The Prairie School architectural giants of Louis Sullivan and Frank Lloyd Wright, how “form follows function,” the founding of “The New Bauhaus,” the principles of Mies van der Rohe; I’ve seen first-hand how all of it has shaped people’s work and philosophies, no matter where their life paths took them. Among our Estonian diaspora community, in the Chicago area, we find a photographer who has crystallized this hallowed architectural tradition with a large-format view camera. (That’s the kind you’d see in old movies with the focusing cloth over the back.)
Mati Maldre is a retired Professor of Art/Photography from Chicago State University, having started the photography program there, teaching for thirty-five years. Viewing his books or the galleries on his site reveals a comprehensive timeline, from the late ‘60s to 2023. But let’s examine the whole picture, so to speak.
