MUSEUM OF TELEVISION & RADIO SEMINAR SERIES, THE: AN EVENING WITH PHILIP JOHNSON {LONG VERSION}
Summary
One in this series of seminars conducted by The Museum of Television & Radio. In this seminar, moderated by Museum president Robert M. Batscha, a screening of "American Masters: Philip Johnson: A Self-Portrait," is followed by a discussion with the ninety-year-old architect in celebration of the fourth anniversary of the opening of The William S. Paley Building (the home of The Museum of Television & Radio), which was a designed by Johnson in association with John Burgee. Following opening remarks by Batscha, "American Masters: Philip Johnson: A Self Portrait" is screened in its entirety. This 1986 PBS documentary presents an intimate portrait of the man -- at age eighty -- in a series of interviews conducted by his close friend, the art commentator and lecturer, Rosamond Bernier. The friends talk in various settings, including the Museum of Modern Art in New York -- for which Johnson designed the annex and sculpture garden -- and at his famous "Glass House" in New Canaan, Connecticut . After the screening, Johnson joins Batscha on stage for a discussion of the following topics, among others: how greatly his views about architecture have changed in the nine years since the program was made; his belief that his design for The William S. Paley Building was the best from his previous architectural period, and the last project in which he felt it important to connect with the familiar -- to obey the Zeitgeist; his sadness at the alterations made to his entrance to the former AT&T building; his excitement over his radically new direction in architecture, evidenced by a recent construction on his Connecticut compound which he affectionately calls the "Monsta" -- a sculptural, tactile building; the sterility of Sixth Avenue in Manhattan as a result of the many modern office towers without pedestrian-level shops; the decay of the city to the mall; his current work with client Donald Trump on Manhattan's Upper West Side; his feeling that the popular renaming of some of his works by the public -- such his "53rd at Third" building in Manhattan, now known as the "Lipstick Building" -- should be taken as a measure of success; the smaller scale of architecture since the economic crash of the late 1980s; his positive working relationship with clients William S. Paley and Batscha during the construction of The William S. Paley Building; why museum commissions appeal to architects; his work in Houston; and how he solved the problems of the Paley Building's narrow city lot.
("American Masters: Philip Johnson: A Self-Portrait" is part of the Paley Center's collection and may be viewed separately.)
Details
- NETWORK: N/A
- DATE: September 12, 1995 6:00 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 1:26:49
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: T:40382
- GENRE: Seminars
- SUBJECT HEADING: N/A
- SERIES RUN: N/A
- COMMERCIALS: N/A
CREDITS
- Robert M. Batscha … Host, Moderator
- Philip Johnson … Guest
- Rosamond Bernier
- John Burgee
- William S. Paley
- Donald Trump