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Deconstructing Wright

Back in 2014 I created a short, Bachman Wilson House, which documented an iconic Frank Lloyd Wright house on the eve of its dismantling. The Millstone, NJ, house, increasingly threatened by flooding, had been sold to the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville, AR. It was to be deconstructed piece by piece, labeled and logged, and trucked to the museum where it would be reconstructed and opened to the public.

As part of the project I also documented the dismantling. Over six visits I was a fly on the wall and saw the painstaking care with which Sharon and Lawrence Tarantino and their crew worked.

Filmed and Edited by Jon Roemer.

Footage courtesy of Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art.

Thanks to the museum and to Sharon and Lawrence Tarantino.

A note about music – music is a muse and a vehicle to carry a film. For a piece like this I look to music for inspiration and to cut to. So, I start my search prior to the edit. In the case of this short, lots of looking led to a less conventional source, SoundCloud. It’s not often you can find a Frank Lloyd Wright rap, albeit one by a singer/songwriter named See More Perspective. It’s safe to say, when you find that your search is done.

Music: Frank Lloyd Wright by See More Perspective. Used with permission.

All of the deconstruction footage was shot by me flying solo. I had to keep as small a footprint as possible. Camerawork was a mix of handheld, monopod, and a tripod here and there for a few of the exterior clips. All available light, using the Canon C300 with a C-log profile.