Philip Johnson: The Constancy of Change

Colomina, Beatriz

ISBN 10: 0300121814 / ISBN 13: 9780300121810

Published by Yale University Press, 2009

Former library book; May have limited writing in cover pages. Pages are unmarked. ~ ThriftBooks: Read More, Spend Less. Seller Inventory # G0300121814I4N10

Synopsis:

Witty, wealthy, and well connected, the architect Philip Johnson was for years the most powerful figure in the cultural politics of his profession. As the Museum of Modern Art's founding architecture curator in the early 1930s, he helped establish modernism in the United States; as the architect of New York's AT&T building - the 'Chippendale skyscraper' - he gave post modernism commercial viability on a large scale during the 1980s. In this book, sixteen eminent voices in the architectural establishment present their ideas on Johnson, focusing on both his eclectic design approach and his vivid intellect. Among the topics covered are Johnson's wide-ranging knowledge of art history, his endorsement of different versions of architectural modernism, his use of rhetoric and the mass media, his social persona, and his politics of patronage. Owing perhaps to the control he exerted over critiques of his work, few scholarly treatments of Johnson exist. This 'unauthorized' account, the first in-depth study to follow his death, constitutes a milestone in the analysis of one of America's most renowned architects. Contributors include Beatriz Colomina, Peter Eisenman, Kurt W. Forster, Mark Jarzombek, Charles Jencks, Phyllis Lambert, Reinhold Martin, Detlef Mertins, Joan Ockman, Emmanuel Petit, Terence Riley, Vincent Scully, Michael Sorkin, Stanislaus von Moos, Kazys Varnelis, Ujjval Vyas, and Mark Wigley.

About the Author: Emmanuel Petit is assistant professor at the School of Architecture at Yale University.

Bibliographic Details

Title: Philip Johnson: The Constancy of Change
Publisher: Yale University Press
Publication Date: 2009
Binding: Hardcover
Condition: Very Good
Dust Jacket Condition: No Jacket