Woody Rainey has been studying Louis Sullivan's work and developing images in the style of Sullivan's architectural adornments. Late in his career, Sullivan was asked by the America Institute of Architects (the AIA) to create a special issue of their Journal. He produced the article A System of Architectural Ornament in which he explained how he developed his architectural ornament by translating organic growth patterns. His unique and romantic decorations began with a simple geometric "seed," (a square, pentagon, circle, etc.) which he then "germinated" graphically through series of systematic changes.
From a copy of the 1967 Eakins Press edition which is illustrated with a series of explanatory sketches and a number of finished plates, Woody studied and interpreted his method. Making an analysis of each plate and using Sullivan's morphologies, he has drawn these interpretations of Sullivan's work in pen and ink.
Where Sullivan used free hand pencil to embellish his geometries with imaginary plant forms, Woody abstracted them with hard line geometric shapes. In most cases, he did not assume as did Sullivan, that he was drawing three dimensional shapes to be cast or carved as architectural ornament but as purely graphic evocations of Sullivan's ideas.
Over a period of forty years, 6 of the Plates have been redrawn.
© Woody Rainey 2012