GASnews
SUMMER 2016 VO L U M E 2 7 ISSUE 2
INSIDE
3 Letter from the President 3 Letter from the Editor 4 LUXUS: Crossing the Bridge 6 Careers in Art Panel: 2014 Pilchuck Hauberg Fellows 9 The Hot Sheet 10 Being a Board Member 12 Just Your Ordinary, Everyday Library of Record for Glass...
and it Belongs to You
14 Student Profile: Laura Aalto-Setälä 15 School Profile: University of Madison 16 Thank You to our 2016 Conference Sponsors 17 The Critical Vacuum 18 Op-Ed: Is There a Critical Vacuum? 19 GAS Resource Links Cover: ©David Sundberg, Sky Reflector-Net James Carpenter Design Associates integrated artwork commissioned by the MTA Arts & Design Fulton Center, New York, NY, 2004-2014
GAS news
GASnews is published four times per year as a benefit to members.
Glass Art Society Board of Directors 2015-2016
Contributing Writers: Mary Ann Hamblen Kim Harty Michael Hernandez Pamela Koss Emily Kuchenbecker David Schnuckel William Warmus Editor: Kim Harty Graphic Design: Ted Cotrotsos*
President: Vice President: Vice President: Treasurer: Secretary:
Cassandra Straubing Kim Harty Natali Rodrigues Roger MacPherson Tracy Kirchmann
Alex Bernstein Chris Clarke Kelly Conway Matt Durran BJ Katz Ed Kirshner Jeff Lindsay
Marc Petrovic Charlotte Potter Stephen Powell Masahiro Nick Sasaki Jan Smith David Willis
Student Rep:
Emily Kuchenbecker
Staff Pamela Figenshow Koss, Executive Director Shelbey Lang, Executive Assistant Kassaundra Porres, Office and Volunteer Coordinator *part time/contract
6512 23rd Avenue NW, Suite 329, Seattle, WA 98117 USA Phone: 206.382.1305 Fax: 206.382.2630 E-mail: info@glassart.org
Web: www.glassart.org
©2016 The Glass Art Society, a non-profit organization. All rights reserved. Publication of articles in this newsletter prohibited without permission from the Glass Art Society Inc. The Glass Art Society reserves the right to deny applications for Tech Display, advertising participation, GAS membership or conference participation to anyone for any reason.
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PRESIDENT’S LETTER
EDITOR’S LETTER
Dear Friends,
Goodbye GASnews
I can’t wait to see everyone in Corning! We are projecting nearly 2,000 of you to attend this year’s extraordinary conference. I hope y’all are ready. I am super thrilled to announce yet another exciting project our board has spearheaded: the release of the Video Library Project. Up until this point, our History Committee, headed by past GAS President Shane Fero, has been collecting and recording interviews, voices, and stories of glass artists who have had a historical impact on our future. We also have an ever-growing archive collection of recent and not-so-recent conference demos, artist lectures and lecmos, Lifetime Achievement awardees, as well as other random videos, dating back to the early 80s! We feel that it does no good to have this collection archived in boxes, unavailable and unappreciated. However, budgeting for the expense to edit the collection has not been possible up until this point. This year we made the effort to set aside editing funds and now plan to release one edited video per week from the archive for our members to view, beginning this summer! The amount of rich visual history and wisdom captured within this collection is invaluable and I want to acknowledge all past GAS members who have contributed to this project thus far. THANK YOU! Sincerely,
Cassandra Straubing GAS President
When I began editing GASnews three years ago, my ambition was to create a space for critical dialogue about glass art and publish pieces from the experts who know the medium best – the history, processes, context, and tensions - the artists. This aspiration has been fulfilled twice over with the articles from the print committee, composed of glass artists who have written beautifully and bravely. I’ve been lucky to work with a fantastic team including Kristin Galioto, GAS’s recently departed communication manager, and designer Ted Cotrotsos. GASnews has addressed a wide range of artists in the past three years – old-school, mid-career, emerging, designers, goblet makers, techies, students, and contemporary artists – all of them deserving subjects, particularly those artists who might not get picked up on the pages of a more commercial publication. Some of my favorite articles have been GASnews’s op-ed section, including “The Contextual Split” and the “The Venetian Virus” by Suzanne Peck, “Life as an Artist and a Mother” by Julia Rogers, “Glass Pipe Panel: Masters of Disguise” by Jay Macdonell, and “Art Collectors, a Field Guide” by Grace Meils. For this issue’s op-ed, William Warmus has submitted a response to Hyperopia Projects’s GAS Journal article, “The Critical Vacuum.” The subject at hand is whether there is a critical discourse worthy of the ambitious and sophisticated artwork that is being created by artists in the glass community. It is rewarding the see this exchange unfold on the pages of GASnews, and I hope that dialogue will be sustained by future readers and writers in issues to come. In my view, the only way to answer the questions is with a sustained effort to read and then publish, to make a lasting contribution to a dialogue that challenges artists and readers alike to think and feel deeply about the artwork being made in the glass community. I’m pleased to pass the torch to an artist, curator, and member of the print committee since 2014: Mike Hernandez. As a contributing writer, Mike has written stories about a diverse range of artists who are pushing the boundaries of glass including Elias Hansen, Anna Mlasowsky, “techies” Erin Dickson, Shaun Griffiths, and Mark Ganter, and Pilchuck Artists in Residence John Roach and Maya Rouvelle. Mike is an assistant professor and glass program head at Palomar College in San Marcos, CA. He has exhibited his work around the country and, among his many professional accomplishments, he was selected for the Urban Glass MFA show in 2012, and in 2013 he curated The Crystal Method, an exhibition of California glass artists at the Boehm Gallery. I can’t wait to see how GASnews takes shape under his leadership in the coming years. Editing this publication has been a labor of love and it has been a privilege. A heartfelt thank you to all involved for this opportunity. So long, but not goodbye, I will see you at Corning conference and likely in future issues of GASnews, with a byline.
P.S. – Did you know that when glass breaks, the cracks move at speeds of up to 3,000 miles per hour! (First GAS quarterly trivia.) Kim Harty GASNEWS
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LUXUS: CROSSING THE BRIDGE by Michael Hernandez
Elizabeth Potenza, In the Interest of Containing Space and Time. Photo: Shaun Griffiths
A highlight of every Corning GAS conference is the light show. The Corning light show, for as long as I can remember, was always on the bridge. This provided an excellent venue for conference-goers to engage in the spectrum of luminous works as they ended their day attending demos and lectures. Often an impromptu (or unsanctioned) performance or shenanigans would accompany the neon, video, and incandescent sculptures and installations. This year’s light show, titled LUXUS, is moving in some very exciting directions through the vision and hard work of curator Sarah Blood, assistant professor at Alfred University. LUXUS will host an array of artistic practices that engage luminous media in a wide variety of venues. Blood is working with Corning’s Gaffer District, the community organization that oversees the Crystal City’s downtown events and structuring/planning, to organize businesses, empty storefronts, and outdoor spaces around the downtown area. The show will be ongoing over the course of the three-day conference, but will crescendo as part of the Gallery Hop on Friday, June 10.
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Staging the pieces/projects/performances in various venues will give the work a new kind of autonomy than we have seen in previous GAS conference light shows. In past years, viewers encountered the work in one confined space, and the flood of light works would give you sensory overload (not that it’s a bad thing!). For LUXUS, Blood is taking a new direction in curating work specifically for ten outdoor spaces and eight indoor spaces around the downtown area, based on the artists’ proposals. This will provide a format where the work can receive a greater degree of autonomy. This is a format that has been successfully used for the community-engaging light exhibition, InLight Richmond, organized by 1708 Gallery in Richmond, VA. In this exhibition, the curator is invited to select from artists who have proposed work for specific spaces. Each year, the show organizes around a particular neighborhood, giving new meaning to the familiar spaces of Richmond. Similarly, LUXUS will grant selected artists the space specifically intended for the artwork. Conference-goers will see some of the familiar spaces around downtown Corning transformed.
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The biggest change for this year’s light show will be the range of work. Blood, while seeking the best proposals and artwork for the dedicated spaces, is interested in how artists engage with light in unconventional ways, and using conventional forms of neon/plasma and incandescent sculptures and signage. While the jurying and organization of artwork and venues is being finalized, LUXUS has some artists included that are taking the medium of light in innovative directions. So far, confirmed artists include: Mike Hernandez (full disclosure, I will be included in the show), Dale Inglett, Ellen Bahr, Elizabeth Potenza, Tara Nelson, Wayne Strattman, Fred Tschida, J/K (a collaboration between Karen Donnellan and John Hogan), Aric Snee, Zac Weinberg, Angus Powers, Meredith Davenport, Kayla Ohlmer, Trevor Ninos, Jason and Deborah Bernagozzi, and curator Sarah Blood. Blood will include work from some veterans of the neon/plasma/light art community. In fact, the guy who literally wrote the book on neon will be presenting a piece for LUXUS. Wayne Strattman has developed an amazing body of work through-
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Wayne Strattman, Landscape of the Mind. Photo: Greg Maslin
out his career that explores innovative approaches to using glass with neon/plasma and electricity. Often his work functions like alchemy, where Strattman wows his audience into a trance of inquiry and confusion with displays of electrical phenomena. Strattman’s work seems to always move in new and exciting directions through a highly engineered approach to art making. LUXUS is presenting work from a wide range of artists, including students and emerging artists moving in exciting directions through the exploration of light-based art forms. Elizabeth Potenza, a recent MFA graduate at Alfred University, will be exhibiting a version of her TV series, which is an epic story of art and technology. These pieces deconstruct the process-intensive production of the outdated technology of cathode tube televisions and engage the traditional (as opposed to outdated) art of glassblowing. Potenza stages sculptures and multimedia environments with televisions through
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which she projects videos. The videos appear as home movies from decades past, with audio of a family recounting the events being projected. Potenza points to the distortion of memory through her use of handblown TV forms, and in the glass that alters the projection of the videos. These “TVs” are presented with their all of their guts on display, where the artist pays homage to the cathode tube technology. Many of the highlighted exhibitions surrounding GAS conferences inevitably examine glass material and craft. It is with forward thinking that Sarah Blood, as a curator, asks us as glass artists, enthusiasts, and collectors to engage with a deeper understanding of light as a medium. The LUXUS exhibition will broaden our relationship with light through interactive, new media, performance, and sculptural formats. Michael Hernandez is an artist and Assistant Professor/Head of Glass at Palomar College residing in San Marcos, CA. VVO OLLUUM MEE 2257 ,, II SS SS U U EE 42
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CAREERS IN ART PANEL: 2014 PILCHUCK HAUBERG FELLOWS A Panel Discussion of the Personal and Collaborative Studio Practice of the 2014 Pilchuck Hauberg Fellows by David Schnuckel The 2016 Careers in Art Panel at the GAS conference features a team of six artists that came together for Pilchuck Glass School’s 2014 Hauberg Fellowship. The fellowship, which began in 2002, is named after Pilchuck co-founder John H. Hauberg (1916-2002) and was created to encourage collaboration among a small group of established artists. The selected artists are invited to Pilchuck’s campus to create new work, conduct research, and explore new making practices based on a common theme or a project of shared interest. Moderated by the PIlchuck Glass School’s Artistic Director, Tina Aufiero, the panel will host a conversation regarding each Fellow’s individual practice, a discussion of their collaborative efforts, craft/material engagement, personal and collective research strategies, and methods for evaluating and attaining personal and artistic goals. An open discussion at the end of the panel will allow for conversation with the audience to further investigate issues regarding personal and partnered making experiences. The 2014 Hauberg Fellows included Amie McNeel, an artist and associate professor at the University of Washington in Seattle, WA; Rachel Moore, an artist, curator, and artistic director at Helen Day Art Center in Stowe, VT; Jackie Pancari, an artist in Alfred, New York; Kait Rhoads, a sculptor in Seattle, WA; Robin Cass, an artist, associate dean, and professor at the Rochester Institute of Technology in Rochester, NY; and Norwood Viviano, an artist, associate professor, and sculpture program coordinator at Grand Valley State University in Allendale, MI. Each individual came to the Fellowship with an established studio practice and an internationally recognized body of work that integrated glass. Although there were incredibly diverse and varied approaches amongst the group as to how glass is used, it was a congruent element nonetheless.
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Jackie Pancari, Reflective Translation, A Letter from Sol Lewitt to Ava Hess 2015, blown glass, mirrored plate glass, reflective material. Each panel 10.5 x 14.25 x .25 in. Blown sphere, about 7.5 in.
In addtion, the 2014 Hauberg Fellows found several thematic and aesthetic qualities of interest that tied the group’s individual artistic ambitions into a collective whole. “We proposed that the micro/macro in our work tied us together. But it was also a shared history, knowledge, and appreciation of each other’s work,” says Moore. “There were two [individuals] that had the idea [of applying to the Hauberg Fellowship] and reached out to invite the others, presumably because of the anticipation that we would all work well together. And what a wonderful idea this happened to be!” “I didn’t think about what the future would bring our group in the beginning,” adds Rhoads regarding the group’s origin story. “When Norwood and I thought about whom to invite to be part of the Hauberg Fellowship, our go-to list was of good friends and amazing work buddies. Some of them I have known already for 20 years. It has changed our relationships I believe, GASNEWS
to one of more honesty and openness concerning the art making/marketing/ curating/teaching process. I hope to keep this openness going for the rest of my life.” In those short two weeks of the Fellowship back in 2014, the Hauberg Fellows set the intention of enhancing their individual practices, as well as coming together to develop a joint approach to creative inquiry, too. “Conversations have certainly influenced ideas in the studio,” says Moore. “I enjoy the dynamics of this group, and the diversity of perspective and practice, and therefore continue to find it stimulating. I certainly did not have expectations that this would sustain, but as evidenced by our initial residency, it was clear that we work well together.” Studio exploration and material research was motivated by shared issues of investigation related to pattern, scale, science, and natural phenomena; work that not only further enhanced each individual’s vision, technical capability,
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Kait Rhoads, Alaria, 2014-2015, blown glass, steel, copper wire 37 x 48 x 10 in.
and curiosity, but efforts and experiences that helped plant seeds in how they define collaboration. “[The partnership has] given me a greater appreciation for the range of approaches to idea development and artmaking, even within our little glass world,” reflects Cass. “We had the rare opportunity to work in close proximity to each other outside of our various other roles (teacher, administrator, curator, etc.) and it was clear that we have pretty unique ways of being in the studio, gathering inspiration, developing ideas, experimenting with materials, and making work.” Cass continues by saying, “This kind of experience can open you up to considering alternate approaches in all of these parts of the creative process…perhaps changing the way you work.” Aside from developing a stronger sense of camaraderie amongst the group, the Hauberg Fellowship culminated in two well-received exhibitions of the work and ideas that started during that residency. In late January of 2015, the group put on Parallel Frequencies at the Cohen Gallery of Alfred University in Alfred, New York. In June of 2015, a second exhibition of the GASNEWS
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same name took place at the Traver Gallery in Seattle, Washington. Through using glass, each artist addressed concepts related to microscopic and/or macroscopic observations of systemic patterning, change, or transformation from their individual point of view: Amie McNeelʼs investigation of the natural world’s sequencing, layering, and progression within growth patterns; Rachel Moore’s continuation of her examination of macro and micro through kilncast works that engage history and memory within a specific community; Jackie Pancari’s engagement with systems and science to examine natural phenomena inherently related to the material qualities of glass; Kait Rhoads’ altering of the scale of patterns and connective matrices that exist in nature; Robin Cass’ exploration and reinterpreting a series of botanical forms while infusing new scientific and diagrammatic tools; and Norwood Viviano’s employment of technology, architecture, and scale to further understand change in landscape and community over time. When asked what makes the collaborative nature and partnership of the group so beneficial, Viviano VOLUME 27, ISSUE 2
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Norwood Viviano, Mining Industries Boston Prudential Center, 2015, kilncast glass/rapid prototyped pattern, 40.5 x 7.75 x 8.75 in.
says, “Certainly the discourse has been invaluable. The encouragement as well. I believe there aren’t a lot of incentives for the mid-career artists. This has been a way to find some common ground as well as discussion points.” “We have established individual relationships with each person [in the group] and with a familiarity of what each person does and how they want to individually collaborate,” Pancari adds. “Collaboration of the making process is not necessarily easy. The Hauberg residency, which is based in the idea of collaboration, gave me the opportunity to exercise a different way to approach an idea, where I might not have complete control, which I find exciting.” The timing of the 2016 GAS conference will mark just about one year to the day of the opening of the group’s last exhibition at Traver Gallery, and the group will reassemble as a unit to present Creating Context: All Together Now, the conference’s Careers in Art Panel discussion, on
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Saturday, June 11, 2016. “This panel is a culmination of practices and ideas presented and discussed after a variety of collaborations – in studio, as a panel, and through exhibitions,” says Moore. When asked about the connections between this panel and the conference theme of Creating Context: Glass in a New Light, a wide variety of thoughts from group members are revealed. “The idea of context and collaboration go together seamlessly,” says Viviano. “If it weren’t for the initial connection and the shared Alfred experience that five of the six of us had in common – I don’t think this opportunity would have coalesced. The spirit of collaboration and time at Pilchuck encouraged all of us to examine our previous accomplishments and experiences in a new way.” “I think collaborating with other artists gets you to think and even create in ways that you might not have ever considered. It can be fresh thinking and very inspirational if you are open to it,” adds Pancari.
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“It is not easy for artists to ‘bare all’ around other artists,” says Rhoads, “but all of us felt confident enough to share freely with one another.” Don’t miss this very special opportunity to sit in on this conversation regarding the multi-faceted structure that professional artistic practice can entail. The panel will take place on Saturday, June 11 at 3:30 pm in the Corning-Painted Post High School Auditorium. David Schnuckel is an artist and educator, currently serving as visiting assistant professor to the Glass Program of the Rochester Institute of Technology in Rochester, New York. Amie McNeel, OctoLens, 2015, mold blown glass, aluminum forged and fab, 11.5 x 16 x 11 in.
HOT MATTER To the GAS Membership: In light of the recent events and announcements affecting the art glass industry, the Glass Art Society will be posting pertinent information direct from the sources. We will be using our Weekly Digest communication vehicle, which comes out on Sunday mornings, to accomplish this. Social media, although prevalent, is not always the best source for information. The Glass Art Society supports our members who make art with glass and we support a clean environment. We will work to keep you informed with credible information as the industry goes through this challenging time. – Pamela Koss, Executive Director The following is an announcement from Spectrum Glass:
Spectrum Glass Nuggets® Production Schedule Update In an effort to improve product availability, Spectrum will be extending their System 96® Nuggets and Spectrum® Premium 2.0 Nuggets production through mid-September, 2016. We will be running Nuggets on 2-3 furnaces to insure that we produce a substantial quantity of inventory. We are attempting to ensure that customers receive product quantities that are in line with their historical purchase patterns in hopes that as many blowing studios as possible have an opportunity to secure some level of Nuggets inventory. Regarding the long-term plan, Spectrum Glass is currently reviewing several promising options for parties interested in purchasing the formulas and equipment to continue making Nuggets® in the future. We will update you as soon as we have anything firm to report. In light of our recent news, there is a lot of speculation taking place on various chat boards and sites regarding availability, and the future of Nuggets. Spectrum Glass would be pleased to provide customers with fact-based information regarding our Nuggets products over the coming months to alleviate any concerns. Please send your questions to info@spectrumglass.com and we will answer your questions as quickly as possible. GASNEWS
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BEING A BOARD MEMBER by Kim Harty
2014-2015 GAS Board in San Jose
What comes to your mind when you imagine the GAS Board of Directors? I have been a GAS member on and off since I was in college. When I was asked to join three years ago, I was surprised to learn how the organization functions. I never knew how GAS was organized or who was on the board. I imagined it as a slick and monolithic organization with a handful of wealthy patrons funding it, but since joining I have learned that GAS functions much more like an artist collective, relying on the work and expertise of the board members to keep the organization running. GAS has a lean staff of two hardworking, talented, and organized fulltime people and equally devoted part-timers, led by executive director Pamela Koss, in an office that I now imagine as a very large closet, though I’ve never actually seen the GAS office (there are just a lot of conference calls, very very long conference calls). The board members are spread out across the globe and are working to develop programs and working with staff to run them. The student exhibition? GASnews? Conference planning? Strategic planning? Video library? There is a board member putting in hours to get these events to happen. Since I will be stepping off the board at the
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Corning conference, I wanted to write this article to help demystify the GAS Board of Directors to the membership, and dispel some of the myths I had about the Glass Art Society when I first joined. Myth: The board is full of collectors and that is what funds GAS. According to GAS’s bylaws, the Board of Directors must be made up of two-thirds artists, though often, the percentage is greater. GAS has what is called a "working board," meaning that while 100% of board members make some level of financial gift, few of us are writing big fat checks to GAS. We are putting in our time and energy to make the organization run (it’s almost like taking on a part time job), and donate to the auction. You actually fund the organization; your membership dues and conference registrations are a huge portion of the annual budget. As an international organization, GAS is often ineligible for grants and special funding in its home city and state, so the organization depends on the support of glass artists and enthusiasts across the country and internationally to keep it running. GAS puts artists first and they are the primary constituency; it’s powerful that this organization is funded by artists.
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Myth: The board doesn’t listen to anyone. We listen to the membership and appreciate every member’s feedback, both negative and positive. Did you comment about the price of your ticket? The fact that there were too many demos at the same time? Was transportation to different venues a nightmare? The closing night party was too lavish? Not lavish enough? We're listening to all the letters, emails, and surveys that come and are trying to address your concerns as we plan each successive event. Every conference city is different and has different demands, but we keep in mind all the feedback we get and are continually trying to improve our members’ experiences. Myth: Nothing ever changes. Good things happen at GAS that no one knows about. Did you know that two years ago we raised demo honorariums from $250 to $400 to be competitive with lecture honorariums and recognize the importance of demonstrated skill? Have you noticed the evolution of cultivation of a relationship with the flameworking community? The online student exhibition? Video library? Did you know that the Emerging Artist Lectures were endowed last year? The TAG grant, the Littleton Lecture
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– these are just a few advancements that have happened in the last couple years. As an artist, I remember being frustrated that GAS was unable to facilitate glass performance. In 2017, the conference will be showing performance for the first time. Itʼs exciting to see GAS evolving. Myth: GAS thinks I’m made of money. We care about your finances! I know, the plane ticket the hotel room and the registration fee is a lot of dough, and we appreciate that you are choosing to invest your hard earned cash in GAS. We are continually trying to keep conference registration and membership down for our members, because we are artists and we know cash is tight. Pamela Koss is amazing at negotiating deals on conference hotel rooms, we offer work exchange programs, and haven’t raised conference or membership fees in years. Other similar organizations (International Sculpture Center and the Society of North American Goldsmiths) host conferences that cost in the $400-$500 range. If you don’t have the cash or the time off to attend a 2-week workshop at a place like Pilchuck, the conference can fill you up on inspiration in just a weekend.
Before I was on the board, I didn’t know any of this stuff. I thought GAS was just a giant non-profit that would be there whenever I needed it. Now I know it is the tireless work of artists and staff members that keep the engine of GAS running. GAS is an idea expressed in its mission statement: “encourage excellence, to advance education, to promote the appreciation and development of the glass arts, and to support the worldwide community of artists who work with glass.” It is living, it is fluid, it evolves and it can be changed – by you. Often a labor of love, being on the GAS Board of Directors has been inspiring. To the future board members I say – give it your all, challenge the organization, push for what you believe in, and leave exhausted. Kim Harty is an assistant professor of glass at the College for Creative Studies in Detroit, MI.
Myth: There is a secret handshake to be involved with GAS. This is an organization by artists, for artists, collectors, critics, administrators, curators, and manufacturers, and it’s all about participation. Apply to demo or lecture at the next conference. Get your business a booth at Tech Display. Write an op-ed for GASnews. Submit your events and openings to the GAS Weekly Digest. Reach out and tell us what you loved about the conference, and what you thought could be improved. Remember our major website redesign? Fill out your profile, and check out other artists. Keep renewing your membership, even if you don’t attend the conference.
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JUST YOUR ORDINARY, EVERYDAY LIBRARY OF RECORD FOR GLASS... AND IT BELONGS TO YOU by Mary Anne Hamblen When the Juliette K. and Leonard S. Rakow Research Library was established in 1951 at the center of The Corning Museum of Glass, its position was both practical and symbolic. Arthur Houghton, Jr., co-founder of the Museum and former curator of rare books at the Library of Congress, considered the library to be essential to the institution’s mission. Houghton placed rare books and incunabula he acquired for the library’s collection at the entrance to the Museum – one of the first things a visitor would see. Today, the library Houghton began building over 60 years ago is the library of record for glass. Open to the public and free of charge, the Rakow Library serves a local and international community of researchers numbering in the thousands per year. We are fortunate to be the stewards of a comprehensive collection built largely through the generosity of glass enthusiasts. Visitors to the Library can browse open stacks containing 57,000 books in 58
Castilleia affinis, design drawing for botanical glass model by Rudolf Blaschka. Collection of the Rakow Research Library, The Corning Museum of Glass.
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Rakow Research Library reading room. Photography by Matt Wittmeyer, courtesy of The Corning Museum of Glass.
languages, 85,000 periodicals, 220,000 slides and thousands of videos. The Special Collections and Archives include works of art on paper, posters, stained glass cartoons, auction and trade catalogs, archival collections, and rare books. A unique collection of over 150 batch books contains glass recipes spanning several centuries. Nearly all of the batch books are digitized and available on our website, part of the Rakow’s extensive digitization program that provides Library access to users around the world, many of whom are not able to travel the distance for an in-person visit. The Rakow Library has 200 archival collections including research files from glass scholars, glass company business and production records, art gallery records and the papers of curators, contemporary artists and glassmakers. Curators for the Museum’s special exhibition, Fragile Legacy: The Marine Invertebrate Glass Models of Leopold and Rudolf Blaschka, GASNEWS
did extensive research in the Library’s Leopold and Rudolf Blaschka Archive. The father and son lampworkers who produced botanical and marine invertebrate models from glass have long been of interest to historians, scientists, and contemporary flameworkers. The archive holds their detailed drawings for the models, and also personal papers and business records that offer a glimpse into how and where they marketed their glass models and the production processes behind their work. The Library has a growing collection of contemporary artists’ archives as well. An artist’s personal papers give context for their work, documenting the production of his or her art; these records often inform and inspire new art, playing a vital role in the ongoing conversation about glass. These are the records that will be studied in the future, for interpretation, inspiration, and scholarship. In addition to archival collections, the Library’s climate-controlled stacks hold
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numerous artists’ files, containing exhibit brochures, business cards, photographs, invitations, reviews, announcements and much more, on established, as well as lesser known, glass artists. Much of the information within the artist files cannot be found elsewhere, making them one of the Library’s most valuable collections. Please consider donating materials to your artist file, and be a part of the ongoing conversation on contemporary glass art. If you do not yet have an artist file, let us know! During the GAS 2016 conference, the Rakow Library will host several walkin sessions with an archivist who will answer any questions you may have about arranging and preserving your personal papers. Stop by with inquiries or simply to discuss your collection. Information will be included in your conference packet under Ask the Archivist. The Rakow Research Library is open to the public every day, with extended hours
during the conference. Be sure to see the Library’s special exhibition while you are at the conference, Revealing the Invisible: The History of Glass and the Microscope, which will feature rare microscopes and early books on microscopy. And when you stop by, inquire about starting your artist’s file or bring materials to add to its contents. The Library’s reading room offers computers, printing, scanning and photocopying, as well as place to research the topics that interest you. If you plan to do research and want to maximize your time while at GAS, contact the Library ahead of time to have materials pulled or to get help with a research question. Use the Ask a Librarian service, search the online catalog, or browse the Library’s research guides online. Mary Anne Hamblen is the Special Collections and Archives Librarian at the Rakow Research Library.
Aisle of compact shelving in Rakow Research Library secured stacks. Photography by Matt Wittmeyer, courtesy of The Corning Museum of Glass.
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STUDENT PROFILE: LAURA AALTO-SETÄLÄ by Emily Kuchenbecker
Laura Aalto-Setälä, Scarred, 2016, blown furnace glass, bioactive glass, coldworking, 35 x 20 x 25 cm
Laura Aalto-Setälä was born in Helsinki, Finland in 1988. She received her M.Sc in physics from the University of Helsinki in 2014, and is currently in her third year in the MA program for applied art and design from Aalto University. Laura divides her focus between art and research while traveling between Helsinki and Turku. When in Helsinki, she focuses on her artistic practice, and she works as a product designer in a medical-tech startup. When she spends her time in Turku, she focuses her research as a PhD student on the medical applications of glass. The artistic program at Aalto University has a strict BA foundation. As a BA student you focus mostly on technical skills. MA students have more freedom to focus on the “why” of their making and less on the “how.” Students are able to enroll in more conceptual courses and explore their research through different mediums. The university has a main gaffer on site to answer technical questions, and students have access to the university’s facilities. The MA program is a two-year program, however Laura has extended it to continue her studies in the sciences and
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arts simultaneously. She is scheduled to graduate from this program in the summer of 2016. Laura fell in love with glass for its complexity and is intrigued by the material from a scientific standpoint, including the optical aesthetics of glass. Her current work consists of glassblowing and extensive coldworking, and she approaches the material in an unconventional way, applying her skills as both a scientist and designer to create intermediary works that push the boundaries of art, design, and science. Currently, she is combining the bioactive glass from her research with her sculptural work as part of her thesis for the MA program. In her piece Still Together, Laura uses blown glass spheres with magnets inside them. The magnetic force attracts the spheres towards each other, suspending them in space, though they never fully touch. The magnetization is slowly fading (about 1% per decade) and the gravity will eventually overtake the magnetic pull, causing the suspended sphere to fall to the ground. Laura’s interest in impermanence and the viewer’s experience GASNEWS
resonates in this work. The Observers is a series of vessels with eyeball-like botanical forms peaking out of them. Laura first created these pieces completely in hot glass, and later evolved a method for attaching spherical forms to the vessel cold. These forms are peeking at the world around them, activating a space in both the interior and exterior of the vessels. The series is composed of roughly nine variations, each with different gestures. Nosto (hoist) – a pieces in which a piece of blown glass is seemingly being squeezed and lifted by a woven rope – is inspired by how boats are hoisted from the waters. A sailing rope, providing a natural feeling of floating, supports the weight of the glass object and creates a feeling of weightlessness in the piece. In her piece entitled Scarred, Laura made freely formed blown glass vessels, which were then broken. Using pink bioactive glass, which is commonly used in medical practices to treat bone diseases, she repaired the crack within the vessel. The bioactive glass is a focal point within the object, healing the vessel with decorative pink scars. Laura approaches glass in an unconventional way. Combining her love of physics and design, she creates conceptual glasswork that provokes a conversation or embodies the viewer experience.
Laura Aalto-Setälä
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SCHOOL PROFILE: UNIVERSITY OF MADISON by Emily Kuchenbecker
UW-Madison 700 lbs. continuous furnace
University of Madison-Wisconsin was home to the first collegiate glass program in United States. Harvey Littleton founded the program in 1962 and many know the program as the birthplace of American Studio Glass. Helen Lee is the current head of the department and also the assistant professor of glass. The glass program is focused on conceptual growth and creating a dialogue within a larger context of fine art. Lee teaches two courses per semester, and takes on the lead responsibility of building the curriculum for the university, as well as being a resource to help students grow using glass as a material. There are programs within the university offered in both the graduate and undergraduate levels. Undergraduate degrees are offered for BFA, BS-Art, or BS-Art Ed. Degree-seeking students will partake in an intensive course load in which they will learn technical skills in the areas of glassblowing, casting, fusing, slumping, flameworking, and coldworking. The MFA graduate program is a three-year program, and an MA can be achieved in two years. Graduates work to develop a conceptual body of work using the facilities on campus. Both BFA and MFA students have the opportunity to create a body of work in which they can investigate an idea and exhibit their artwork at the end of their program. GASNEWS
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UW-Madison Hotshop
The glass facilities at UW-Madison are equipped for all uses of the material. The hotshop contains a 700 lb. continuous furnace, two benches, pick-up kilns, two glory holes, annealers, and a garage. There are six kilns occupying the studio’s kiln room, in which glass can be casted, fused, or slumped. The coldshop contains a diamond saw, lap wheels (including pumice and cerium), two belt sanders, as well as a lathe and a drill press. The studio has access to torches and a Heathway scientific glass lathe, so flameworking is beginning to be incorporated into the program. One of the most unique aspects of the UW-Madison Glass Lab is their fully equipped neon studio. Brad Corso teaches a neon course every spring semester. With weekly visits from artists of various disciplines, Madison holds one of longest-running visiting artist programs in the United States. Along with shorter visits from artists, the Glass Lab hosts two to three material-specific artists per semester from whom students can learn. In spring of 2015, Stine Bidstrup served as the spring glass lecturer, and she taught beginning, intermediate, and advanced level glassblowing courses. Helen Lee has focused the program on the developmental use of glass as a material, to create a conversation amongst her students VOLUME 27, ISSUE 2
that relates to the larger perspective of contemporary studio practice. Aside from the intensive curriculum in the spring and fall semesters, the Glass Lab offers a process-specific course every summer. They typically alternate between a hotshop and neon course. In the summer of 2014, Greg Mowery, from the School of Art Institute of Chicago, taught a neon class. In 2015 the summer course was focused on the use of hot glass, and was taught by Jon Chapman from the University of WisconsinStevens Point. In the summer of 2016, Jacob Fishman will teach the intensive course with the focus of glass and neon. The University of Wisconsin-Madison has a diverse and complex community of students and faculty, allowing for all to explore their investigations through various degree-seeking programs throughout the university. With various workshops and lectures being offered by visiting artists, students have access to professionals working within the field of glass art. The studio is focused on conceptually driven investigations and the interdisciplinary uses of glass as a material, allowing for the examination of formal uses as well the use of glass as performance, process, or phenomena. Emily Kuchenbecker is a senior in the 3D-BFA program at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point.
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THANK YOU TO OUR 2016 GAS CONFERENCE SPONSORS
2016 Major Sponsors
The Glass Art Society and the 2016 Corning conference co-chairs extend their greatest appreciation to all who made the 45th GAS conference possible. Countless people contributed time, energy, thought, and funds to make this conference a success. We also wish to thank the fabulous presenters, lecturers, and artists who created works for the cause, as well as everyone who attended.
Crystal City Stroll Transportation Sponsor
The Glass Art Society Journal for the 2016 conference is supported in part by an award from the National Endowment for the Arts and The Corning Incorporated Foundation.
The Corning Museum of Glass Corning Incorporated Corning Incorporated Foundation Art Alliance for Contemporary Glass International Student Exhibition Sponsor
The Glass Furnace Foundation Presentation Sponsors
His Glassworks, Inc. Pavel Novak and Martin Rosol Demo
Image: The new Contemporary Art + Design Wing at CMoG, Iwan Baan photo.
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GLASS ART SOCIETY
THE CRITICAL VACUUM by Hyperopia Projects This article originally appeared on page 23 of the 2015 GAS Journal. To read it in its entirety, please click this box for a link.
EXCERPT
Photo: Ed Pollard
JOIN US IN NORFOLK, VA For the GAS conference June 1-3, 2017 Reflections from the Edge: Glass, Art, and Performance The Chrysler Museum of Art and its Perry Glass Studio will host the 46th annual Glass Art Society conference. Attendees will experience technical glass demonstrations on various glass processes and topics; lectures on science and art; and special events such as a local Gallery Hop, Goblet Grab, International Student Exhibition, and Live and Silent Auction. Participants will also witness groundbreaking theatrical glass performances, for which the Studio is quickly establishing a national reputation.
BECOME A GAS MEMBER The Glass Art Society is an international non-profit organization founded in 1971. We strive to stimulate communication among artists, educators, students, collectors, gallery and museum personnel, art critics, manufacturers, and all others interested in the production, technology, and aesthetics of glass. Member benefits include four online issues of GASnews per year, the annual printed Journal, free classified listings, and much more. 6512 - 23rd Ave NW Suite 329, Seattle, WA 98117 206.382.1305 www.glassart.org info @glassart.org
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The work being made by contemporary glass artists over the past decade requires a more sophisticated address of criticality than in previous decades. There are signs of a changing climate for criticality, but many of these high notes are one-off efforts that don’t have a sense of continuity. This presentation responds to the lack of sustained institutionalized efforts to foster criticality; great things happen, and when they’re done, they’re gone. Other groups have addressed this concern, including efforts by the curatorial team Yukanjali and the Facebook group Glass Secessionism. These documented efforts, in addition to a critical mass of formal and informal conversations in the field, point to an overwhelming desire for more robust critical activity in glass. We are asking: What is the place for criticality in this field? Where should it live? The goal of our presentation, and this publication, is to influence the changes we might see in the next five years. GAS serves a gamut of individuals that comprise the glass community. Of this spectrum, we are addressing a specific subset that is interested in increasing the level of criticality in the field. Each person in this community has the capacity to improve the state of criticism and critical thinking in glass via action, awareness, insight, influence, or dollars. _______________________________ Hyperopia Projects is a collaborative identity founded by Helen Lee, Matt Szösz, and Alex Rosenberg in 2010 and works to support an expansive definition of glass practices. Hyperopia is the clinical term for farsightedness; we are invested in a long view of where this discipline is headed by promoting rigor in critical discourse and creating exhibition opportunities for deserving but overlooked work. VOLUME 27, ISSUE 2
Helen Lee
Alex Rosenberg
Matt Szösz
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OP-ED: IS THERE A CRITICAL VACUUM? by William Warmus Hyperopia Projects, who presented the Strattman Lecture at the 2015 GAS conference in San Jose, just published an essay about their presentation in the GAS Journal, which proposes that there is a poverty of criticism in the glass community. It pains me to read “The Critical Vacuum” when, in fact, there are so many critics who have written many superb essays about glass. Their introductory statement says that, “The work being made by contemporary glass artists over the past decade requires a more sophisticated address of criticality than in previous decades.” Deeper into the essay they claim, “There is no lack of means to engage in criticality, but perhaps there is a lack of educated voices in our field.” The authors (Helen Lee, Alex Rosenberg, and Matt Szösz) use a somewhat idiosyncratic definition of criticality, mixing standard practice with their own suggestions for
GLASHAUS The International Magazine of Studio Glass
German/ English, 4 issues p.a. 49 Euros Dr. Wolfgang Schmölders Glashaus-Verlag, Stadtgarten 4 D-47798 Krefeld (Germany) Email: glashaus-verlag @ t-online.de Web: http://studioglas.jimdo.com
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Warmus examines a glass sculpture by Ai Weiwei at Art Basel, Miami, 2014
improvement. For example, they recognize and accept the traditional role of the critic as one who takes a position with conviction, and then they seem to dip a toe into the trending pool of big data analysis, describing criticism “as a tool for the measurement of art, similar to peer-review in scientific communities.” Isn’t it a little arrogant to say that all previous criticism of glass lacks the sophistication needed today? Is there truly a lack of educated critical voices? I personally find the essay problematic in the way it ignores the deep and rich history of criticism of glass. The tone is one of tearing down rather than building up, although I did like the comment that “we’re not suggesting everyone be more mean.” A kinder, gentler art world appeals to me, too. The only way I found to ease my frustration was to compile a short list of critics who have written thoughtfully, and at times forcefully, about glass. Many of these writers have had substantial careers
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in the world of fine art. This list is selected and omits many major figures and a tsunami of mid-level critics, but included are many of the sophisticated critics and highly educated voices that were (mostly) overlooked by Hyperopia Projects. The list begins with critics who got their start in the twentieth century, and ends with critics writing actively since 2000: Donald Kuspit, Arthur Danto, Henry Geldzahler, Richard Shiff, Clement Greenberg, Karen Chambers, Christine Temin, Linda Norden, Janet Koplos, Diane George, Kim Smith, Patricia Malarcher, Walter Darby Bannard, Maria Porges, John Perreault, Frank Getlein, Florence Rubenfeld, Martha Drexler Lynn, Andrew Page, William Ganis, James Yood, Jennifer Opie, Victoria Joslin, Monica Moses, Robin Rice, Grace Duggan, John Drury, Matthew Gamber, Annie Buckley, Gerar Edizel, Hamish Jackson, Mark Johnson. And David Mendelson. I was trained as an art historian and art critic at the
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University of Chicago by Harold Rosenberg, John Rewald, and Richard Shiff. As a young curator and critic at the Corning Museum of Glass in the late 1970s and early 1980s, I sought writers with a sophisticated critical voice to match my mentors. Mendelson became my touchstone. His book, Le Verre et les Objets de Verre dans L’Univers Imaginaire de Marcel Proust (roughly, Glass and Glass Objects in the imaginary universe of Marcel Proust) was published in 1968. It is a brilliant critical analysis of why glass was central to Proust’s universe. But Mendelson was not alone, and throughout my career I have enjoyed reading critical essays by the writers listed above, and many others, for example the Critical Analysis of Duchamp's Large Glass by Christopher Lonc published in Glass Art magazine in August, 1973 or Three Episodes in the Dialectics of Transparency and Opacity by Kim Smith in the Museum Journal, volume XXII, 1983 or Gatherings: Re: Criticism, a survey of the state of glass criticism, by Pat Malarcher, published in Glass Magazine in 1984. As the cofounder (with Tim Tate) of Glass Secessionism (GS), I have to say a little about the negative attitude Hyperopia takes toward our project. The GS format is not “inherently antithetical to criticality,” as the authors would have discovered if they read through the many posts and discussions about reticulate aesthetics, which has become the critical armature for GS. Our comments do not frequently “deteriorate into trolling and navel-gazing” and degrade into “idle banter and baseless proclamations.” Members of GS are not permitted to post their own work, and thus cannot symbolically gaze at their own navels, and we do not allow commercial posts, as opposed to many parallel social media sites. It seems that only by agreeing with Hyperopia can we be taken seriously. That is a little elitist. GS’s thousands of members have posted hundreds of images of recent
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work that they feel fits somehow into the GS aesthetic. We have covered scores of topics with about a million words written discussing glass in the 21st century. We would gladly welcome Hyperopia's voices, even in dissent. And GS was the only social media site to cover glass in depth at Art Basel, Scope, Art Miami, Untitled, Pulse, SOFA Chicago and a dozen other associated exhibitions in 2014 and 2015, publishing masses of images. We will be at these venues again in 2016, and would be delighted to have Hyperopia accompany us. At the heart of GS are the forums which we moderate with Patrick Blythe and Liz Renee, and where we enjoy long and thoughtful discussions about topics central to the definition of GS: What is narrative? How can we help mid-level artists thrive economically? How do spirituality and glass interact? How can we get more glass into expos at the Art Basel level? Should we seek common ground with other media? Does performance art fit into the GS model? Does architecture? Many of these forums garner the in-depth and thoughtful discussion indicative of a richly moderated conversation. We invite the authors to join us in our ongoing discussions and be heard by people from all over the US, and 27 other countries. So it saddens me to encounter such negativity. Much of the essay is positive, seeking ways to enrich the critical dialogue. But by ignoring the rich history of glass criticism, the authors are taking a big risk. They are giving themselves permission to forget in a field where memory is everything. To expand on a quote attributed to Picasso, great artists are free to steal and forget, art historians and critics arenʼt. William Warmus is an author and art critic living in Ithaca, NY. His essay about Reticulate Aesthetics, “From a Tree to a Web” appeared in the Spring, 2015 issue of American Craft Magazine.
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