Openhouse Magazine: The Glass House

JEROME WAAG. Head chef at Chez Panisse, San Francisco ESPACIO 88. Architecture, coffee and an open door, Barcelona FvF APARTMENT. A day with Frederik, Berlin CINEMA FLORA. Catching a film with Attilio and Paola, Annicco, Italy DAR NAMIR. Tara Stevens’ courtyard cooking school, Fez LABOFEM. The garden home of Fem Güçlütürk, Istanbul AN EDUCATIONAL PROJECT In the warmth of a home, Barcelona MANIERA. Gallery Living of Amaryllis Jacobs, Brussels THE GLASS HOUSE. The home of Philip Johnson, New Canaan, Connecticut

AUTUMN-WINTER / 2014-2015 / N.02

OPENHOUSE The Life We Share

THE GLASS HOUSE. THE HOME OF PHILIP JOHNSON

THE GLASS HOUSE THE HOME OF PHILIP JOHNSON New Canaan, Connecticut www.theglasshouse.org

Text by

MARISA GARREFFA Photography by

PAUl MPAGI SEPUYA

www.paulsepuya.com

EIRIK JOHNSON, ROBIN HIll & STACY BASS courtesy of the Glass House

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THE GLASS HOUSE. The home of Philip Johnson

He died where he lived at age 98, watching the landscape through glass walls. Playful and enigmatic, Philip Johnson will be remembered as “the man in the Glass House� both for the design of his modernist home and the life that he lived there. He shared this life with his partner David Whitney, who helped to design and maintain the stunning landscape and gardens on the property, located in New Canaan, Connecticut. Although they spent half of their time in New York, where they maintained an apartment, the Glass House was always considered home and once Johnson retired in 2002, it was where they lived full time.

Over the years they expanded and developed the site, which now contains 14 diverse structures, some built for function, others for folly. Johnson loved nothing more than to take guests on tours through the property, discussing the architecture and art collected there, a practice that lives on even now under the direction of Henry Urbach

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Walking through the Glass House today in the year of its 65th Anniversary, the property and the décor capture the original design, including the iconic daybed that was designed especially for Johnson by Mies van der Rohe. The site, located in New Canaan, Connecticut, has a relaxed and leisurely air, designed with a deep appreciation of aesthetics. Although spare and minimal, the design of the Glass House is comfortable, solid, stable, and homey. There is a sense of place and shelter. In the documentary Diary of an Eccentric Architect, Johnson talks us through the experience of walking through the doorway, placed in perfect symmetry in the centre of the glass wall. Walking into the house he explains the flow of the eye around the open space, “as you turn the world changes because your point of vision goes round and round. It’s like a dog sniffing its way around a room, always round the outside… and curls at last somewhere near the middle of the room, curls up and goes to sleep.”2 The hearth is visually and practically the heart of the home, a cylinder that contrasts with the square walls, drawing all of the elements in together to a central, cozy point. In Johnson’s words, “If your back is warmed you will be very happy, and that is the thing that makes a house a house.”3

The house sits on a dramatic, natural land formation, taking advantage of the views from the promontory. The landscape itself has been carefully sculpted with slopes and curves, with areas that alternate between grass and gravel that crunches underfoot as you walk. Inside at the table, Johnson identified the “seat of honor,” one of four chairs set with its back against the window that looks over the table, across the spread of the house and through the window into the scenery beyond. He explains that it is this northern view “where you get the overlapping of the elements that compose the building. All overlapping and turning each other like a painting composition. And above that is again the landscape.”4 This is the magic of the long stretches of glass, which frame, reflect and layer the scenery to paint the walls with images “so you’re always surrounded by this beautiful wallpaper, it’s very expensive wallpaper, but it’s very pretty.”6 As Glass House curator Irene Shum explains in her brief biography of David Whitney, his influence can be seen right through the gardens and landscaping of the property. This is most evident in the design of the Succulent Garden, whose composition was based on a pencil drawing that Whitney

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THE GLASS HOUSE. The home of Philip Johnson

It was Whitney’s taste and circles that guided their extraordinary art collection. They met in 1960 when Whitney approached Johnson after a lecture, wanting to know why he had purchased Jasper John’s Flag painting. He quickly became Johnson’s unofficial art advisor as well as his partner. Being 33 years younger, he was focused on emerging artists such as Jasper Johns, Robert Rauschenberg, Frank Stella, Claes Oldenburg and Donald Judd. “I always did what came up if it interested me. I never worried whether I had a job or not. I just ran into these situations where I became close to these people who are now all gods. But they weren’t then.”7 Johnson began to collect the work of these artists, acquiring a large collection, much of which he donated to MoMA over the years, more than 2200 objects through the course of his life. It was a collection that once led Andy Warhol to joke of Whitney: “David still reminds me that he wants us to get married and now that I hear how many Jasper Johnses he has, it would be really worth it.”8

had collected, Supremetist Composition by Malevich. Together Johnson and Whitney developed additions to the original two structures, the Glass House and its complement The Brick House. The passing years saw the slow expansion to fourteen structures that “are quite literally autobiographies written in the form of houses – amazing buildings in which the architect was the client, and the client was the architect, and the goal was to express in built form the preoccupations of a life.”6 Johnson referred to the property as a 50-year diary, the forms and styles of each of the structures reflecting the architectural ideas and styles that he was interested in at the time. While some structures are functional, others can serve no practical function due to their size of shape, and it was these that Johnson called his “follies”. Johnson’s final addition was a granite bench deep in the woods in 1998. Other structures include the Painting Gallery, which features three revolving walls on which paintings can be displayed and rotated. The Sculpture Gallery is an intriguing space with a glass ceiling lined with pipes that casts geometric shadows below, enhancing the work displayed there.

Warhol was one of the many artists and guests that Whitney and Johnson invited for a visit. They held active salons with luminaries from all fields: architects, artists, writers, collectors,

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THE GLASS HOUSE. The home of Philip Johnson

ownership to the National Trust for Historic Preservation who opened its doors to the public from 2007. Urbach has taken the helm as of 2012, and has overseen the start of an exciting new period of artistic expression on the site. Irene Shum, Glass House Curator, explains:

academics, journalists, socialites and more to visit the site and engage in exciting discussions about architecture and art. Johnson would entertain during the weekend by inviting guests during the daytime. Although he built a house with an ornate bedroom for hosting guests, he quickly decided he did not like having people remain overnight, and instead people were invited for the afternoon. A friend of Whitney’s, Andy Warhol received one such invitation and David Dalton amusingly recollected the visit in the book, A Year in the Life of Andy Warhol:

“Urbach had the vision to ignite the site into a thriving cultural center, what he refers to as Glass House 2.0. He introduced temporary contemporary art exhibitions to the site, including the Fujiko Nakaya: Veil fog installation that engulfs the glass house and its surrounds in a haunting mist. He has introduced a performance series named Night Sounds, Glass House sleepovers, as well as Glass House Presents series of talks, an ongoing series of public programs - including conversations, performances, and gatherings - that sustains the site’s historic role as a meeting place for artists, architects, and other creative minds. Since its inception, the Glass House has always been a site of creativity and experimentation. Johnson and Whitney supported and developed emerging talent and we try to continue this rich legacy. Henry has been instrumental in activating the site through programs and exhibitions, performances, and artist projects. It has been an exciting time since he has come on board, and we lucky to him here.”

“We creep around the estate looking for Andy. ‘I bet he’ll be in there,’ says David, pointing to a low-lying white guest house.

The windows are in the shape of portholes. We peek in. There is Andy in bed. In shades! I knew it. He never takes them off these days, even in bed. The room has a shrine-like quality to it...

The bedspread is black leather, and above the head of the bed is a filigree wire sculpture by Richard Lippold.. When Andy saw us looking through the window, he motioned for us to go around to the door. Oh, that was a door?... A claw-like hand reaches up from the corner of the porthole. Then an impish, close-cropped head. ‘Oh’ says Sarah, ‘isn’t that David Whitney?’ It is... As we walk back toward the Glass House, Andy says, ‘People always ask me, ‘How does he go to the bathroom in that place?” 9

These days you don’t have to hope for a personal invitation in order to see this incredible site. If you would like to visit the Glass House, the 2014 tour season ends on November 30 and will resume in May of 2015. There is a range of tour options, such as the one-hour in depth tour of the Glass House itself, or

Another invited guest was the current director of the Glass House, Henry Urbach, who was lucky enough to be invited for a tour of the property in 2001. “I met Philip in 2001 when Hilary Lewis introduced us. Philip had heard about my gallery of architecture in New York and was curious to know more about it. We met at the Glass House and he invited me and another guest to tour the landscape, then we went to friends nearby for lunch. I’m very glad I had the chance to meet him, though of course I couldn’t have known I would arrive here as director about a decade later.” The Glass House was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1997, and Johnson passed the

the 2.5-hour personally guided tour that can be tailored to your specific interests on the site. Advance bookings are required, and can be made through the office on 866.811.4111. Information about the performance and artistic programs can be found on the website www.theglasshouse.org.

1 Sorkin, Michael, Exquisite Corpse: Writing on Buildings, London, Verso, 1994. • 2 Philip Johnson: Diary of an Eccentric Architect, Dir. Barbara Wolf, Checkerboard Library, USA, 31 August 1997, DVD. • 3 Ibid • 4 Ibid • 5 Ibid • 6 Goldberger, Paul, Philip Johnson’s Glass House, National Trust for Historic Preservation, Board of Trustees Meeting at The Glass House, New Canaan, May 24th, 2006, Lecture. • 7 Reginato, James, David Whitney in The Golden Boys, W magazine, July 2002. • 8 Ed. Pat Hackett, The Andy Warhol Diaries, New York, Warner Books, 1989. • 9 Dalton, David and McCabe, A Year in theLife of Andy Warhol, London, New York, Phaidon Press, 2003.

Marisa Garreffa is an Australian writer and theatre artist living in Florence, where she is collaborating with local visual artists and developing her first book. You can find her writings at acuriousillness.com, and her installation and performance work at mondodicorpo.com.au

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