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A current analysis and future visions of my particular interests in culture.

Wednesday, September 19, 2012

“Form follows function” 

Louis Sullivan 1896.

Louis Sullivan was known as the "father of skyscrapers" and the "father of modernism". This quote was based on his rationalist theories, it would later become foundational to the theories of modernism, and 'modern' values. The Modernists would add "...ornament is a crime" to the above statement, to enforce their disregard for unnecessary adornment in design.
"It is the pervading law of all things organic and inorganic,
Of all things physical and metaphysical,
Of all things human and all things super-human,
Of all true manifestations of the head,
Of the heart, of the soul,
That the life is recognizable in its expression,
That form ever follows function. This is the law."
From Louis Sullivan's article 'The Tall Office Building Artistically Considered' 1896.