Take a look at these facts and figures
Fun fact #1: Philip Johnson, Architect
Philip Johnson, architect of 580 California, was an influential American architect. With his thick, round-framed glasses, Johnson was the most recognizable figure in American architecture for decades. This property was his last project in San Francisco.
One of the major American architectural minds of the twentieth century, Philip Johnson has played an enormous role in both understanding and creating the urban skylines of the country. As historian, curator, and practicing architect he has had a formative effect on generations of architects.
Born in 1906, Philip Johnson grew up in Cleveland, Ohio. After graduating from high school he attended Harvard College, where he studied classics. Throughout the late 1920s, he became more and more interested in architecture and the growing modern aesthetic. At the age of twenty-six he became the director of the Museum of Modern Art’s new architecture department. These early years found Johnson primarily interested in a critical relation to architecture. He co-authored the influential book, THE INTERNATIONAL STYLE, which introduced the techniques of the Bauhaus to America.
Throughout the 1930s, Johnson was pivotal in bringing the great minimalist style to the public. As both a writer and curator he championed the work of major modern architects including Le Corbusier, Walter Gropius, and Mies van der Rohe (eventually writing the first monograph on van der Rohe). Johnson was interested in their aesthetic embrace of structural elements . Their minimalism overtly addressed the role of the designer and builder, seeking to make the foundational elements of a building part of its aesthetic exterior.
In his mid-thirties, no longer content with his role as a critic and curator, Johnson returned to Harvard, where he attended the graduate school of design and studied under the architect Marcel Breuer. By the late 1940s Johnson had graduated, and soon began designing houses and public buildings. His first and one of his most important works, was his own home in New Canaan, Connecticut. The home was a glass building with an exposed steel frame, placed in a rural setting. He made a number of other houses in a similar vane and throughout the 1950s designed many well-known works including the Seagram Building in New York City, done in collaboration with Mies van der Rohe.
Though he began in the stark style of Mies van der Rohe’s work, by the 1960s he had turned to a more individual style that incorporated historical elements. This break was the first step in a personal style that created monumental twentieth century architecture that could aesthetically include domes and colonnades. A busy time for Johnson, the 1960s saw him make the Sheldon Art Gallery at the University of Nebraska, the New York State Theater in New York City, an addition to the Museum of Modern Art, and the New York State Pavilion at the World’s Fair.
With the later work of the 1970s and 1980s, Johnson began to manipulate both texture and color on the exterior of his larger buildings. In 1978 he received one of his biggest commissions—designing the New York City AT&T Building (1978-1984). The 1990s saw a number of biographies and critical work examining him and his influence on architecture during the second half of the century. Perhaps the most important among all of these is Johnson’s own book, PHILIP JOHNSON: THE ARCHITECT IN HIS OWN WORDS, which brings together much of the thought and experience of nearly seventy years. Today, in his nineties, Johnson is one of the last of the modern architects and an important figure for the generations who grew up in the shadows of his buildings.
Above is from: http://www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters/database/johnson_p.html
One of the major American architectural minds of the twentieth century, Philip Johnson has played an enormous role in both understanding and creating the urban skylines of the country. As historian, curator, and practicing architect he has had a formative effect on generations of architects.
Born in 1906, Philip Johnson grew up in Cleveland, Ohio. After graduating from high school he attended Harvard College, where he studied classics. Throughout the late 1920s, he became more and more interested in architecture and the growing modern aesthetic. At the age of twenty-six he became the director of the Museum of Modern Art’s new architecture department. These early years found Johnson primarily interested in a critical relation to architecture. He co-authored the influential book, THE INTERNATIONAL STYLE, which introduced the techniques of the Bauhaus to America.
Throughout the 1930s, Johnson was pivotal in bringing the great minimalist style to the public. As both a writer and curator he championed the work of major modern architects including Le Corbusier, Walter Gropius, and Mies van der Rohe (eventually writing the first monograph on van der Rohe). Johnson was interested in their aesthetic embrace of structural elements . Their minimalism overtly addressed the role of the designer and builder, seeking to make the foundational elements of a building part of its aesthetic exterior.
In his mid-thirties, no longer content with his role as a critic and curator, Johnson returned to Harvard, where he attended the graduate school of design and studied under the architect Marcel Breuer. By the late 1940s Johnson had graduated, and soon began designing houses and public buildings. His first and one of his most important works, was his own home in New Canaan, Connecticut. The home was a glass building with an exposed steel frame, placed in a rural setting. He made a number of other houses in a similar vane and throughout the 1950s designed many well-known works including the Seagram Building in New York City, done in collaboration with Mies van der Rohe.
Though he began in the stark style of Mies van der Rohe’s work, by the 1960s he had turned to a more individual style that incorporated historical elements. This break was the first step in a personal style that created monumental twentieth century architecture that could aesthetically include domes and colonnades. A busy time for Johnson, the 1960s saw him make the Sheldon Art Gallery at the University of Nebraska, the New York State Theater in New York City, an addition to the Museum of Modern Art, and the New York State Pavilion at the World’s Fair.
With the later work of the 1970s and 1980s, Johnson began to manipulate both texture and color on the exterior of his larger buildings. In 1978 he received one of his biggest commissions—designing the New York City AT&T Building (1978-1984). The 1990s saw a number of biographies and critical work examining him and his influence on architecture during the second half of the century. Perhaps the most important among all of these is Johnson’s own book, PHILIP JOHNSON: THE ARCHITECT IN HIS OWN WORDS, which brings together much of the thought and experience of nearly seventy years. Today, in his nineties, Johnson is one of the last of the modern architects and an important figure for the generations who grew up in the shadows of his buildings.
Above is from: http://www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters/database/johnson_p.html
Fun fact #2: The Corporate Goddesses
In 1983, architect Philip Johnson commissioned Muriel Castanis to create sculpture for the top story of 580 California St. Three different heroic-size figures are repeated on each side of the building.
One of the most popular misconceptions about the 'Ladies of the Roof' is that they were designed as specific representations of deities or historical figures. Truth be known, though Castanis was obviously inspired by such classical representations, she did not have any dramatic symbolism or otherworldly spectres in mind when she created them, other than what she has called her interpretation of the "corporate goddesses." Rumor has it that Johnson himself intended the faceless statues to be something of a jab at the very 12 board members who posed such an obstacle to the realization of his vision. |
Fun fact #3: Lobby Tapestry
“THE EDUCATION OF EUROPA”
A 17TH CENTURY FLEMISH PIECE — WOVEN OF SILK AND WOOL BASED UPON A PAINTING BY FRANCESCO ALBANI (1578-1660) FROM THE PRIVATE COLLECTION OF PHLIP VAN DEN BOSSCHE PURCHASED EXCLUSIVELY FOR 580 CALIFORNIA STREET This tapestry is based on the Greek myth titled “The Rape of Europa.” In Greek mythology Europa was the daughter of Agenor, the King of Tyre (Phoenicia). Zeus, watching her from the heavens, fell in love with her. Disguising himself as a pure white bull with gentle nature, he blended in with her father’s herd on the sea shore, near where Europa and the other maidens played. Europa was charmed by the creature’s beauty and, as he appeared gentle, wove garlands of flowers around his neck and horns. When the bull knelt before her, she climbed upon his back. Once she was astride, the bull sprang up instantly and plunged into the sea. He carried the terrified maiden off to the island of Crete while her helpless attendants wept on the sea shore. Upon arriving on the island, Zeus resumed his human form, and took Europa as his mistress. Europa bore him three sons, Minos, Sarpedon, and Rhadamanthys. Eventually, Europa married the King of Crete, Asterius, who having no children of his own, adopted all three sons. Some say that it was Greeks from Crete who raided the Phoenician shores and carried off the king’s daughter, and that this was one of the causes of the ancient enmity between Greece and Asia, which culminated in the Persian Wars. |