This documentary explores the life of Finnish-American modernist architectural giant Eero Saarinen (1910-1961), whose visionary buildings include National Historic Landmarks such as St. Louis’s iconic Gateway Arch and the General Motors Technical Center in Michigan. Saarinen also designed New York’s TWA Flight Center at John F. Kennedy International Airport, Yale University’s Ingalls Rink, Virginia’s Dulles Airport, and modernist pedestal furniture like the Tulip chair.
Travel with his son, director of photography Eric Saarinen, as he visits the sites of his father’s work on a cathartic journey, shot in 6K with the latest in drone technology that showcases the architect’s body of timeless work for the first time. Eero’s sudden death at age 51 cut short one of the most influential careers in American architecture. Today, Saarinen’s work stands apart and continues to inspire, especially among renewed interest in 20th-century architects and artists who exploded the comfortable constraints of the past to create a robust and daring American aesthetic.
Produced and directed by Peter Rosen, the film will have its television premiere in December 2016 on PBS as part of the American Masters series.
About the director
Peter Rosen has produced and directed more than 100 full-length films and television programs, including two films made with architect I. M. Pei, First Person Singular (PBS, 1998) and The Museum on the Mountain (Ovation, 1999). Commissioned by the United Nations in celebration of its 60th anniversary, A Workshop for Peace (2005), another architecturally-driven film, examines the multi-national design team behind the U.N.’s New York headquarters.
Throughout his career Rosen has worked with a number of today’s most celebrated art luminaries, including Leonard Bernstein, Yo-Yo Ma, Beverly Sills, Stephen Sondheim, Alexander Godunov, Midori, Martha Graham, Placido Domingo, Van Cliburn, I. M. Pei, and Garrison Keillor. Among his awards are the prestigious Directors Guild of America Award and a prime-time Emmy for the film Here to Make Music: The Eighth Van Cliburn International Piano Competition (1989), and a Peabody Award for Playing on the Edge: The Eleventh Van Cliburn International Piano Competition (2001).
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Image courtesy of Yale University Library, Manuscripts & Archives
WED—10-12-2016—7 PM
$12 ($7 ASF Members)
70 min. | In English