MIC HAE L G R AV ES 1934 – 2015
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Basilica of Maxentius Rome, Italy Ink on paper, 1960
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A MEMORIAL CELEBRATING THE LIFE & LEGACY OF
MICHAEL GRAVES 1934 – 2015
RICHARDSON AUDITORIUM IN ALEXANDER HALL PRINCETON UNIVERSITY | APRIL 12, 2015
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San Bernardino Urbino, Italy Pencil on paper, 1962 4
WELCOME Today we gather to celebrate the life and legacy of Michael Graves. Michael led a life full of creative ideas that shaped the way the world thinks about architecture and design. He was brilliant, influential, inspiring and kind. He will be missed every day. The Principals of MGA&D thank you for joining us as we honor his memory. Karen Nichols Patrick Burke Thomas P. Rowe Donald Strum Linda Kinsey Ben Wintner Rob Van Varick Joe Furey
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THE NECESSITY FOR DRAWING As part of its “Inspiration and Process in Architecture” series, Moleskin recently published a remarkable book of Michael’s drawings. Michael personally selected all of the drawings that are included in the monograph. They showcase preliminary work, studies and drawings from his personal sketchbooks. For this memorial program, we have excerpted several compositions from the Moleskine book that offer a glimpse into Michael’s personality, passion, creativity and whimsy.
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Follies in the Roman Campagna Ink on paper, date unknown 9
The Washington Monument Restoration Washington, DC Commemorative print, GiclĂŠe, (from a painting, pencil and gouache on paper), 1999 10
Beach in Puerto Rico Ink on paper, 1981 Cosmotoda Master Plan Barcelona, Spain Aerial view Ink on paper, 1998 11
American Federal Chair Providence, Rhode Island Ink on paper, 1977 12
Ingres painting, “House of Raphael� Ink and colored pencil on paper, 1977 13
Easel Landscape Pencil and gouache on paper, 1995 14
Above Urn, England, 1790 Ink on paper, 1981 Below Urn studies and side chair for Sunar Ink on paper, 1981 15
MICHAEL GRAVES Few are credited with spearheading a single design movement; Michael Graves, well known throughout the world for design excellence, led three. In the 1980s, Michael redirected the architectural conversation away from abstract modernism toward a more humanistic approach to architecture and urban planning, that among other things, brought color and art back into the experience of architecture. In the 1990s, his partnership with Target defined America’s expectation that great design should be available to everyone. And design became a corporate strategy. Over the past decade, Michael became a passionate advocate for the disabled and used the power of design to improve healthcare experiences for patients, families and clinicians. Michael Graves transformed the role of the architect in society and left the world a better place than he found it. Michael Graves received prestigious awards including the AIA Gold Medal, the National Medal of Arts from President Clinton, The Richard H. Driehaus Prize, and the Topaz Medallion for Excellence in Architectural Education. The Center for Health Design named Michael Graves one of the Top 25 Most Influential People in Healthcare Design, and in 2013, President Obama appointed Graves to the United States Access Board. Michael Graves was the first architect to be inducted into the New Jersey Hall of Fame, and the first recipient of the Michael Graves Lifetime Achievement Award from the New Jersey AIA. A native of Indianapolis, Graves received his architectural training at the University of Cincinnati and Harvard University. In 1960, he won the Rome Prize and studied for two years at the American Academy in Rome, of which he became a Trustee. In 1962, Graves began a 39-year teaching career at Princeton University, where he was the Robert Schirmer Professor of Architecture. Graves received 14 honorary doctorates and was a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters, as well as a Fellow of the American Institute of Architects.
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Self-portrait Pencil on yellow tracing paper, 1980 17
MICHAEL GRAVES MEMORIAL PROGRAM
WELCOME Linda Kinsey and Ben Wintner, Principals, MGA&D
MICHAEL’S CONTRIBUTION TO THE FIELD Robert Ivy, CEO, American Institute of Architects
Video: Design Icon by Dwell
50 YEARS OF MICHAEL’S INFLUENCE Karen Nichols, FAIA, Principal, MGA&D Mary Sue Sweeney Price, Director Emerita, Newark Museum
Music: Mozart Divertimento in E Flat Major (Adagio) - Kende Trio
MICHAEL GRAVES & ROME Adele Chatfield-Taylor, President Emerita, American Academy in Rome Tom Moran, Chief Curator & Artistic Director, Grounds For Sculpture Frank Martinez, Architecture Professor, University of Miami
Music: Forever Young, by Bob Dylan - Kende Trio
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MICHAEL THE EDUCATOR Ted Brown, Professor, Syracuse University Susan Conger-Austin, Professor, College of Architecture, IIT Brian Ambroziak, Professor of Architecture, University of Tennessee David Mohney, FAIA, Dean, Michael Graves School of Architecture, Kean University
Music: Nature Boy, Played by Jim Stagnitto
EULOGY Patrick Burke, AIA, Principal, MGA&D
FAMILY REMEMBRANCES Minxia Lin Sarah Graves Stelfox Michael Sebastian Min Graves Video: CBS Sunday Morning
ADVOCACY FOR PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES Marsha Lommel, CEO, Madonna Rehabilitation Hospital David Capozzi, Executive Director, United States Access Board
Music: Waltz for Debby, by Bill Evans – Michelle Wiley, Piano
PRODUCT DESIGN LEGACY Donald Strum, IDSA, Principal, MGA&D Jon Wilson, Vice President – Corporate Innovation, Kimberly-Clark
THE NEW YORK FIVE Richard Meier, FAIA, FRIBA Peter Eisenman, FAIA, Int FRIBA
CLOSING REMARKS Michael Graves Architecture & Design
Video: Driehaus Memorial by WTTW Chicago 19
SPEAKER BIOGRAPHIES IN ORDER OF APPEARANCE
Linda Kinsey, Principal, MGA&D With the firm since 1987, Linda Kinsey was integral to the development of the product design business, including the Michael Graves Design consumer brand. She supervises day-to-day administrative functions for the product design team, creates business development strategies and works directly with the firm’s clientele to ensure all products are made well, marketed creatively, and fulfill the company’s mission of “making the ordinary extraordinary.” Ben Wintner, Principal, MGA&D Since joining the firm in 2002, Ben Wintner has been part of the leadership team responsible for general management of Michael Graves Architecture & Design’s multidisciplinary practice. He focuses on strategy, brand management, and growth. He has played a critical role in the development and implementation of the firm’s healthcare design strategy. Robert A. Ivy, FAIA, Chief Executive Officer for the AIA, American Institute of Architects Since assuming management responsibility, Ivy initiated two important investigations into the role of architects in society and the future of architecture practice. In partnership with the Clinton Global Initiative, Ivy committed the AIA to a decade-long effort to make design a catalyst for improving public health through research grants, digital programs, and community planning. Karen Nichols, FAIA, Principal, MGA&D Karen Nichols has been one of the leaders of Michael Graves Architecture & Design for 38 years. In addition to overseeing projects for clients such as the Newark Museum, she has organized exhibits, edited monographs and assisted Michael Graves with his lectures and writings. Mary Sue Sweeney Price, Director Emerita, Newark Museum Mary Sue Sweeney Price was appointed sixth director of The Newark Museum in 1993. She retired in May 2013, culminating a career with the museum that lasted nearly 4 decades. Price oversaw several museum expansions, including the restoration and reinterpretation of the Victorian-era Ballantine House and the creation of interactive natural science galleries. Adele Chatfield-Taylor, President Emerita, American Academy in Rome Adele Chatfield-Taylor was President & CEO of the American Academy in Rome from 1988 to 2014, after working for years as a professional historic preservationist and arts administrator. Before her career at the American Academy of Rome, she was director of the Design Arts Program at the National Endowment for the Arts, founder of the New York Landmarks Preservation Foundation, and on the staff of the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission.
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Tom Moran, Chief Curator & Artistic Director, Grounds For Sculpture Tom Moran is one of the nation’s foremost experts in the field of public art, having served for three decades with the New Jersey State Council on the Arts and for years with the GSA’s Design Excellence Program for Art-in-Architecture. Born in Massachusetts, Tom is a practicing artist and in his current role at Grounds For Sculpture, he successfully realized the “Michael Graves: Past As Prologue” exhibition. Frank Martinez, Associate Professor, University of Miami; Partner, Martinez & Alvarez Architecture Frank Martinez teaches design, drawing and theory in the core of both undergraduate and graduate programs. He studied with Michael Graves, receiving a Master of Architecture from Princeton University in 1991. Frank and Michael taught together at University of Miami and in Rome. He is also is a founder and design partner in Martinez & Alvarez Architecture. Ted Brown, Professor, Syracuse University Ted Brown is a professor at Syracuse University School of Architecture, a principal in the firm Munly Brown Studio, and Fellow of the American Academy in Rome. He was a student of Michael’s at Princeton, an associate at MGA&D and taught with Michael in the 1980s. While at Syracuse he has directed the Florence Program, served as Chair of the Graduate Program and is assuming the role of Undergraduate Chair. Susan Conger-Austin, Studio Professor & Director of Masters Projects, College of Architecture, IIT; Principal, Conger-Austin Architects, LLC Susan Conger-Austin is both a practicing architect and Studio Professor in the College of Architecture, at the Illinois Institute of Technology. Susan has collaborated with numerous universities and faculty throughout the world in various educational workshops, seminars and exchanges. She received her Bachelor of Arts degree in economics and art history at Stanford University prior to entering the Master of Architecture program at Princeton University. Brian Ambroziak, Associate Professor of Architecture, University of Tennessee Brian received his Master of Architecture from Princeton University in 1998 and worked as a designer at MGA&D from 1998-2001. He is currently an Associate Professor at the University of Tennessee’s College of Architecture & Design. David Mohney, FAIA, Dean, Michael Graves School of Architecture, Kean University David Mohney, FAIA, is the Dean of the Michael Graves School of Architecture at Kean University and Wenzhou Kean University in China. He is completing a book on the early careers of Michael Graves and Peter Eisenman. Jim Stagnitto, Musician Jim is a freelance trumpet player in the jazz and contemporary music idioms. He lives with bride Lori and their brood of genius rescue pets in New Hope, PA. He and Michael shared an appreciation for cool jazz, spotty golf, friends, and Italian food. Patrick Burke, AIA, Principal, MGA&D Patrick Burke graduated from Princeton University with a Master of Architecture degree in 1982 where he studied with Michael Graves. He then joined the firm, becoming a lead designer for a wide range of projects including museums, corporate buildings, and a recently completed $4.4 billion integrated resort in Singapore called Resorts World Sentosa.
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Marsha Lommel, CEO, Madonna Rehabilitation Hospital Marsha Lommel has been an innovator in the field of rehabilitation for 45 years, first as a clinician caring for Vietnam soldiers with brain injuries. In her 26 years as President and CEO of Madonna Rehabilitation Hospital, Marsha has been the principal visionary for the creation of one of the most admired and innovative rehabilitation programs and research institutes in the country. David Capozzi, Executive Director, United States Access Board David Capozzi has served as the Executive Director of the U.S. Access Board for the past 7 years; it is the only federal agency whose mission is accessibility for people with disabilities. He is responsible for enforcement of the Architectural Barriers Act, the development of accessibility guidelines and standards for buildings and facilities, transportation vehicles, information and communication technology, and medical diagnostic equipment. Donald Strum, IDSA, Principal, MGA&D Donald Strum began working with Michael Graves as a student intern, while completing his industrial design education at The Parsons School of Design. His first project was the now famous, Alessi Whistling Bird Teakettle that celebrates its 30th anniversary this year as Alessi’s number one selling product of all time. He has managed all product design client relationships including Target, Stryker, and Kimberly-Clark. Jon Wilson, Vice President – Corporate Innovation, Kimberly-Clark In this role since 2009, Jon Wilson has accountability for developing new growth platforms including the identification of new business models in both consumer and business-to-business. Additionally he oversees the development of processes, tools and capabilities in support of the company’s innovation agenda. Previously, he was CEO of a venture capital backed nutraceutical food company, after a thirteen year, multi-country career with the Kellogg Company. Richard Meier, FAIA, FRIBA Managing Partner, Richard Meier & Partners Architects Richard Meier received his architectural training at Cornell University and established his own office in New York City in 1963. He has received the highest honors in the field including the Pritzker Prize for Architecture, the Gold Medals of the American Institute of Architects and the Royal Institute of British Architects as well as the Praemium Imperiale from the Japan Art Association. Peter Eisenman, FAIA, Int FAIA Peter Eisenman, FAIA, Int FRIBA, is an internationally recognized architect, educator, and author. He is founder and design principal of Eisenman Architects, an architecture and design office in New York City, and the Charles Gwathmey Professor in Practice at the Yale University School of Architecture.
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Castelli Leone Folly New York, New York Referential sketches, Viollet-le-Duc’s “First Building” (left) and Virgil’s Tomb after Joseph Wright (right) Ink on paper, 1984 23
“Whistling Bird� Teakettle for Alessi Ink on paper, 1985 24
Patient Room with Stryker Furniture Acrylic on Canvas, 2009 25
On September 1, 2012, The New York Times published the following op-ed by Michael Graves, in which he explained why drawing by hand remains an essential architectural skill. Michael argued that there is something deeply human about the process of drawing by hand, not just for us personally but for the infusion of humanism in everything we do. When creating the curriculum for the newly created Michael Graves School of Architecture at Kean University, Michael maintained that students should design by hand first, then transfer to a technology-based design platform.
ARCHITECTURE AND THE LOST ART OF DRAWING By Michael Graves It has become fashionable in many architectural circles to declare the death of drawing. What has happened to our profession, and our art, to cause the supposed end of our most powerful means of conceptualizing and representing architecture? The computer, of course. With its tremendous ability to organize and present data, the computer is transforming every aspect of how architects work, from sketching their first impressions of an idea to creating complex construction documents for contractors. For centuries, the noun “digit” (from the Latin “digitus”) has been defined as “finger,” but now its adjectival form, “digital,” relates to data. Are our hands becoming obsolete as creative tools? Are they being replaced by machines? And where does that leave the architectural creative process? Today architects typically use computer-aided design software with names like AutoCAD and Revit, a tool for “building information modeling.” Buildings are no longer just designed visually and spatially; they are “computed” via interconnected databases. I’ve been practicing architecture since 1964, and my office is not immune. Like most architects, we routinely use these and other software programs, especially for construction documents, but also for developing designs and making presentations. There’s nothing inherently problematic about that, as long as it’s not just that.
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Temples of Juno and Neptune, Paestum Ink on paper, 1961
Architecture cannot divorce itself from drawing, no matter how impressive the technology gets. Drawings are not just end products: they are part of the thought process of architectural design. Drawings express the interaction of our minds, eyes and hands. This last statement is absolutely crucial to the difference between those who draw to conceptualize architecture and those who use the computer. Of course, in some sense drawing can’t be dead: there is a vast market for the original work of respected architects. I have had several one-man shows in galleries and museums in New York and elsewhere, and my drawings can be found in the collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Museum of Modern Art and the CooperHewitt. But can the value of drawings be simply that of a collector’s artifact or a pretty picture? No. I have a real purpose in making each drawing, either to remember something or to study
something. Each one is part of a process and not an end in itself. I’m personally fascinated not just by what architects choose to draw but also by what they choose not to draw. For decades I have argued that architectural drawing can be divided into
three types, which I call the “referential sketch,” the “preparatory study” and the “definitive drawing.” The definitive drawing, the final and most developed of the three, is almost universally produced on the computer nowadays, and that is appropriate. But what about the other two? What is their value in the creative process? What can they teach us? The referential sketch serves as a visual diary, a record of an architect’s discovery. It can be as simple as a shorthand notation of a design concept or can describe details of a larger composition. It might not even be a drawing that relates to a building or any time in history. It’s not likely to represent “reality,” but rather to capture an idea. 27
These sketches are thus inherently fragmentary and selective. When I draw something, I remember it. The drawing is a reminder of the idea that caused me to record it in the first place. That visceral connection, that thought process, cannot be replicated by a computer. The second type of drawing, the preparatory study, is typically part of a progression of drawings that elaborate a design. Like the referential sketch, it may not reflect a linear process. (I find computer-aided design much more linear.) I personally like to draw ontranslucent yellow tracing paper, which allows me to layer one drawing on top of another, building on what I’ve drawn before and, again, creating a personal, emotional connection with the work. With both of these types of drawings, there is a certain joy in their creation, which comes from the interaction between the mind and the hand. Our physical and mental interactions with drawings are formative acts. In a handmade drawing, whether on an electronic tablet or on paper, there are intonations, traces of intentions and speculation. This is not unlike the way a musician might intone a note or how a riff in jazz would be understood subliminally and put a smile on your face. I find this quite different from today’s “parametric design,” which allows the computer to generate form from a set of instructions, sometimes resulting in so-called blob architecture. The designs are complex and interesting in their own way, but they lack the emotional content of a design derived from hand.
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Years ago I was sitting in a rather boring faculty meeting at Princeton. To pass the time, I pulled out my pad to start drawing a plan, probably of some building I was designing. An equally bored colleague was watching me, amused. I came to a point of indecision and passed the pad to him. He added a few lines and passed it back. The game was on. Back and forth we went, drawing five lines each, then four and so on. While we didn’t speak, we were engaged in a dialogue over this plan and we understood each other perfectly. I suppose that you could have a debate like that with words, but it would have been entirely different. Our game was not about winners or losers, but about a shared language. We had a genuine love for making this drawing. There was an insistence, by the act of drawing, that the composition would stay open, that the speculation would stay “wet” in the sense of a painting. Our plan was without scale and we could as easily have been drawing a domestic building as a portion of a city. It was the act of drawing that allowed us to speculate. As I work with my computer-savvy students and staff today, I notice that something is lost when they draw only on the computer. It is analogous to hearing the words of a novel read aloud, when reading them on paper allows us to daydream a little, to make associations beyond the literal sentences on the page. Similarly, drawing by hand stimulates the imagination and allows us to speculate about ideas, a good sign that we’re truly alive.
“ My referential sketches sometimes became the inspiration for architectural projects. I drew a partial plan of a garden in Rome to emphasize the way that the form and axes of the adjacent building shape the space of the garden. On the same page is a plan diagram for the Plocek House, which similarly engaged the landscape in an axial manner.� Arcadian Garden Plan Diagram and Parti Sketch for the Plocek House Ink and colored pencil on paper, 1977 29
Sketch & Detail of East Faรงade Michael Graves School of Architecture Wenzhou Kean University Wenzhou, China, 2014 30
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REBUILDING LIVES Madonna Rehabilitation Hospital is a national leader in specialized rehabilitation programs for traumatic brain injury, spinal cord injury, stroke and pulmonary conditions for children and adults of all ages.
Michael testing rehab equipment at Madonna 32
HONOR THE MEMORY OF MICHAEL GRAVES WITH A CONTRIBUTION TO MADONNA REHABILITATION HOSPITAL One of the architecture projects Michael was most passionate about was the Madonna Rehabilitation Hospital in Omaha, Nebraska. The hospital’s leadership and staff shared Michael’s vision for patient-centered care, and truly embraced Michael’s patient-first design principles. Madonna Rehabilitation Hospital will honor Michael with a permanent naming opportunity in the hospital he designed. Memorial contributions may be made to the Madonna Rehabilitation Hospital, Michael Graves Memorial, Omaha Campus. For more information, please visit www.madonna.org.
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CONTRIBUTION FORM To contribute, please fill out this form, tear it out and mail it with your check or credit card number to: Michael Graves Memorial, c/o Madonna Foundation, 5401 South St., Lincoln, NE 68506 Title:_______________________________________________________ First Name:__________________ Last Name:_____________________ Company Name:_____________________________________________ Address:____________________________________________________ City:__________________ State:____________ Zip Code___________ Phone: ________________ Email address:_______________________
Tax Deductible Donation Amount: $_____________________________
Payment Enclosed. (Please make check payable to: Madonna Foundation – Michael Graves Memorial.) Please charge my credit card. Credit Card Information American Express ____ Visa ____ MasterCard____ Discover Card____ Card # _____________________________________________________ Expiration Date:______________________________________________ Signature as it appears on your card:________________________________________________ To donate online, go to www.madonna.org and click on “Donate Now.” A gift acknowledgement will be emailed to the email address specified above. We respect your desire for privacy and will not share your email address with third parties.
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Imagined Landscape Acrylic on Canvas, Completed February 18, 2015
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS MGA&D and Michael’s family wish to sincerely thank the following for their support and invaluable contributions to our Memorial Service. Our guest speakers: Robert Ivy, Mary Sue Sweeney Price, Adele ChatfieldTaylor, Tom Moran, Frank Martinez, Ted Brown, Susan Conger-Austin, Brian Ambroziak, David Mohney, Marsha Lommel, David Capozzi, Jon Wilson, Richard Meier, and Peter Eisenman. The MGA&D staff for their exceptional work in preparing and coordinating this event; in particular, Mary Kate Murray, Sal Forgione, Alyssa Rudnitskas and Laura Hawkins; Jim Stagnitto for his beautiful rendition of Nature Boy as well as his invaluable musical advice; the Kende Trio; and Pianist Michelle Wiley; Bill Taylor and Taylor Photographic for documenting this important event; and Princeton University for their generous support. We also want to thank WTTW-Chicago, CBS Sunday Morning and Dwell for their inspiring documentaries; Mary Harris of Mary Harris Events for her valuable guidance; and lastly, our clients – past, present and future – for ensuring that Michael’s legacy continues.
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“ Michael Graves is a rare individual who finds equal wonder in things both large and small. As one of our century’s most important designers and architects, Michael Graves has created art that surrounds our lives.” —P resident Bill Clinton National Medal Of Arts Ceremony, 1999
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