I was fortunate enough to view this show on its opening day in Chicago, IL. To be discussed further pending research into contemporary artists of particular interest - most specifically Bill Owens.
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Resonant passages from the show catalogue:
"Starting shortly after World War II, however, the nation experienced a second, more dramatic suburban expansion, and during this period the backyard's role shifted from being a decorative backdrop to a place integrated with daily life."
Wright's Usonian residences broke from the norm by prioritizing backyard space - the backyard usual acted as the focal point for the glazed side of the building.
"Bill Owens completed a groundbreaking study of suburban living in Livermore, California . . . . In the end, though, Owen's photographs, while exuberant and largely optimistic, reveal a deadpan sense of humor and an occasionally confounding mix of empathy and irony: what first appears as an ideal can take on tarnished or even farcical manifestations."
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