Forget About Retirement
via flickr; /Artwork: designslinger]
I didn't title today's post specifically with our current economic crisis in mind. I'm talking
about the architect I.M. Pei, who at the age of 91, attended the November 22nd grand opening of his latest project. The Museum of Islamic Art in Doha, Qatar, may be the architect's swan song, but even if that is the case, he is now a member of a select group of other giants in his profession who worked well beyond their 65th year.
benjaminweybuildings.com /Artwork: designslinger]
In 1997, Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio unveiled the final portion of
an outdoor sculpture titled, Turning Point. The piece was designed by architect Philip Johnson, in association with partner Alan Ritchie, and had it's Ohio debut in Johnson's 91st year. It was the last project completed during Johnson's lifetime, which extended another 8 years. His resume included some innovative and provocative buildings, but Johnson was also as much a sculptor, critic, scholar and arts patron, as he was an architect. Known for decades as the "Bad Boy" of the profession, Johnson was at the forefront of the modern movement in art and design in the early 30s in this country. A dedicated acolyte of Mies van der Rohe, Johnson served as Mies' design partner on the iconic Seagram Building on Park Avenue in New York. He had an out sized personality, and was often accused of changing his design aesthetic simply to suit his personal PR campaign to keep his name in print, and remain THE dean of architecture.
interior, Dutchnatasja via flickr; Guggenheim Museum exterior, Ernst Moeksis via flickr (Inset) Frank Lloyd Wright, seymour.K12.wi; Guggenheim exterior, threecee via flickr /Artwork: designslinger]
He probably took his cues from the man who pioneered the architect as superstar;
Frank Lloyd Wright. No slouch when it came to self-promotion, Wright produced the product to back-up the bravado. And, like Pei and Johnson, he didn't let age stand in the way of his creative output. He was working on, what eventually became one of his most recognized projects, New York's Guggenheim Museum at the age of 91. The museum itself had been in the planning stages since 1943, but Wright came from a hearty gene pool and lived long enough to see the project actually built. Unfortunately, his strong constitution didn't hold out quite long enough, he died April 9, 1959 and the Museum had it's official opening on October 21st.
The concept of retiring at age 55, or even 65, may be a thing of the past given our world
economic condition. We might have to work a little longer than previous generations, but as we've seen in today's post, with a strong constitution, and agile mind, and a fertile imagination, age places no limits on our ability to be creative.
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