Conversations with Thought Leaders launched at Glass House

Richard Lacayo, who writes about books, art and architecture at Time magazine, is one of the fifty participants in Conversations this spring at the Philip Johnson Glass House, a National Trust Historic Site and will be describing his experience on his blog. He’s one of a dozen people who will meet at Kykuit and the Glass House to discuss “Design and Civic Leadership” this weekend (March 13 and 14). Lacayo will be joined by Paul Goldberger (NTHP trustee), Michael Bierut (Pentagram), Deborah Martin (Design Trust for Public Space), Maurice Cox (National Endowment for the Arts), Mark Harari (Phbcatalyst group), Marilyn Jordan Taylor (Skidmore Owings Merrill), Ben Karlin (Superego Industries), and Tom Wright (Regional Plan Association) and the discussion will be moderated by Charles Granquist, Director of the Pocantico Programs for the Rockefeller Brothers Fund (and site director of Kykuit, a National Trust Historic Site). Support for this program is generously provided by Oldcastle Glass.

About Conversations

From 1949 through the end of the century, great minds and leaders from art, architecture, and design gathered in New Canaan (Connecticut) at the invitation of Philip Johnson and David Whitney to engage in intimate, dynamic dialogues in what has been called, “the longest running salon in America”. For the lucky few who received them, an invitation to the Glass House was a significant watershed moment in their professional careers. The Glass House dialogues are now legendary as we recognize their immeasurable influence on art, design, and culture during the second half of the 20th century. In this same spirit, the Philip Johnson Glass House will continue to gather leaders to explore important issues and continue the great dialogues.

Conversations will position the site as both context and catalyst for innovation and change by bringing new and divergent perspectives to the table, including those of artists, architects and designers, as well as civic, scientific, educational and cultural leaders. The National Trust for Historic Preservation will extend the reach of these Conversations to broad audiences to impact scholarship within Modernism.

Topics include “Solution or Sacrilege?” (exploring the viability of modern preservation in the 21st century); “Design and Civic Leadership” (creative leadership and development of cities and cultural institutions); “Attention/Attention Span” (how our built and cultural environment influences a state of inattention); “Toward a 21st Century Renaissance” (the sources and catalysts for the 21st century to break the boundaries between science and art and how they can impact our view of Modernism in the future); “Simplicity” (how the design and context of all our everyday experiences can manifest in a feeling of either simplicity or complexity); and “Legacies” (how the legacies of Johnson, Warhol, Judd, Kahn and others can move ideas forward ).

How it Works

Glass House partners with the moderators to select and invite leaders in various fields of design, art, architecture, and historic preservation who can provide a diversity of perspectives on the topic as well as further perpetuate the Glass House conversations through their work and positions of influence.

There are no preset agendas or presentations, however, the moderator facilitates the conversation to move the topic from current to potential practices and to capture the conversation in a publishable essay. Each Conservation is unique because of the particular mix of participants. This transformational dialogue should leave these leaders inspired to push ideas forward in their own post-Conversation work

A maximum of ten guests will be invited to each Conversation—the number that can comfortably be seated for a great lunch around the dining table in the Glass House. For every conversation, one seat at the table will be offered to a representative from media (to publicly respond to the experience through the media, print or the internet) and one seat will include a leader from the National Trust for Historic Preservation (to ensure cross fertilization of ideas with historic preservation).

For more details, contact Dorothy Dunn, Director of Visitor Experience and Fellowships at the Philip Johnson Glass House.