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Thanks to the overwhelming number of responses to our call for suggestions, “Feel Art Again” will now also be appearing on Saturdays (at least for the summer). Our Saturday posts, though, will be a little different from the regular Tuesday and Thursday posts.
Our first ever Saturday artist is the glass sculptor Dale Chihuly, at the request of reader Nikki. Chihuly is ideal for this honor, considering his history of firsts: he attended America’s first glassblowing program, was named the first National Living Treasure, was the subject of the first HDTV broadcast in America, and designed the first translucent glass-top Steinway piano. So let’s delve right into the legend and his “Seaform Pavilion,” part of the Chihuly Bridge of Glass at the Museum of Glass (Tacoma, WA).
1. Perhaps a result of his initial disinterest in higher education, Dale Chihuly took a break from his studies in 1962, changed schools, and switched majors. He first traveled to Florence during his hiatus, but was discouraged by his inability to communicate with the locals. His solution? Head to the Middle East instead.
2. With wild hair and a black patch over one eye, Chihuly looks a bit like a pirate. The eye patch isn’t just for dramatic flair, though; Chihuly is blind in his left eye. The injury resulted from a 1976 car accident in England, after which he underwent 256 stitches in his face.
3. Chihuly has lead an adventurous life. After earning his B.A., he ventured up to Alaska and worked as a commercial fisherman for a year, to earn money for grad school. A year after he established the glass program at the Rhode Island School of Design, Chihuly and his friends shut down RISD “in protests over the Cambodian offense.” While bodysurfing just 3 years after his car accident, Chihuly dislocated his shoulder; he hasn’t blown glass since. He still managed to bike a 1,000 mile tour of Brittany 3 years later, though.
4. Chihuly has turned his work into a vast mass-production empire, not only producing the hundreds of glass sculptures and their exhibitions through his company, Chihuly Inc., but also producing books, documentaries, and other related products through Portland Press, his publishing company. Chihuly himself no longer blows the glass or sculpts it; he has an army of artists working for him. He does, however, sign every piece, and has stated that production will cease when he’s no longer able to sign.
5. The mass-production of his works had already raised some debate over the validity of Chihuly’s work. In 2006, the debate intensified when Chihuly sued two other glass blowers for copyright infringement. Bryan Rubino, one of the defendants, was quoted in the New York Times as saying, “If anything, Mother Nature should be suing Dale Chihuly,” since most of Chihuly’s inspiration is taken from nature.
6. The Seaform Pavilion is a 50 feet by 20 feet plate-glass ceiling filled with 2,364 sculpted glass objects from Chihuly’s Seaform and Persian series. The ceiling extends over most of the Chihuly Bridge of Glass, above the Museum of Glass. (I had the privilege of visiting two years ago and took the photos posted above.)
Larger versions of the photographs of Seaform Pavilion are available here.
Fans of Dale Chihuly should check out his many books, the Dale Chihuly iGoogle theme, Don Sanchez’s interview with Chihuly, and this Chihuly fax to a glassblowing contractor.
Current Chihuly Exhibits:
Chihuly at the de Young (San Francisco: June 14 – Sept. 28, 2008)
The Glass Experience (Chicago: through Sept. 1, 2008)‘Feel Art Again’ appears every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday. E-mail us at feelartagain@gmail.com with details on current art exhibits or artist suggestions.
Comments (21)
Comment
Great choice! I’m from Pittsburgh and at our conservatory Chihuly had a breath-taking exhibit. It was wonderful to see the glass with all the exotic plants. I went through twice, once during the day and once at night. I recommend going to see his work at night, seeing the pieces glow from light is amazing.
posted by jodie on 6-14-2008 at 12:57 pm
This is a beautiful exhibit. I saw it in OKC last summer, and pictures can’t do it justice. The glass is SO thin! Beautiful stuff. Thanks for this article, I like it!
posted by adrienne on 6-14-2008 at 1:03 pm
There’s also an exhibit of his work at the Indianapolis Children’s Museum. It’s very cool.
posted by Amy on 6-14-2008 at 1:47 pm
I’m so glad you chose Chihuly. I adore his work and have been on a glass kick for a while now. I am enrolled in my first glass blowing class this fall.
My guess is everyone is getting Christmas ornaments! LOL
posted by Karen on 6-14-2008 at 3:17 pm
Thanks for the article!
posted by Nikki on 6-14-2008 at 6:34 pm
Wow! I hadn’t heard of Chihuly before, but will definitely look for his work in the future.
- Jess
posted by Jess on 6-14-2008 at 11:18 pm
His work is in Wichita of all places. I saw it two years ago and you can actually walk over the installation. Pretty amazing. But if other people are doing all of the work…I don’t know…as an artist myself this raises some interesting questions about ideas vs. hands on works.
posted by frida tastic on 6-15-2008 at 12:45 am
My best friend’s son works for Chihuly at his workshop in Seattle, making the wrought iron framework upon which the glass works rest. He is paid well, the work is interesting and he gets to travel the world helping instaff various pieces bought by oil sheiks and the like. As a talented metalsmith himself, Lars Borgeson is a name to remember. Some of his undergraduate work at Northern Arizona University (Flagstaff) was legendary around town. Beautiful yet utilitarian. Anyway, he has told his mother that the work is fulfilling.
posted by Dolly on 6-15-2008 at 1:10 am
Chihuly joins the ranks of other well known artistic frauds like Kinkade and Wyland. They all found a formula and began the manufacturing process quickly, and without regard to real art. Then they foisted that art on the masses — pushed by museums and galleries. Is that a real Chihuly? Or just manufactured glass? Real art comes from the artists HANDS, not from an assembly line of laborers.
posted by Andrew on 6-15-2008 at 4:18 am
They look strikingly similar to the glass flowers on the ceiling of the foyer at Belaggio in Las Vegas.
posted by Amanda on 6-15-2008 at 7:20 am
The glass hall at the Singapore Art Museum is surrounded by an installation by him!
posted by Jade on 6-15-2008 at 10:02 am
Nikki: You’re welcome!
Amanda: The installation at the Bellagio, which consists of 2,000 blown-glass flowers, is also a Chihuly.
posted by Andréa Fernandes on 6-15-2008 at 11:26 am
I think there’s an installation of his at the Joslyn Art Museum in Nebraska. It’s gorgeous!
posted by Jenn on 6-15-2008 at 10:13 pm
There is a gallery in Stockbridge MA, the name of which escapes me right now, which has a major exhibit of pieces for sale by Chihuly and others. Absolutely incredible stuff.
posted by steve on 6-16-2008 at 8:44 am
while he may not blow glass, i’m fairly certain he assembles his pieces. i think his work is beautiful, and would be impossible without 1) all the people who work with him, and 2) without his overall vision for a given project. i’d consider him a first-rate artist.
posted by mri on 6-16-2008 at 9:03 am
I saw Chihuly speak at the MFA in Boston last year. Someone in the audience asked him whether he feels bad putting his name on things that he didn’t actually make and when he avoided the question, asked it again. He said “I wouldn’t be here talking about it if I felt bad, now would I?” He’s a bit of a badass, but he showed some video of the installation he did in Jerusalem and it was unbelievably beautiful.
posted by Adrienne on 6-16-2008 at 11:04 am
I have stunning pictures I took at his exhibit at the NY Botanic Gardens 2 summers ago.
While he can’t blow the glass anymore (that one eye thing) he does design the pieces. In his home he’s got a swimming pool that has an installation of some of his seaform pieces under the clear floor.
posted by Hannah on 6-16-2008 at 12:30 pm
I attended Gonzaga University in Spokane, WA, and they have a huge and amazing chandelier by Chihuly. It’s incredible!
posted by MC on 6-16-2008 at 3:49 pm
I have visited the glass museum, and was facinated by the chihuly bridge. The museum its self is an amazing place to spend the day, although very out of the way if you are visiting Seattle.
chihuly is legendary for his entitled nature and difficulty to collaberate with. As a person connected to the Seattle arts scene, I can reliably testify to this. However is work is stunning, and hs greatly supplemented to the many museums and instalations of glass worldwide.
posted by Hannah on 6-17-2008 at 10:39 am
I, too, have been to the Glass Museum and walked across the Chihuly bridge, and I agree that his work is breathtaking.
As far as Chihuly not being able to actually craft the galss himself anymore, I liken it to the “writer” who is blind but who dictates wonderful poetry or prose to someone more capable of typing the words. Is that person less of a writer, because he cannot actually “write” the way we can? I think if Chihuly can direct others to make his vision become reality, than he is no less an artist.
posted by Therese on 6-17-2008 at 12:52 pm
i saw his work at the altanta botanical gardens. magnificent!!! pictures don’t do his work justice…. you can’t imagine the enormity of some of the pieces!!! wonderful work by a talented BUSINESSMAN and ARTIST.
posted by motorkitty on 7-3-2008 at 12:25 pm