Complexity & Contradiction in Philip Johnson

Given the subject matter of my previous post (MoMA, not Shackleton), I thought I would mention Philip Johnson's death today at the age of 98.

During Johnson's long life he continually reinvented himself -- so much so, in fact, that one might call him both the father of modern architecture in America and the father of postmodern architecture, more generally. He also took an interest in the work of Frank O. Gehry during the final years of his life.

As the curator of MoMA's first architecture exhibition, 1931's "International Style," Johnson identified, named, and popularized the work of Le Corbusier, Mies van de Rohe, and other European architects. He remained a central figure in MoMA's architecture gallery (it was later named after him) for much of the museum's history. He also designed the first two expansions of the original building, including the sculpture garden.

But out of all of his achievements, what stands out most in Johnson's career is its ever-changing emphasis. The only consistent theme was his insistence that architecture be seen as art; in terms of "style" (that word hated most by architects), he was a high modernist, a postmodernist and, in the twilight of his life, a deconstructivist who emphasized form, pure and simple. In the 1930s he was reportedly a Nazi-sympathizer, yet he lived his life as a homosexual.

To those for whom the above "-isms" bear little meaning, I suggest a brief perusal of Johnson's work, either online or in any one of the numerous books in which it appears. It is often easy to ridicule architects -- particularly those who are rigidly committed to a particular ideology or aesthetic -- but any criticism of Johnson requires more qualification, more disclaimers. He was able to achieve a degree of notoriety few architects have ever been afforded in this country, and yet his 70-year career must be divided into distinct periods in order to be understood.

Perhaps, as he said, he was just a "whore."