I just rented a documentary about legendary architect Frank Lloyd Wright that was made by Ken Burns in 1998. It was a very interesting story.

One thing I did not know was that his last wife, Olga, was a follower of Gurdjieff. She used her knowledge of the inner workings of that cult to set up a cult around FLW.

She basically helped FLW set up a school/apprenticeship program for architecture students called the Taliesin Fellowship that was run very much like a cult. The students were called "apprentices" and were basically worked to the bone. They were made to do pretty much everything on FLW's land, from architectural drafting to manual labor and construction, to farming and cooking.

Some of the comments from former apprentices were very telling. One said that Olga had a dais built in the dining room that made she and FLW sit at a higher elevation than the rest of the group. In other words, they literally and figuratively "looked down" on everyone else. They also did the same thing with the seating in another room where they had weekly musical performances.

Another former apprentice said that it was not like a regular school where your graduation was filled with joy and good wishes. At Taliesin, it was more like an exile.

Genuflecting to the master is as common a pose in the art world as in any other.
Few artists seem to care about being big-time gurus, perhaps because most are more interested in the art they are creating than in their own deification. It would be difficult to create anything of importance if one were distracted by the constant demands of worshipful acolytes.

Of course, if an artist has a spouse or relative who is willing to take on the role of full-time promoter, becoming a god would have its advantages; a steady supply of slaves and models, greater respect possible from the buying populace resulting in higher prices, and, possibly, greater isolation for the artist and time to create. After all, one doesn't easily access the "great man" when he's busy creating.

All of this takes start-up money, of course, and some degree of pre-existing fame. It would be difficult to have disciples of any quality without having the wherewithal to impress them.
Underlings must never be allowed to rise to the level of the master. If they did, they might give up their voluntary enslavement and strike out on their own.

There are many "masters" in the artworld, all of them well equipped with the necessities and luxuries of life. Many of them probably engage in the guru business because they want to create great works of art, and can't do it alone. I would guess that this was the case with FLW, although his wife may have had different motives.

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bonnie

Of course, if an artist has a spouse or relative who is willing to take on the role of full-time promoter, becoming a god would have its advantages; a steady supply of slaves and models,

There are many "masters" in the artworld, all of them well equipped with the necessities and luxuries of life. Many of them probably engage in the guru business because they want to create great works of art, and can't do it alone. I would guess that this was the case with FLW, although his wife may have had different motives.

That's for sure. How else would one be able to build an 8000-square-foot palace like Taliesin West without actually having to pay workers?

Whose Frank Lloyd Wright again. My memory fades me.

Often it is someone in later life who profits off the artist's reputation, because as the artist nears the end, many know that the work will increase in value afer death. I am not kidding!

It can be hard for people who knew an artist as a human being, to see these opportunists flock around. I think some of them are art-groupies who are looking for someone to play the role for them.

But there is also an interesting thing about what form of art. Ayn Rand wrote about architecture as if it is a religion, didn't she?
And have you read about Robert Moses in New York?

And isn't there something also a little bit cult-like about Disney? He wanted to create his own world and he at least did something delightful, but I once knew someone who had gone to Florida to work at Disney World and he said it was a cult for the staff. I never knew if he exagerated. He seemed as if he had been through something more than a tough summer job.

Painters and writers tend to be less spectacular in our delusions. And people seem less willing to worship us. The worlds we try to create don't require so much slave labor,except our own.

I wonder if it is cult, or if it is just that celebrities are interesting to people who tend to want to be in cult-like groups, and so they just grow on their own? With the occasional one attracting a leader who pushes it over the edge?

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Keir
Whose Frank Lloyd Wright again.

Famous architect. If you go to the link I posted above there is a biography.

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emaline
Ayn Rand wrote about architecture as if it is a religion, didn't she?
And have you read about Robert Moses in New York?

Actually, the main character in "The Fountainhead" is based on FLW. Apparently he was not flattered by it. When Hollywood was doing the film version of the book, FLW was hired to do the architectural drawings. If memory serves me correctly, at first he agreed and then backed out. Ayn Rand also withdrew her support of the pic halfway through production.

I do know the name Robert Moses ( they named a highway after him on Long Island) but don't know much about him.

There was a long and fascinating history about Robert Moses in the Village Voice paper some years ago, I think. One of those interesting book-length tabloids, anyway. I have lost most of my library in moving.

This is what I remember: Moses was a "mantra" name that signaled nap-time for me in classes at college, *lol*..... I read the article long after leaving school.

Here is a googling on Moses:
[www.google.com]