The Philip Johnson Glass House / Interview with Director and Chief Curator Henry Urbach

The Glass House is an icon of modernist architecture, designed by the American architect Philip Johnson. In this video, the Director and Chief Curator of The Glass House provides us with an introduction to the building and the site, and talks about his vision for The Glass House, and its programs, exhibitions and events such as Japanese artist Fujiko Nakaya’s fog installation Veil, and the sculpture-in-residence program Night (1947 – 2015). The video above is an excerpt, please scroll down for the complete interview.

The Philip Johnson Glass House / Interview with Director and Chief Curator Henry Urbach. New Canaan (CT, USA), April 25, 2014.

PS: Watch also our coverage of the current exhibition project at The Glass House, Fujiko Nakaya’s fog sculpture Veil, and an interview with Fujiko Nakaya.

> Right-click (Mac: ctrl-click) this link to download Quicktime video file.

“The idea in general has been, while preserving the site, and maintaining its beauty and integrity, also to use it, and to let it breath in these different ways. I don’t know if it would be a a kind of recipe for historic house museums, but here at The Glass House, because of the way Philip and David understood this place, as really a place of creative activity of so many different kinds: experimenting with buildings, constantly changing the landscape, bringing in new art, displaying it, having conversations about art, bringing influential people together in a kind of salon environment. In so many ways they were interested in the kind of creative energy that could be produced at the site, and that is the legacy that we are working to sustain.”

(Henry Urbach, Director and Chief Curator, The Glass House)

Complete video (30:47 min.):

The Glass House was built between 1949 and 1995 by architect Philip Johnson. It’s a National Trust Historic Site located in New Canaan, CT. The 49-acre landscape comprises fourteen structures, including the Glass House (1949), and features a permanent collection of 20th-century painting and sculpture, along with temporary exhibitions. The Philip Johnson Glass House offers its campus as a catalyst for the preservation and interpretation of modern architecture, landscape, and art; and as a canvas for inspiration and experimentation honoring the legacy of Philip Johnson (1906-2005) and David Whitney (1939-2005).

Photo set on Flickr:
The Glass House, New Canaan

Posted in: architecture, art, interview, New York, VernissageTV