 | This image of Philip Johnson from different periods of his life appears on the poster for the upcoming symposium exploring Johnson's legacy. |
One of the 20th century's most celebrated architects, Philip Johnson (1906-2005), will be honored in a symposium Feb. 16-18 hosted by the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York and Yale's School of Architecture, two institutions with which Johnson was closely associated.
Johnson earned his reputation as much from the ideas he expressed through his writing and teaching and the exhibitions that he mounted as from the buildings he designed. Of the latter, the one with which he is most generally identified -- The Glass House in New Canaan, Connecticut -- was his primary residence from the time of its construction in 1949 to his death last year in January.
Johnson first came to public attention in 1932 as the curator of a landmark exhibition at the newly established MoMA. The exhibit is credited with introducing Americans to modern European architecture. Together with the book "The International Style: Architecture since 1922" (co-authored by Henry-Russell Hitchcock), Johnson's efforts heavily influenced American design for more than a half-century.
Long a champion of the work of the German modernist Mies van der Rohe, Johnson collaborated with him on the landmark Seagram Building in Manhattan. Among other well-known and influential projects that bear Johnson's stamp are the celebrated Four Seasons restaurant within the Seagram Building; the Museum for Pre-Columbian Art, Dumbarton Oaks, Washington, D.C.; Pennzoil Place, Houston; Garden Grove Church, Los Angeles; and the AT&T Building in New York.
In 1979, Johnson became the first winner of the Pritzker Prize, the highest award for architecture. From 1950 on, Johnson was closely associated with Yale as the architect of important buildings on the campus and as a teacher in the School of Architecture, most recently as the Eero Saarinen Visiting Professor in the spring of 1999.
The first event of the symposium will take place at MoMA, where Johnson served as the curator of architecture from 1932, two years after he graduated from Harvard, until 1934; and from 1946, after having returned to Harvard to pursue an architecture degree, until 1955. He then remained at the museum as a trustee for the rest of his life. Johnson established his own architectural design firm in 1953, remaining in practice well into his 90s. His longstanding interest in van der Rohe was subsequently eclipsed by a succession of architectural influences.
"Philip Johnson: Portraits," held on Thursday, Feb. 16, at 6 p.m., includes two lectures, "Portrait of the Curator as a Young Man" and "The Very Picture of Architecture," and a screening of the 1965 film "This Is Philip Johnson," directed by Merrill Brockway. The screening and talks will take place at MoMA's Titus Theater 1, 11 West 53rd St., New York. Tickets can be purchased at the main lobby of the museum or online at www.moma.org/thinkmodern.
The symposium continues on Friday, Feb. 17, at 3:30 p.m. in Hastings Hall at the Yale School of Architecture. After introductory remarks by Yale professor Emmanuel Petit -- who organized the symposium with School of Architecture dean Robert A.M. Stern -- there will be a panel discussion titled "Roaming through History."
Vincent Scully, the Sterling Professor Emeritus of Art History at Yale, will deliver the keynote address, titled "Philip Johnson: Art and Irony," at 6:30 p.m. on Friday. A reception will follow.
The program on Saturday, Feb. 18, consists of three panels: "Reckoning with Modernism," "Rhetoric and Media" and "Politics of Patronage." The first will explore Johnson's transitions through various forms of modernism; the second will examine ways in which Johnson manipulated contemporary media, and television in particular, to express his fundamental principles and to influence public opinion on architecture; and the third will focus on how Johnson used his social position to advance his own reputation and to promote younger generations of emerging architects.
Concluding remarks will be delivered by architects Peter Eisenman and Rem Koolhaas.
A complete list of speakers may be found at www.architecture.yale.edu/events/archives/symposia/johnson.htm.
All events at the School of Architecture will take place in the Art & Architecture Building, corner of York and Chapel streets. Events at Yale are free and open to the public, but reservations are required. Call (203) 432-2889 or e-mail jennifer.castellon@yale.edu.
T H I S
Symposium pays tribute to
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