Art Blog - Art In History

Once again, I would like to talk about an entirely different kind of patron: an Institution as patron of architects. Yale University is not alone its its enlightened approach to patronage, but it may be the first and most influential. Beginning in the 1950's, if not before, Yale made a conscious decision to take advantage of its unique position as an initiator of major architectural projects to further the careers of the best, but not best known, architects of the period.

The first and arguably most significant of these choices was to hire Louis Kahn to design its new gallery and visual arts building. Completed in 1953, this was the first major commission for an extroardinary architect whose ideas had heretofore been known primarily through his writing and teaching. The building is considered one of his masterpieces, a building that thoroughly re-examines that nature and function of the gallery, and the relationship of an urban building to the street.

It is fascinating to compare this building with Paul Rdolph's Art an Architcture building, less than a block away, done five years later. It is a testament to Yale's commitment to allow brilliant architects the freedom to be themselves; it could not be more different from the gallery by Kahn. Seeing the two together, one is struck by the radically different attitude of each designer as to how a building should exist in and affect its urban environment. While the Kahn building is almost anonymous from outside, quietly defining and reinforcing the space of the street, the Rudolph building explodes the street corner where it sits, insisting on its uniqueness and energy.

In those same five years, 1953-1958, another major architectural design was realized at Yale: Eero Saarinen's Inghals Hockey Rink. Though Saarinen was well known in Scandinavia, he had not had a prior commission on U.S. soil. Saarinen is now universally known for his TWA terminal at Kennedy Airport, a commission he probably owes to the great success of his hockey rink. It is also clear that he was able to develop his style of drawing expression from structure in the earlier building, and then apply it to the later.

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One last example: The Beineke Rare Book Library, designed by George Bunshaft of Skidmore, Owings and Merrill. This was clearly a well-established firm, not a rising architect in need of a first chance. Still, it is remarkable that an "ivy-covered" institution like Yale allowed Bunshaft to so completely rethink the way a new building fits in an old campus. Built in 1963, in an old quadranle in the center of the University, the Beineke makes no attempt at all to resemble its surroundings is color, materials or detail. Instead, it is treated as a jewel in an antique setting, set off by its surrounding buildings but in no way merging with them. At the same time, It does not disturb its space, as Rudolph's buiding does. With its sunken sculpture garden, it is a pearl, perfect in its pristine isolation.

By allowing good architects the freedom to disgn important buildings, Yale has understood the critical impact an institution can have as a patron.

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