It's true. I won't say which one, but he's still living, and he helped to design and oversee the construction of Fallingwater.
It happened when he was visiting for an event and two other female Fallingwater staff members and I were keeping him company in the servant's sitting room behind the kitchen. It's one of those things I won't forget, understandably. Out of the blue he said to the three of us, "So which one of you ladies is going to take your blouse off?" First of all, I love the word "blouse"--not too many people use it anymore. But then, how does one respond to a request like that? In our case, it was nervous laughing and shared crazy-eyed smiles. What can you do? You just go on from there, right?
In a presence like that, you expect insightful epitaphs, previously unrecorded details about the process of creating a masterpiece. But you realize that the "gods" that made such a beautiful place a reality are really just people. And the reverence I have for it only reveals that it's a place that is continually, collectively created by all of us who experience it.
With that in mind, I ask you, blog readers: which one of you is going to take your blouse off?
Funny, he never asked Brian or I to remove clothing ;).
ReplyDelete