Eero Saarinen - Architect Who Saw The Future (2016).EN Movie Subtitles

1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:05,000 Support from viewers like you makes this program possible. Please give to your PBS station. 2 00:00:02,000 --> 00:00:07,000 Downloaded from YTS.MX 3 00:00:08,000 --> 00:00:13,000 Official YIFY movies site: YTS.MX 4 00:00:10,000 --> 00:00:20,000 [music] 5 00:00:20,000 --> 00:00:25,000 Our architecture is too humble. 6 00:00:25,000 --> 00:00:30,000 It but should be prouder, more aggressive, much richer, 7 00:00:30,000 --> 00:00:35,000 and larger than we see today. 8 00:00:35,000 --> 00:00:40,000 I would like to do my part in expanding that richness. 9 00:00:40,000 --> 00:00:50,000 [music] 10 00:01:00,000 --> 00:01:05,000 One finds that many different shapes are equally logical, some exciting, 11 00:01:05,000 --> 00:01:10,000 some earthbound, some soaring. The choices really become a sculptor's choices. 12 00:01:35,000 --> 00:02:00,000 [music] 13 00:02:00,000 --> 00:02:15,000 [sil.] 14 00:02:15,000 --> 00:02:20,000 My grandfather was Eliel Saarinen. 15 00:02:20,000 --> 00:02:25,000 My father was Eero Saarinen. And my name's Eric Saarinen. 16 00:02:25,000 --> 00:02:30,000 And they were architects, they were both world-famous architects. 17 00:02:30,000 --> 00:02:35,000 When he was starting out, my father worked under his father. 18 00:02:35,000 --> 00:02:40,000 He worked within the structure of his father's work. 19 00:02:40,000 --> 00:02:45,000 He would do what he was asked to do, and he would be assigned to do details, 20 00:02:45,000 --> 00:02:50,000 and he did them well, but he was always working 21 00:02:50,000 --> 00:02:55,000 within a confines the box. 22 00:02:55,000 --> 00:03:00,000 The first chance he had to make an impact with the design of the zone and show that he was going to be more than 23 00:03:00,000 --> 00:03:05,000 just the son of a famous architect was the design competition for the St. Louis Jefferson Memorial in 1948. 24 00:03:05,000 --> 00:03:10,000 There were quite a few competitions in those days 25 00:03:10,000 --> 00:03:15,000 many more than they are today, but this is the one that everybody wanted to win. Eliel's whole career had been launched for competitions, 26 00:03:15,000 --> 00:03:20,000 and he had brought arrow up to enter competitions. 27 00:03:20,000 --> 00:03:25,000 And of course, Eliel also entered. 28 00:03:25,000 --> 00:03:30,000 Both teams were in the same building on other sides of a wall, working on this competition. 29 00:03:30,000 --> 00:03:35,000 And after the first stage, they sent a telegram to Mr. E Saarinen. 30 00:03:35,000 --> 00:03:40,000 I had heard the story many times. 31 00:03:40,000 --> 00:03:45,000 Telegram came under the door. It said Saarinen won. 32 00:03:45,000 --> 00:03:50,000 So they rejoiced for three days that Eliel had won, 33 00:03:50,000 --> 00:03:55,000 but it was Eero Saarinen who won the competition, not Eliel Saarinen. 34 00:03:55,000 --> 00:04:00,000 So they celebrated again and the nice sweet way to put it is, to say that 35 00:04:00,000 --> 00:04:05,000 Eliel had good reason to celebrate because his son had won. 36 00:04:05,000 --> 00:04:10,000 But in actual fact, I think it was a big blow to Eliel. He had to admit 37 00:04:10,000 --> 00:04:15,000 that his son had beaten him, beaten up badly by a better design. 38 00:04:15,000 --> 00:04:20,000 [music] 39 00:04:25,000 --> 00:04:30,000 [music] 40 00:04:30,000 --> 00:04:35,000 The major concern here 41 00:04:35,000 --> 00:04:40,000 was to create a monument which would have lasting significance, 42 00:04:40,000 --> 00:04:45,000 a landmark of our time. An absolutely simple shape 43 00:04:45,000 --> 00:04:50,000 such as the Egyptian Pyramids seemed to be the basis of the great memorials. 44 00:04:50,000 --> 00:04:55,000 The St. Louis Arch could be a triumphal arch 45 00:04:55,000 --> 00:05:00,000 for our ages as the triumphal arches of classical antiquity 46 00:05:00,000 --> 00:05:05,000 where for (inaudible). 47 00:05:05,000 --> 00:05:10,000 [music] 48 00:05:10,000 --> 00:05:15,000 The St. Louis Arch is one of those rare moments where an architectural competition 49 00:05:15,000 --> 00:05:20,000 yielded something truly, daring, and bold, and important. 50 00:05:20,000 --> 00:05:25,000 Saarinen's work seemed very refreshing to our people, 51 00:05:25,000 --> 00:05:30,000 very exciting, very engaging at a time 52 00:05:30,000 --> 00:05:35,000 when modern architecture, it was a pretty rigid thing. 53 00:05:35,000 --> 00:05:40,000 I think Saarinen's Arch expresses American optimism 54 00:05:40,000 --> 00:05:45,000 and American openness. To me, it says, 55 00:05:45,000 --> 00:05:50,000 you know, here's an architect who sees this country as the symbol 56 00:05:50,000 --> 00:05:55,000 of all that's new of every opportunity, of everything that 20th century 57 00:05:55,000 --> 00:06:00,000 hopes to represent and accomplish. And he sums it up 58 00:06:00,000 --> 00:06:05,000 in this breathtakingly beautiful leap into the sky. 59 00:06:05,000 --> 00:06:15,000 [sil.] 60 00:06:15,000 --> 00:06:20,000 I was only 19 when my father died. 61 00:06:20,000 --> 00:06:25,000 I never really came to terms with who he was or what his work meant. 62 00:06:25,000 --> 00:06:30,000 Now it's a great joy to come back 63 00:06:30,000 --> 00:06:35,000 and understand what he did and how he did it. It's kind of a Magical Mystery Tour for me. 64 00:06:35,000 --> 00:06:45,000 [sil.] 65 00:06:45,000 --> 00:06:50,000 Coming out of school, I stumbled across film-making and started doing documentaries and that led to features. 66 00:06:50,000 --> 00:06:55,000 Yeah, there you go. And drop, 67 00:06:55,000 --> 00:07:00,000 drop, drop, drop. Well, I've had a long career, 68 00:07:00,000 --> 00:07:05,000 been around the world many times. This is probably the most important thing I've ever done 69 00:07:05,000 --> 00:07:10,000 because I never had closure with my father 70 00:07:10,000 --> 00:07:15,000 and it's a very cathartic procedure to go back 71 00:07:15,000 --> 00:07:20,000 and film at my father's work and being able to communicate his work to other people. 72 00:07:20,000 --> 00:07:25,000 Welcome to the top. 73 00:07:25,000 --> 00:07:35,000 [music] 74 00:07:35,000 --> 00:07:40,000 The arch was a combination of a lot of work my father did with his father, 75 00:07:40,000 --> 00:07:45,000 but it was also the beginning of his own work. 76 00:07:45,000 --> 00:07:50,000 It gave them strength to follow his own convictions. 77 00:07:50,000 --> 00:07:55,000 [music] 78 00:07:55,000 --> 00:08:00,000 He made it to last for 1000 years, and I hope it does. I do hope it does. 79 00:08:00,000 --> 00:08:10,000 [music] 80 00:08:15,000 --> 00:08:20,000 My grandfather Eliel designed and built this house in the middle of the forest 81 00:08:20,000 --> 00:08:25,000 in the middle of nowhere. We're surrounded by woods, 82 00:08:25,000 --> 00:08:30,000 surrounded by nature all the way around. My father was born here and raised here. 83 00:08:30,000 --> 00:08:35,000 Eero was brought up in this environment of 84 00:08:35,000 --> 00:08:40,000 artists and musicians and creative people. 85 00:08:40,000 --> 00:08:45,000 Other artists would come along including people like Maxim Gorky who was wanted being hunted down 86 00:08:45,000 --> 00:08:50,000 by the Russian police. He was hiding here for a while 87 00:08:50,000 --> 00:08:55,000 and they sent him out in a boat for the day and the police came. They couldn't find him. 88 00:08:55,000 --> 00:09:00,000 And then Gustav Mahler, the great musician, 89 00:09:00,000 --> 00:09:05,000 and Sibelius would play the piano. They were all friends of Eliel's and they all had tremendous influence on Eero. 90 00:09:05,000 --> 00:09:10,000 The room with a fireplace, 91 00:09:10,000 --> 00:09:15,000 you know, during the winter, it's cold, and we're in Finland, 92 00:09:15,000 --> 00:09:20,000 so everybody was drawn to the fireplace, and there was a lot of discussion there. 93 00:09:20,000 --> 00:09:25,000 As a child, I would always draw 94 00:09:25,000 --> 00:09:30,000 and happen to be good at it. I g***t more attention from drawing than anything else. 95 00:09:30,000 --> 00:09:35,000 One of the draftsman here was Otto. 96 00:09:35,000 --> 00:09:40,000 Eero was like four years old, and he'd come up to Otto, and he'd say, 97 00:09:40,000 --> 00:09:45,000 "Could you draw me a horse?" And so Otto would draw him a horse, and everyday this happening. 98 00:09:45,000 --> 00:09:50,000 Now many years later when my father was interviewing an architect, 99 00:09:50,000 --> 00:09:55,000 he would ask him to draw a horse. And his reason was that 100 00:09:55,000 --> 00:10:00,000 you can tell within two or three strokes if the guy knows anything about drawing at all. 101 00:10:00,000 --> 00:10:05,000 My father had his architectural studio right into house. 102 00:10:05,000 --> 00:10:10,000 I practically grew up under his drafting table. He'd be on the floor drawing, 103 00:10:10,000 --> 00:10:15,000 an Eliel would be at the table drawing. And Eliel would look down once in a while, 104 00:10:15,000 --> 00:10:20,000 and I'm sure Eero came up on his lap and watched him draw for awhile and all that. 105 00:10:20,000 --> 00:10:25,000 So it was just, it was a perfect match. 106 00:10:25,000 --> 00:10:30,000 Except for a rather brief excursion into sculpture, 107 00:10:30,000 --> 00:10:35,000 it never occurred to me to do anything but follow in my father's footsteps and become an architect. 108 00:10:35,000 --> 00:10:40,000 [music] 109 00:10:40,000 --> 00:10:45,000 Eliel's attitude on work rubbed off on an Eero. 110 00:10:45,000 --> 00:10:50,000 Work was everything. Work was the most important thing. 111 00:10:50,000 --> 00:10:55,000 And Eero was on the boat going to the US. He was not just a child. 112 00:10:55,000 --> 00:11:00,000 He had a tremendous intellectual back down, 113 00:11:00,000 -->...