Thomas Jefferson, Third U.S. president & architect, death 4 July 1826
Philip Johnson, American architect, birthday 8 July 1906
The proliferation and simplicity of Michael Thonet’s bent
wood furniture construction overshadow what a remarkable achievement he
developed. The No.14 Vienna Chair and
its compatriots are so commonplace that are often discredited as being cheap or
insignificant. One can
find a cast-off copy in any thrift store for under $5. However, before the Austrian court granted
him “permission” to bend wood exclusively, Thonet painstakingly carved his furniture
pieces. Through experimentation with a
variety of woods and chemical steaming processes he impressed Prince Metternich
who wanted to use Thonet’s achievement to promote Austrian ingenuity and
industrialization. So, before you think
to yourself how tacky your grandmother’s bentwood cane rocker is, take a
moment to marvel at the innovation it represents. 
When most people think of the 3rd President of
the United States one thinks of the Declaration of Independence or the complication
of Jefferson’s affair with Sally Hemings.
Not to mention the coincidence of dying on this nation’s Independence
Day is to forever seal his name to the most significant document he wrote. However, let us not forget that as he was the
architect of the principles of what has become arguably the center of the “free
world”, he also was an architect of buildings as well. Never formally trained, Jefferson’s
studies of European buildings is evident in the Palladian quality to his
designs. He believed the buildings that
housed the nation should be a metaphor for American ideology: the desire to
break culturally and politically with Europe.
Classical styles of ancient Greece, France and China influence are
present in his work. In addition to the campus of the University of
Virginia, his other famous construction was Monticello. The efficient functional location of the bed saddled
between the bedroom and the private study speaks to that American ideal where
advancement was always at hand. It could
also give a new meaning to the phrase “woke up on the wrong side of the bed.” 
My own personal opinion of Philip Johnson has dramatically
shifted over the years from annoyance to fascination. My first introduction was the AT&T
Building which I think looks like a silly giant armoire in the middle of New
York City. It appeared that Johnson had
been too easily influenced by the Memphis School of the 1980s which I blame for
all the terrible jarring neon colors, spatter painted walls, and ridiculously
over-sized shoulder pads. However, on
further inspection, Johnson was a conundrum; simultaneously straddling the stark
simplicity of the Minimalist movement and the vibrancy of Avant-Garde &
Pop Art. His early achievement of the
Glass House influenced by his friendship with Mies van der Rohe was a
completely transparent box with virtually no walls. The intention was to put guest on display adding to discomfort so as
to keep visits to a minimum. 
To make up for the AT&T
fiasco, Johnson completed the Lipstick Building around the corner, one I find
entirely more interesting. On the art front,
Johnson was a highly influential board member of and contributor to MoMA. His 1988 donation of the painting No. 10, the museum’s first
Rothko (another personal favorite), was so radically controversial that
it prompted another member to quit. My
hat is officially off to you, Mr. Johnson.
I’m sorry I ever doubted you. 
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