In the past, when a “master” was recognized he usually became an influence (Bramante, Palladio, and Michelangelo or, Oud, Corbusier and Mies). Today, while we recognize masters, we seem unable—on unwilling—to learn from them.
Or maybe it is a misplaced emphasis on originality. I still remember my very first design assignment in school. I admired Marcel Breuer’s houses, so my first stab at design was an imitation. I was told in no uncertain terms that this was not the correct way to proceed. I thought of this the other day when I was listening to an interview with Bret Stephens, the NYT columnist. Asked what advice he would give an aspiring opinion journalist, he said find someone you admire and copy them, try to figure out how they do it, and eventually you will develop your own style. I think that would have been much better advice to an architectural tyro than “dream up something new.”
Another related story. At one point in my life I spent a summer in Bavaria learning how to blow glass. Don’t ask me why. The first day I was seduced by the fluid, malleable molten material. My teacher, Erwin Eisch, a famous glass artist, told me: why don’t you just make an ordinary glass. That took me the rest of the day. I still have it, a misshapen awkward thing, but more or less a glass.
