4/17/08

California Romanza- Hollyhock House


Through a long and narrow porch, I came to the door of Hollyhock House in an extremely hot afternoon. The sun of southern California made its most effort to bring out the every exquisite detail of that temple-like house on the Olive Hill. The weighty door at the entrance let me feel I was about to uncover something mysterious in that sacred palace. After I walked into the house, the delicacy inside struck my every feeling. Immediately, my eyes were caught by a piece of artwork above the fireplace in the living room. I would never have known Master Wright was such a great artist until that painting-like stone relief occupied my heart. The stone "painting," which was designed by Master Wright, was to me a miniature of that architecture. Somehow, I could seek the graceful pattern for constructing that building through the very pure geometry in that stone relief. Like immersing myself in the bloom of hollyhock, I could smell the fragrance from those abstract shapes of this flower on the roofline, wall, columns, furniture and even carpet while wandering over every corner in that house. Then I realized that the house was like a temple for celebrating the beauty of hollyhock. Master Wright was truly a poetic artist who understood how to compose the harmonious rhymes in his works. I did think that once your heart got lost on the Olive Hill, you would appreciate how lovely that the musical term "California Romanza" referred to the Hollyhock House.