modernism in the 1930s
The symposium "When Modern Was Modern," held Oct. 1 and 2 at the School of Architecture, offered a nuanced picture of an early phase of American Modernism in the decade of the 1930s.
Presented in conjunction with the school's exhibition "PSFS: Nothing More Modern," the symposium brought together an international group of historians and theorists from the fields of art history, literary criticism, architecture and urbanism. In a series of lectures, the scholars examined the landmark Philadelphia Saving Fund Society Building (PSFS) and its role in the rise of American modernism in the period between World War I and World War II.
Designed by George Howe and William Lescaze, PSFS opened in 1932 and was the first International Style skyscraper in the United States. Advertisements at the time proclaimed that there was "nothing more modern" than the high-rise building, acknowledging both its minimalist and elegant architectural style and its unprecedented use of modern technology such as air-conditioning, high-speed elevators and radio outlets in every office.
Speakers at the symposium placed PSFS and its designers in the larger context of the economic, social and architectural realities of the period. Although the 1930s was a decade of economic deprivation, symposium organizer Karla Britton of Yale asserted that it was also a time of immense artistic inspiration. During this period, she said, "an imaginative, streamlined vision of the future was advanced by a new generation of architects, artists and designers intent on changing the world."
In his talk "Modernism and Modernization: European Eyes on the American City," keynote speaker Jean-Louis Cohen of New York University discussed perceptions of America's architecture throughout Europe in the interwar years. He argued that during this period the United States "became an increasingly central part of global architectural culture," and described the constant exchange of artistic and architectural ideas between Europe and the United States throughout the decade. PSFS, he said, seemed to be "the emblem of the architecture that America was offering to a ruined Europe."
Howe and Lescaze, the designers of PSFS, were the subjects of two biographical talks at the conference, given by School of Architecture Dean Robert A.M. Stern and Dietrich Neumann of Brown University. Lescaze, a Swiss-born architect who immigrated to the United States in 1923, designed celebrated Modernist houses and, in the postwar period, corporate towers. Howe was a prominent Philadelphia-based architect who was best known for designing his own lavish residences. According to Stern, Howe created an "architectural modernism that sought out the fundamental principles of program, structure, visual perception and fitness to purpose -- principles that were too often overlooked or insufficiently understood by the principle stylists of the interwar years." Stern attributed the level of finish and elegant detail found in PSFS to Howe's knowledge and close attention to detail.
Another speaker at the symposium was Thomas Mellins, who curated the exhibit with Donald Albrecht. Mellins discussed their objectives in creating "the first exhibition to explore this iconic work of Modernist architecture." He described the four sections of the exhibition, which leads the viewer through the early and recent history of PSFS.
Throughout the symposium, speakers focused on PSFS's aesthetic aspirations and cultural impact, and emphasized the existence of an often-overlooked American Modernism in the 1930s that reflected American social and cultural sensibilities. The exhibition -- which includes photographs, drawings, archival ephemera and models -- also highlights these themes, and can be viewed in the School of Architecture Gallery through Nov. 5.
The gallery, located at 180 York St., is free and open to the public Monday-Friday, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. and Saturday 10 a.m.-5 p.m. For more information, contact the School of Architecture at (203) 432-2288 or visit the website at www.architecture.yale.edu.
-- By Erin McCreless
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