  Kathleen Member Username: Kathleen Post Number: 2516 Registered: 10-2003 |
Saarinen comes to Cranbrook! A new exhibit on Eero Saarinen opens at Cranbrook on November 17. Following a gala invite-only reception on November 16, there will be a daylong International Saarinen Symposium that includes programs at Cranbrook, programs at the GM Technical Center, and tours of the GM Tech Center campus and R&D building, plus admission to the new exhibit. Sounds like a terrific weekend for Saarinen, GM Tech Center, and Detroit architecture enthusiasts! Cranbrook Art Museum to open groundbreaking new exhibit November 17 "Explore the oeuvre of one of the 20th century's most productive, unconventional masters of architecture – Eero Saarinen – when Cranbrook Art Museum proudly presents the North American premiere of the exhibit, "Eero Saarinen: Shaping the Future," opening November 17. Beginning its three-year national tour at Cranbrook – a National Historic Landmark designed by the architect's father, Eliel Saarinen – the exhibit features work by Eero Saarinen completed at Cranbrook as well as an extensive collection of furniture, photographs, films, drawings and models representing his entire career. ..." http://www.cranbrook.edu/about /news/default.asp?newsid=41119 7&items=1 Symposium on architects Eero and Eliel Saarinen to be held at Cranbrook Nov. 16-18 "Held in conjunction with the opening of the Art Museum's new exhibit, "Eero Saarinen: Shaping the Future," the symposium will delve into the life and work of the Saarinens and features a variety of activities including tours of the 319-acre campus, artist talks and book previews." $75 covers the event, plus lunch at Cranbrook, the shuttle between Cranbrook and the Tech Center, and admission to the Saarinen Exhibit all weekend. Details at http://www.cranbrook.edu/ftpim ages/120/misc/misc_48172.pdf | ||
Kathleen Member Username: Kathleen Post Number: 2525 Registered: 10-2003 |
BTW...earlier this year a new book on Eero Saarinen was published by Yale University Press. Eero Saarinen: Shaping the Future Edited by Eeva-Liisa Pelkonen and Donald Albrecht; With contributions by Mark Coir, Sandy Isenstadt, Reinhold Martin, Will Miller, and Vincent Scully "Eero Saarinen: Shaping the Future offers a new and wide-ranging look at the entire scope of Saarinen’s career. This is the first book on Saarinen to incorporate significant research and materials from the newly available archives of his office, and includes the most complete portfolio of Saarinen's projects to date—a chronological survey of more than 100 built and unbuilt works, previously unpublished photographs, plans, and working drawings. Lavishly illustrated, this major study shows how Saarinen gave his structures an expressive dimension and helped introduce modern architecture to the mainstream of American practice. In his search for a richer and more varied modern architecture, Saarinen become one of the most prolific and controversial practitioners of his time." http://yalepress.yale.edu/yupb ooks/book.asp?isbn=97803001128 25 | ||
Chuckjav Member Username: Chuckjav Post Number: 269 Registered: 09-2007 |
Love the Finns; Saarinen, Hovinen, Taponen, Pitkämäki - the whole gang. Everything they do - they do incredibly well. SUOMI POWER! | ||
Whaler Member Username: Whaler Post Number: 8 Registered: 08-2007 |
Eero Saarinen.A friend of mine is Bing Swanson that was his grandfather...I remember the Swanson house was very unique..Bing's father was also a architect ..We use to hang out in Cranbrook ,Bing always had stories on the design and that special look of Cranbrook..Lots of history and ground breaking designs... | ||
Kathleen Member Username: Kathleen Post Number: 2542 Registered: 10-2003 |
Hey Whaler! Thanks for posting and mentioning Bing's father...architect Robert F. Swanson who married Eero's daughter Pipsan. The extended Saarinen family and their legacy here in the Detroit area, across the country, and around the world is amazing!! Check out this Art Deco Steinway piano that Robert Swanson designed: http://www.artdecopiano.com/Ar t_Deco_Piano/Home/Home.html | ||
Kathleen Member Username: Kathleen Post Number: 2567 Registered: 10-2003 |
Just a reminder of this weekend's Saarinen Symposium and related events at Cranbrook both days. | ||
Carptrash Member Username: Carptrash Post Number: 1480 Registered: 10-2003 |
Save me a seat next to you, K, and I'll try to make it. It sounds good even if I don't. eeeeeeek | ||
Carptrash Member Username: Carptrash Post Number: 1481 Registered: 10-2003 |
PS. There is a rumor going around that both Samuel Cashwan and Gwen Lux did sculpture at the GM Tech HQ. Toss the names around and see if you get any bites? eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeek | ||
Gravitymachine Member Username: Gravitymachine Post Number: 1870 Registered: 05-2005 |
i am fortunate to get to experience Saarinen's work on a (week)daily basis, i'm sitting inside one right now!  | ||
Kathleen Member Username: Kathleen Post Number: 2573 Registered: 10-2003 |
Carpy: I'll make a note. Gravitymachine: At the Tech Center or elsewhere? My husband works at the Tech Center and is still looking forward to touring the campus and attending the lectures to hear more. I'm looking forward to taking photos! | ||
Gravitymachine Member Username: Gravitymachine Post Number: 1872 Registered: 05-2005 |
tech center, design. it is an amazing place yeah, i remember talking to him about it a little when we met at a russell industrial open house (Message edited by gravitymachine on November 15, 2007) | ||
Kathleen Member Username: Kathleen Post Number: 2584 Registered: 10-2003 |
Wow!! What a day at the Saarinen Symposium!! It was quite impressive with several speakers from Helsinki as well as U.S. several Saarinen scholars, GM Design Chief Ed Welburn, and Cranbrook's own Mark Coir and Reed Kroloff. The Cranbrook campus is a work of art for sure. What a treat to see all the Saarinen work there. It was surpassed only by our welcome at the Tech Center and touring the GM Design facilities (the Design Dome, Design Center, and R&D Center). Truly a remarkable event! Nice to see some familiar faces there too! | ||
Ray1936 Member Username: Ray1936 Post Number: 2273 Registered: 01-2005 |
All the Finlanders I know speak like Yoopers. Hope these guys were a bit better..... | ||
Kathleen Member Username: Kathleen Post Number: 2586 Registered: 10-2003 |
Just got home from the Cranbrook Art Museum where we attended a talk about the history of the planning and development of the GM Tech Center as well as saw the new Saarinen exhibition. The Cranbrook Art Museum and Archives staffs did a marvelous job in putting together this exhibition as well as the Symposium! While in the exhibition area, I had the honor of chatting momentarily with the legendary architectural photographer Balthazar Korab. And yesterday I talked with Ralph Rapson, one of Eero Saarinen's fellow Cranbrook students who worked with him on a number of design competitions and commissions. For info on the Saarinen exhibition: http://www.cranbrookart.edu/mu seum/eerosaarinen/index.html | ||
Kathleen Member Username: Kathleen Post Number: 2644 Registered: 10-2003 |
If you weren't able to attend the Saarinen Symposium or to visit Cranbrook to see the Saarinen exhibit, check out these Metromode pieces: "Why Cranbrook Matters" http://www.metromodemedia.com/ features/Cranbrook0047.aspx Shaping the Future - Eero Saarinen - Symposium Tour video on YouTube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v =QwTJqf9Cv14 | ||
Kathleen Member Username: Kathleen Post Number: 2689 Registered: 10-2003 |
Metro Times calls Saarinen "Artist of the year"! How this guy Eero Saarinen influenced the way we see things "There's an installation at the entryway to the new Cranbrook exhibition. Through an oculus-shaped window, an old black-and-white film clip plays, showing a hand printing with architectural precision the name Eero Saarinen. Then, with confidence and flair, the name is signed again, very quickly, backward. Saarinen supposedly could do this with both right and left hands. He could also draw an architectural plan with one hand, while sketching with the other. A shocking, seemingly unnatural feat, it's an apt metaphor for reconciling the two sides of Saarinen: the traditional and the flamboyant. Finally, the modestly heralded life and artistic achievements of this wizard of midcentury design and architecture is honored in a full-scale exhibition. Originating in Helsinki, Finland, the North American premiere is at Cranbrook Art Museum, Saarinen's first stop in America. ... The list of his accomplishments is startling. In the 320-acre General Motors Tech Center in Warren, he designed the corporate counterpart to the Palace of Versailles. In the St. Louis arch, a technological marvel, he employed the simplest of forms to construct a breathtaking monument to the gateway of early frontier exploration. At Washington D.C.'s Dulles airport and the TWA Terminal at New York's Kennedy International airport, he built mind-bending forms to celebrate the new phenomenon of domestic jet flight. In many corporate headquarters he delivered designs that served not just as buildings, but identities. Beside these and many other challenging buildings, he made furniture that's still today produced and coveted as masterpieces of modern design. ..." Full article at: http://www.metrotimes.com/edit orial/story.asp?id=12245 | ||
Kathleen Member Username: Kathleen Post Number: 2690 Registered: 10-2003 |
A couple of upcoming Saarinen events at Cranbrook: In the Architect's Own Hand: Eero Saarinen Drawings in the Cranbrook Collection Hosted by Cranbrook Archives and Cranbrook Art Museum Sunday, January 20, 2008 1:30-3:30 p.m., deSalle Auditorium Fees: $25 ArtMembers@ Cranbrook, $35 general public. Advance registration is recommended. To register online, please visit www.cranbrook.edu. For information, please call 248-645-3142. Explore how architects' ideas take shape as you look through the extensive collection of drawings by Eero Saarinen in the collections of Cranbrook Art Museum and Cranbrook Archives. These images, many of which have never been on display to the public, show the evolution of thought involved in a variety of design projects, from full-scale buildings to rooms to pieces of furniture. It's an exciting journey through the creative process. Eero Saarinen and Associates: Inside the Office Symposium Sunday, January 27, 2008 2:00 p.m., deSalle Auditorium Join former members of the Saarinen Office as they share their memories about working with Eero Saarinen. Speakers will include architect Bob Ziegelman, architecture photographer Richard Knight, and model builder James Smith. This program is organized jointly by Cranbrook Art Museum and the Birmingham Historical Society in conjunction with two exhibitions, Richard Knight: Photography at Cranbrook Art Museum and Eero Saarinen: The Local Legacy at the Birmingham Historical Museum. Details at: http://www.cranbrookart.edu/mu seum/lectures.html | ||
Carptrash Member Username: Carptrash Post Number: 1534 Registered: 10-2003 |
I'm looking for connections between Saarinen and the sculptor Geza Maroti. Keep an open mind and something will show up. eeek | ||
Kathleen Member Username: Kathleen Post Number: 2712 Registered: 10-2003 |
Another Saarinen program announced.... Friends and Colleagues: Eero Saarinen, Charles Eames and Irwin Miller Thursday, February 7, 7pm. Hosted by the Cranbrook Museum of Art. Join Eames Demetrios, Charles Eames’s grandson, and Will Miller, Irwin and Xenia Miller’s son, as they share their family memories of the historical collaboration among Eero Saarinen, Charles Eames, and Irwin Miller. The evening’s program also includes the screening of the never-before-seen films made by Charles Eames during his years at Cranbrook, and will conclude with a celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Herman Miller Eames Aluminum Group home and office chairs designed by Charles and Ray Eames. Museum galleries open from 6-7pm. Reception to follow in the Forum Gallery; cash bar. This program will be held in the DeSalle Auditorium, Cranbrook Art Museum; seating is limited. Free to ArtMembers@ Cranbrook; general admission $10 adults, $5 students with ID. http://www.cranbrookart.edu/mu seum/lectures.html | ||
Kathleen Member Username: Kathleen Post Number: 2733 Registered: 10-2003 |
I attended yesterday's Eero Saarinen and Associates: Inside the Office program. It was terrific!! There were two presentations: the first on Eero Saarinen's Michigan projects, the second on Richard Knight's on-the-job photographs taken from 1957 to 1961. These were followed by a panel discussion moderated by architect Russell Dixon and featuring Robert Ziegelman, Robert Saarinen Swanson, and Richard Knight. They shared their memories of working for Eero Saarinen & Associates back in the late 1940s through the 1950s and into the '60s. Very interesting. I'd estimate the audience at around 75-100 people. Some came from across the country to attend the weekend's opening reception of the Richard Knight: Photographing Saarinen exhibit and special VIP events as well as the Sunday program. The Cranbrook Museum of Art was assisted by the Birmingham Historical Museum in putting this exhibit and program together. Birmingham opened its own Saarinen exhibit this past weekend: "Titled "Eero Saarinen: The Local Legacy," the exhibit tracks Saarinen's southeastern Michigan ties, from his days at the old Baldwin High School to his mentoring relationships with architects who have left imprints on local cityscape." (Detroit Free Press, Friday, January 25: http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs .dll/article?AID=2008801250403) Again, I have to urge you to see the Saarinen exhibit at Cranbrook Museum of Art. It's truly interesting and well displayed. Take advantage of the video presentation on the St. Louis Arch (shown Saturday and Sunday afternoons) or the various programs. http://www.cranbrookart.edu/mu seum/exhibitions.html | ||
Kathleen Member Username: Kathleen Post Number: 2741 Registered: 10-2003 |
Bump... Friends and Colleagues: Eero Saarinen, Charles Eames and Irwin Miller Thursday, February 7, 7pm. Hosted by the Cranbrook Museum of Art. Join Eames Demetrios, Charles Eames’s grandson, and Will Miller, Irwin and Xenia Miller’s son, as they share their family memories of the historical collaboration among Eero Saarinen, Charles Eames, and Irwin Miller. The evening’s program also includes the screening of the never-before-seen films made by Charles Eames during his years at Cranbrook, and will conclude with a celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Herman Miller Eames Aluminum Group home and office chairs designed by Charles and Ray Eames. Museum galleries open from 6-7pm. Reception to follow in the Forum Gallery; cash bar. This program will be held in the DeSalle Auditorium, Cranbrook Art Museum; seating is limited. Free to ArtMembers@ Cranbrook; general admission $10 adults, $5 students with ID. http://www.cranbrookart.edu/mu seum/lectures.html |
