Born On This day- July 8th.. Phillip Johnson

Architecture is one of my passions & 20th century American architecture is my focus. I say that as I realize that my favorite structure is the Duomo in Sienna. Not all that long ago, a young man who was gay & loved design was expected to become a decorator. Brick & concrete were for straight guys; homos were supposed to stick to furniture & fabrics. But for most of the 20th century, there was a glorious exception. Philip Cortely Johnson built skyscrapers in nearly every major USA city, mentored 3 generations of mostly straight male architects, & lived with a man he met when Dwight D. Eisenhower occupied the White House.

Photograph by Irving Penn

Today marks the birthday of Phillip Johnson, my favorite American Architect. Distinctive in his thick round glasses, Johnson caught my interest when I lived in NYC & fell in love with the Seagram's building (which has a mention in the musical Company, making me curious about the reference). After graduating from Harvard, Johnson founded the Department of Architecture & Design at the MOMA. He didn't actually practice architecture for another 10 years. His most iconic work is his Glass House, which I want to see in my lifetime. His other important works include the New York State Theatre at Lincoln Center, JFK Memorial Plaza in Dallas, 101 California Street in San Francisco, 191 Peachtree Tower in Atalanta, the Crystal Cathedral in Garden Grove California, the Tata Theatre in Mombai,  & the unfinished GLBT Cathedral Of Hope in Dallas. Throughout his career he was as well-known for his quips as he was for his buildings. He once famously called Frank Lloyd Wright whose career lasted from the 1880s to the 1950s, "the greatest architect of the 19th century." 

The Seagram Building, built in 1958

Johnson lived with his partner- curator David Whitney from 1960 until his death in January 2005. He died at his Glass House in New Canaan, Connecticut. Johnson was 98. Whitney died less than 6 months later.

Born On This Day- August 13th... Herb Ritts

"I think knowing people by first names, not by what they do sexually, is really what it's about. Not being afraid. Fear is the enemy. I've always been comfortable with being gay."

Herb Ritts

Herb Ritts is one of my favorite photographers. Photography is a medium that I have a passion for & Ritts was a master. He was a classicist in the manner of the great George Platt Lynes & George Hurrell, but he had a contemporary spin on portraiture & yet none of the settings & color of Annie Lebowitz. I love the work & admire all the artists I have mentioned, along with Helmut Newton & Bruce Weber, but Herb Ritts was a gay man of my generation & his work & subjects speak to me. Interestingly, Ritts was self taught.

 Herb Ritts grew up in Beverly Hills with movie stars as neighbors & as a child his neighbor Steve McQueen would take him on rides on the back of his motorcycle. His images celebrated the beauty of the human body, especially the male body & created stylish, unorthodox portraits of celebrities. Ritts gained the same sort of renown as his subjects & he achieved nearly as much fame as those he photographed. His work graced not only the covers & photo spreads of such magazines as Vogue, Vanity Fair, Rolling Stone, Elle, & Harper’s Bazaar, but also album covers, advertisements, television commercials, & music videos.. Ritts claimed that his success in black & white photography stemmed from a photograph he happened to take of his friend Richard Gere while they were waiting for a tire to be changed in the California desert. That photo was ultimately used for publicity when Gere starred in American Gigolo (1980), & both men’s careers received an enormous boost.

Several anthologies of Ritts’s works have been published: Men/Women (1989), Notorious (1992), Africa (1994), Work (1997), & Herb Ritts (2000). Major retrospectives of his work were held in Boston at the Museum of Fine Arts in 1996–97 & in Paris in 2000. Ritts was always candid about his own sexuality. He realized that he was gay while he was in college. He soon came out to his parents, who were accepting & supportive. In 1993, he appeared on an NBC special- The Gay 90s. After the special aired he received many letters from gay young people about coming out. Ritts claimed that he never set out to be a role model & said- “you get some of these letters & realize how important it is that there be encouragement for young gay people.”


Ritts died in Los Angeles from HIV pneumonia-related complications in December 2002 at 50 years old. He left behind his partner Erik Hyman, an entertainment lawyer.

"Some photographers embalm their subjects, but he enlivened them." Richard Gere

People Who Live In Glass Houses Shouldn't Get Stoned...

Architecture is one of my passions & 20th century American architecture is my focus. I say that as I realize that my favorite structure is the Duomo in Sienna. Not all that long ago, a young man who was gay & loved design was expected to become a decorator. Brick & concrete were for straight guys; homos were supposed to stick to furniture & fabrics. But for most of the 20th century, there was a glorious exception. Philip CortelyJohnson built skyscrapers in nearly every major U.S. city, mentored 3 generations of mostly straight male architects, & lived with a man he met when Dwight D. Eisenhower occupied the White House.

Today is the birthday of Phillip Johnson, my favorite American Architect. Distinctive in his thick round glasses, Johnson caught my interest when I lived in NYC & fell in love with the Seagram's building (which has a mention in the musical Company, making me curious about the reference). After graduating from Harvard, Johnson founded the Department of Architecture & Design at the MOMA. He didn't actually practice architecture for another 10 years. His most iconic work is his Glass House, which I want to see in my lifetime. His other important works include the New York State Theatre at Lincoln Center, JFK Memorial Plaza in Dallas, 101 California Street in San Francisco, 191 Peachtree Tower in Atalanta, the Crystal Cathedral in Garden Grove California, the Tata Theatre in Mombai,  & the unfinished GLBT Cathedral Of Hope in Dallas. Throughout his career he was as well-known for his quips as he was for his buildings. He once famously called Frank Lloyd Wright whose career lasted from the 1880s to the 1950s, "the greatest architect of the 19th century."  
 

Johnson lived with his partner- curator David Whitney from 1960 until his death in January 2005. He died at his Glass House in New Canaan, Connecticut. Johnson was 98. Whitney died less than 6 months later.

Born On This Day- July 8th... Architect Phillip Johnson

Architecture is one of my passions & 20th century American architecture is my focus. I say that as I realize that my favorite structure is the Duomo in Sienna. Today is the birthday of Phillip Johnson, my favorite American Architect. Distinctive in his thick round glasses, Johnson caught my interest when I lived in NYC & fell in love with the Seagram's building (which has a mention in Company, making me curious about the reference). After graduating from Harvard, Johnson founded the Department of Architecture & Design at the MOMA. He didn't actually practice architecture for another 10 years. His most iconic work is his Glass House, which I very much want to see in my lifetime. His other important works include the New York State Theatre at Lincoln Center, JFK Memorial Plaza in Dallas, 101 California Street in San Francisco, 191 Peachtree Tower in Atalanta, the Crystal Cathedral in Garden Grove California, the Tata Theatre in Mombai, the new wing at the Boston Public Library & the unfinished GLBT Cathedral Of Hope in Dallas. Johnson lived with his partner- curator David Whitney from 1960 until his death in January 2005. Whitney died less than 6 months later.