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Film Screening: Philip Johnson
August 9, 2016 @ 6:00 pm - 7:30 pm
Film Screening: Philip Johnson
Diary of an Eccentric Architect
Tuesday, August 9
6:00 to 7:30 p.m.
Landmarks Preservation Resource Center
744 Rebecca Avenue, Wilkinsburg, PA 15221
Join us for a screening of Philip Johnson: Diary of an Eccentric Architect, a documentary on the life and work of an iconic American architect, who once said of his own house: “My place in New Canaan is…a diary of an eccentric architect. I have kept this diary for almost fifty years.” See how Johnson came to be at the forefront of the stylistic change in architecture through the design of his own house in Connecticut, where he became his own best client.
In Pittsburgh, Johnson is best known for designing PPG Place, which was completed in 1984 at the peak of his rise as a postmodern architect. He would later say that he considered PPG Place his favorite building. Of the building’s design, he said: “The tower idea came from the Cathedral of Learning, the famous Gothic tower at the University of Pittsburgh. The idea of the series of towers came from Richardson’s Allegheny County Courthouse.”
The film depicts Johnson at work and the importance of the architectural act, the actual construction, and how the buildings interact with their environment, in this case, the autumn leaves or snow of New Canaan.
This film screening is FREE to PHLF members. Non-members: $5
RSVPs are appreciated: marylu@phlf.org or 412-471-5808 ext. 527