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Louis Sullivan

Louis Sullivan Quotes

Architect

Louis Sullivan, born on September 3, 1856 and died on April 14, 1924, was a renowned American architect. Known as the 'Father of the Skyscraper,' Sullivan is celebrated for his unique architectural style and contributions to modern architecture. His designs emphasized the integration of function and form, and his philosophy of 'form follows function' has had a profound impact on the development of modern architecture.

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Famous Louis Sullivan Quotes

“To teach is to touch the heart and impel it to action.”

Heart Action Teach Teacher

Author:Louis Sullivan

“Once you learn to look at architecture not merely as an art more or less well or more or less badly done, but as a social manifestation, the critical eye becomes clairvoyant.”

Wells Looks Art Done Eye Social Critical Architecture Manifestation Clairvoyant

Author:Louis Sullivan

“When you look on one of your contemporary 'good copies' of historical remains, ask yourself the question: Not what style, but in what civilization is this building? And the absurdity, vulgarity, anachronism and solecism of the modern structure will be revealed to you in a most startling fashion.”

Looks Asks Modern Fashion Style Building Civilization Remains Structure Historical Contemporary Copies Absurdity Vulgarity Anachronism

Author:Louis Sullivan

“The chief characteristics of the tall building is that it is lofty. It must be every inch a proud and soaring thing, rising in sheer exultation so that from bottom to top it should be a unit without a single dissenting line.”

Should Lines Building Proud Bottom Chiefs Characteristics Rising Tall Inches Sheer Units Soar Lofty Tall Buildings

Author:Louis Sullivan

“A proper building grows naturally, logically, and poetically out of all its conditions.”

Grows Conditions Building

Author:Louis Sullivan

“Form ever follows function.”

Form Design Function Ass Architect Bad Ass Badass Architecture And Design

Author:Louis Sullivan

“It cannot for a moment be doubted that an art work to be alive, to awaken us to its life, to inspire us sooner or later with its purpose, must indeed be animate with a soul, must have been breathed upon by the spirit and must breathe in turn that spirit.”

Has Beens Art Soul Moments Spirit Purpose Turns Healing Alive Inspire Breathe Sooner Or Later Doubted

Book:The Public Papers

Source: The Public Papers

“But the building's identity resided in the ornament.”

Identity Building Architecture Architect Ornaments Architecture And Design Modern Architecture

Author:Louis Sullivan

“It was the spirit animating the mass and flowing from it, and it expressed the individuality of the building.”

Spirit Design Building Mass Individuality Individualism

Author:Louis Sullivan

“An architect, to be a true exponent of his time, must possess first, last and always the sympathy, the intuition of a poet... this is the one real, vital principle that survives through all places and all times.”

Firsts Real Lasts Principles Poet Intuition All Time Architect Exponents

Book:The Public Papers

Source: The Public Papers

“How strange it seems that education, in practice, so often means suppression: that instead of leading the mind outward to the light of day it crowds things in upon it that darken and weary it.”

Mind Mean Light Seems Practice Strange Crowds Weary Suppression

Book:The Public Papers

Source: The Public Papers

“An art of expression should begin with childhood, and the lucid use of one's mother tongue should be typical of that art. The sense of reality should be strengthened from the beginning, yet by no means at the cost of those lofty illusions we call patriotism, veneration, love.”

Should Mean Art Use Reality Mother Childhood Expression Cost Illusion Tongue Typical Lofty Veneration Mother Tongue

Book:The Public Papers

Source: The Public Papers

“What are books but folly, and what is an education but an arrant hypocrisy, and what is art but a curse when they touch not the heart and impel it not to action?”

Heart Art Book Action Curse Folly Hypocrisy

Author:Louis Sullivan

“The architect who combines in his being the powers of vision, of imagination, of intellect, of sympathy with human need and the power to interpret them in a language vernacular and time--- is he who shall create poems in stone.”

Needs Humans Language Imagination Vision Stones Intellect Architect Human Needs Vernacular

Author:Louis Sullivan

“Our architecture reflects truly as a mirror.”

Mirrors Architecture

Author:Louis Sullivan

“Happiness and depression cannot blossom on the same vine. Some people affirm their woes and beg for sympathy. Others, unfortunately, cast gloom wherever they go. These poor souls were born sick and tired.”

People Soul Born Poor Depression Sick Tired Casts Woe Gloom Vines

Author:Louis Sullivan

“Every building is like a person. Single and unrepeatable.”

People Persons Building Unique Architecture Comparison Uniqueness Single

Author:Louis Sullivan

“Alas, the world has never known a sound social fabric, a fabric sound and clean to the core and kindly. For it has ever turned its back on Man.”

Men World Social Sound Known Clean Core Fabric Alas

Author:Louis Sullivan

“Man shall find his anchorage in self-recognition.”

Men Self Recognition Self Recognition

Author:Louis Sullivan

“Words are most malignant, the most treacherous possession of mankind. They are saturated with the sorrows of all time.”

Mankind Sorrow Possession All Time Treacherous Saturated

Author:Louis Sullivan

“If with open mind one reads and observes industriously and long; if in so doing one covers a wide field and so covering reflects in terms of realism, he is likely, soon or late, to be brought to a sudden consciousness that Man is an unknown quantity and his existence unsuspected.”

Ifs Men Mind Long Term Existence Consciousness Fields Late Wide Quantity Realism Open Mind Covering

Author:Louis Sullivan

“Implicit in true freedom of spirit lies a proud and virile will. Such glorious power of free will to choose, envisages beneficent social responsibility as manifest and welcome.”

Spirit Lying Social Responsibility Proud Welcome Glorious Free Will Manifest Social Responsibility Implicit True Freedom

Author:Louis Sullivan

“In the history of mankind there are recorded two great Inversions. The first, set forth by the Nazarene to the effect that love is a greater power and more real than vengeance. The second proclaimed the earth to be a sphere revolving in its course around the sun. These affirmations were made in the face of all evidence sacred to the contrary.”

Firsts Made Two Real Earth Faces Courses Love Is Sun Greater Mankind Effects Evidence Sacred Contrary Spheres Affirmation Vengeance Revolving Greater Power Inversions Nazarene

Author:Louis Sullivan

“It is the mass dream of inverted self, populous with fears overt and secret, that forms the continuous but gossamer thread upon which are strung as phantom beads all civilizations from the remotest past of record to that of the present day and hour.”

Self Dream Past Form Hours Secret Records Civilization Mass Thread Phantoms Present Day Beads Inverted

Author:Louis Sullivan

“The feudal concept of self-preservation is poisoned at the core by the virulent assumption of master and man, of potentate and slave, of external and internal suppression of the life urge of the only one - of its faith in human sacrifice as a means of salvation.”

Men Humans Mean Self Sacrifice Masters Concepts Salvation Slave Core Assumption Internals Urges Preservation Suppression Self Preservation

Author:Louis Sullivan

About the Author

Born: September 3, 1856
Died: April 14, 1924
Known for: Architect
Quotes: 25

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