#taliesin — Public Fediverse posts
Live and recent posts from across the Fediverse tagged #taliesin, aggregated by home.social.
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Today in Chicago History: Pablo Picasso’s sculpture debuts
Here’s a look back at what happened in the Chicago area on Aug. 15, according to the Tribune’s…
#NewsBeep #News #Artsanddesign #Arts #ArtsAndDesign #attack #AU #august15 #Australia #borthwick #Chicago #chicagohistory #civiccenter #daleyplaza #Design #Entertainment #FrankLloydWright #Hatchet #PabloPicasso #sculpture #taliesin
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“Function reforms form, perpetually”*…
Diagrams from How Buildings Learn. On the left, a diagram by Frank Duffy showing the increasing capital costs over the lifetime of a building. On the right, a diagram by Stewart Brand and Donald Ryan showing the Shearing Layers of Change. (source)Over the years I have given away many, many copies of many books in the hope that they might be of interest/use to the recipient. The book of which I’ve gifted the most copies is How Buildings Learn- What Happens After They’re Built, published in 1995 by my GBN partner and Long Now colleague Stewart Brand. While it has certainly earned its plaudits as a work of architectural criticism, I’ve handed it out because it’s the most thoughtful and evocative book on strategy I’ve come across; it’s p-o-v and principles, rooted in (often literally) concrete examples, amount to the best manifesto I’ve found for thinking and planning for the long term.
In 1997, The BBC released a six-part series based on the book (with music by GBN and Long Now colleague and friend Brian Eno). As Open Culture reports, Stewart has created a YouTube channel to make the series available to us all…
Stewart Brand came onto the cultural scene during the 1960s, helping to stage the Acid Tests made famous by Ken Kesey and the Merry Pranksters, and later launching the influential Whole Earth Catalog (something Steve Jobs described as “Google in paperback form, 35 years before Google came along”). He also vigorously campaigned in 1966 to have NASA release a photograph showing the entirety of Earth from space—something we take for granted now, but fired humanity’s imagination back then.
During the 1970s and beyond, Brand founded CoEvolution Quarterly, a successor to the Whole Earth Catalog; the WELL (“Whole Earth ‘Lectronic Link”), “a prototypical, wide-ranging online community for intelligent, informed participants the world over;” and eventually The Long Now Foundation, whose work we’ve highlighted here before. When not creating new institutions, he has poured his creative energies into books and films…
… Based on [the book, How Buildings Learn], the TV series offers a critique of modernist approaches to architecture (think Buckminster Fuller, Frank Gehry, and Le Corbusier) and instead argues for “an organic kind of building, based on four walls, which is easy to change and expand and grow as the ideal form of building.”
Brand made the series available on his YouTube channel, with these words: “Anybody is welcome to use anything from this series in any way they like… Hack away. Do credit the BBC, who put considerable time and talent into the project.” And he added the noteworthy footnote: “this was one of the first television productions made entirely in digital—shot digital, edited digital.”…
A wonderful series on architecture– and more broadly, on planning for the long term: “Watch Stewart Brand’s 6‑Part Series How Buildings Learn, With Music by Brian Eno,” from @openculture.bsky.social.
Watch the series here.
Further to yesterday’s post (and thanks to friend MK) an obituary of Don Michael, another GBN friend, and author of another book– Learning to Plan and Planning to Learn: The Social Psychology of Changing Toward Future-Responsive Societal Learning— that I’ve given away many, many times.
* Stewart Brand, How Buildings Learn: What Happens After They’re Built
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As we take the long view, we might recall that it was on this date in 1914 that Frank Lloyd Wright’s self-designed home in Wisconsin, Taliesin, was the site of mass murder and arson. Julian Carlton, a servant of Wright, set fire to the home and brutally attacked the people there during lunch. He ultimately killed seven, including Wright’s partner, “Mamah” Borthwick.
Wright was among the architects that Brand criticized in How Buildings Learn. Brand argued that Wright designed rigid, static “magazine architecture” that prioritized photogenic style and artistic ego over practical function, durability, and the way buildings must adapt to weather and human use over time. That said, Stewart never even thought of reaching for the matches nor a hatchet.
The earliest known image of Taliesin I, taken in the winter of its construction in 1911-12. Southwest elevation (source) #architecture #BrianEno #culture #FrankLloydWright #history #HowBuildingsLearn #longTermThinking #planning #StewartBrand #Taliesin #trueCrime -
#Taliesin Two views of the guest house...
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#Taliesin #Studio #Classroom #Building
What is not shown well in these photos are the windows high up providing diffuse, indirect lighting to the entire room.
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#Taliesin #FrankLloydWright Designed #Furniture
1-2: School Dining RoomTable & Chairs
Note tongue and grove joinery in the second photo.
3: Music Stand & Chairs
Note the chair on the right made out of interlocking pieces of plywood. 👍
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#Taliesin #Studio #Fireplace with much faded color (?) photo of #FrankLloydWright teaching.
Second photo is my attempt to revive that photo in #monochrome.
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Taliesin (Frank Lloyd Wright's Home & School) near Spring Green in southwest #Wisconsin
Again picking away at my archive. Combining photos from two visits in 2012 & 2023.
Wonderful place to visit BTW! More to come...
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Hype for the Future 38/284: Frank Lloyd Wright
Frank Lloyd Wright was a very influential architect and perhaps amongst the most significant of architectural icons in the history of the field. Born in Richland Center, Wisconsin, his studio would be located at Taliesin nearer Spring Green, Wisconsin, though on the opposite side of the Wisconsin River. Since the Taliesin estate is opposite the Wisconsin River, the place is located within the Town of Wyoming, in Iowa County. Within the entire region, however, is the Driftless Area, which […]https://novatopflex.wordpress.com/2025/12/09/hype-for-the-future-38-284-frank-lloyd-wright/
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Steam locomotive Taliesin goes on test in North Wales http://dlvr.it/TJLYVc #FfestiniogRailway #narrowgauge #RailNews #Taliesin
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Judith, our #Imbolc house #fairy wanted to wish you all a beautiful and #sparkly day.
In Wales, today is known as Gwyl Forwyn or the Feast of the Maidens.
This reminds me of a passage in Cad Goddeu (technically battle of the shrubs, but it is mostly translated as trees).
Arthur sails into #Annwn on his ship Prydwen (fair of face) with his pal #Taliesin and others
A great cauldron there is warmed by the breath of 9 maidens, but it won't boil the food of a coward.
So, be very bold today! 😊
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#WIP update:
I'm 84K words with only another 6K to go.
I am very relieved with where I am in the story.
I just climaxed. -
Bran at Harlech
Drawing of Bran the Blessed looking westward across the Irish sea. Inspired by my #WIP now at 62K words
#AmWriting #amDrawing #WritingCommunity #Mabinogion #mythology #Wales #Art #pencil #Taliesin #CharacterArt
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@countcol - he was well justified imho. His designs are sublime and timeless.
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#Celtic #MythologyMonday: #Ceridwen took the form of a black hen and pecked up the grain of wheat that #Gwion had turned into. After 9 months #Gwion was reborn. The sorceress did not have the heart to kill her unwanted child and abandoned the little boy in a #Coracle. He survived and became the famous poet #Taliesin.
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I just drafted a scene that I've been waiting to write for years. It's based off a dialogue between two big mythology characters (who I won't name for spoiler reasons) from a manuscript that's dates back at least to the mid 1200's.
I know it's the first draft and will certainly get changed but goodness gracious, it's everything I wanted it to be and it felt so damn good to finally write it out!
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SELF PROMOTION! My book, Taliesin, Chief of Bards, was just awarded a 5 star recommendation from the Historical Fiction Company!
You can read their review of the book here: https://www.thehistoricalfictioncompany.com/post/a-welsh-legend-rises-an-editorial-review-of-taliesin-chief-of-the-bards
And in case anyone wants to buy a copy, it's available here:
https://www.amazon.com/Taliesin-Chief-Bards-Alexander-Corby-ebook/dp/B09P64ZJYJ#Books #Bookstodon #histfic #Wales #Reading #WritingCommunity #ReadingCommunity #BookReview #Taliesin #Medieval #mythology #IndieAuthor
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Perfect is my chair in Caer Sidi:
Plague and age hurt not him who's in it.
They know, Manawyddan and Pryderi.
Three organs round a fire sing before it,
And about its points are ocean's streams
And the abundant well above it.
Sweeter than white wine the drink in it.- Taliesin : Song concerning the Sons of Llyr ab Brochel Powys #MythologyMonday #Annwn #CaerSidi #Taliesin http://maryjones.us/ctexts/t14.html
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Took a tour of #Taliesin (East), family home of Frank Lloyd Wright yesterday. Wonderful as you'd expect!
Here is a 360 of the living/music room in the main house...
#360degree #Panorama #FrankLloydWright #Architecture #History