrations 11 Acknowledgments 20 Preface 21 1 Introduction: Frank Lloyd Wright— Sentimentalizing over the Dead 26 Part One: Louis H. Sullivan 52 2 The Plastic Decorations Are Distinctly Architectural in Conception 54 3 That Object He Became 66 4 Femininity 86 Part Two: Frank Lloyd Wright 104 5 No Damned Sentimentality Either 106 6 Integral Ornament at Last 128 7 ‘Like a Man’ 152 Part Three: Louis H. Sullivan and Frank Lloyd Wright 176 8 That Supreme Erotic Adventure of the Mind 178 9 Ornament Purely as Such 196 10 Epilogue: When We Are Dead 222 Notes 229 Bibliography 281 Index 293 List of Illustrations Acknowledgements Preface -- 1 -- Introduction: Frank Lloyd Wright, ?sentimentalizing over the dead? -- Part One: Louis H. Sullivan -- 2 -- ?the plastic decorations are distinctly architectural in conception? -- 3 -- ?that object he became? -- 4 -- ?feminity? -- Part Two: Frank Lloyd Wright -- 5 -- ?no damned sentimentality either? -- 6 -- ?Integral Ornament at Last? -- 7 -- ?'like a man'? -- Part Three: Louis H. Sullivan and Frank Lloyd Wright 8 -- ?that supreme erotic adventure of the mind? -- 9 -- Ornament ?purely as such? -- 10 -- Epilogue: ?when we are dead? -- Bibliography Index