letter from the GAs President new Membership ... - Glass Art Society

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L E T T E R S t o t h e E D I T O R A Historical Opinion Piece by Maestro Gianni Toso 2 I recently had the honor of participating in the Carnegie Museum’s exhibit and panel discussion Glass Alive! Venice and America: Cultural Exchanges in Glass. I read with great interest the catalog article by Matthew Kangas, and was much impressed by his extensive research and obvious appreciation of twentieth century developments in Murano glass art. As Mr. Kangas writes about events that occurred during my years as both an apprentice in the factories and as a young artist starting out on my own, I would like to add a few details about my personal experience, and, perhaps, respectfully question several of Mr. Kangas’ underlying assumptions about the nature of the cultural exchange that was – and still is – taking place. After the destructive visit of Napoleon to Murano, almost nothing remained of the means of glass production. The abbot Vicenzo Zanetti, a historical writer on the subject of glass, joined with the Salviati family and two Toso brothers to revive the ancient glass techniques of Murano’s illustrious past. In 1861, Zanetti and the mayor of Murano, Anthony Colleoni, created the still extant glass museum, and the following year they opened an art school for future master glassblowers. The school, eponymously named Abate Vicenzo Zanetti, was founded with the intention of providing for these young men a formal education in the classical artistic tradition: art history and aesthetics as well as drawing, painting and decorative applications in glass. It operated continuously until the early 1970’s, when it was closed for political reasons. In 1957, Paolo Venini was president of the school and Angelo Fuga was our manager and magnificent professor. I and ten other students were fortunate enough to comprise the last class of the school which had produced so many generations of Murano maestri. Among the greatest masters of the twentieth century were Archimede Seguso and Alfredo Barbini, both of whom I had the great fortune to apprentice, as well as to serve as their first assistant. Contrary to Mr. Kangas’ implication that at this time Murano was an insular, parochial glass center, I would submit that one of the reasons young American artists flocked to Murano beginning in the early 1950’s, rather than to other glass centers in Sweden, Germany, France, England, Ireland, etc., was because of the culture of curiosity and experimentation that Murano offered them. Nor was this openness a new phenomenon: many of the ancient families of Murano, including mine, have collaborated with and worked glass for the best artists of various epochs, including Carpaccio, Bellini, Vivarini, Leonardo da Vinci, Paolo Veronese and others. Mr. Kangas asserts that productivity and creativity declined dramatically in the postwar years as a result of economic hardship and shortages; my own memories and experience support the view of Attilio Dorigato in his book Murano: Island of Glass that, on the contrary, creativity exploded. Cinematographic depictions, no matter how picturesque, must not be confused with historical veracity. Cinema Paradiso has more in common with Commedia dell’Arte than with reality. The first postwar example of cultural exchange came about when Egidio Constantini suggested to Peggy Guggenheim that she invite the greatest masters of contemporary art to create sketches and projects. These projects were eventually fabricated in the best Murano fornace by the best master glassblowers. In 1954, an exposition in Rome presented these masterpieces in Murano glass, conceived by celebrated Italian artists as well as the more internationally renowned foreigners George Braque, Alexander Calder, Oscar Kokoschka, Le Cobusier, Ferdinand Leger, Henry Moore and Pablo Picasso. In Robert Willson: A Story in Glass, contributor Astone Gasperetto makes mention of this exhibit in describing the artistic climate that existed in Murano at the time of Wilson’s arrival. By the mid 1950’s, Livio Seguso, descended from an ancient glassblowing family, was recognized as an international artist as well as a maestro, or master, of traditional techniques. He had for many years been a talented student of his uncle, Alfredo Barbini; other students had followed Livio, but none reached his level of artistry, for Livio was in the process of developing his own personal artistic language. In 1976 he began a collaboration with Angelo Churchill to establish summer courses in sculpture, and the workshop was installed in his Murano studio. This collaboration continued every year until 1989. Other factors contrived to make Murano a particularly inviting mecca for young American glass artists. Contrary to the widespread perception of the factories as no more than insular, production-oriented assembly lines, many family firms were open and welcoming to new visions and ideas. World renowned architect and designer Renato Toso (a three-time first place winner of the Venice biennale) was working at that time as a designer for the firms Artemide, Barovier Toso, Ferro Murano, Foscarini, Leucos, Venini and Vistosi. The son of Ermanno Toso, himself a famous designer and one of the original partners of the Fratelli Toso factory, Toso paved the way for Robert Wilson to develop his marvelous sculptures, by virtue of having already provided the maestri at Fratelli Toso with an informal artistic education. My own first “cross-cultural” experience came about in 1969, when Charles Lin Tissot offered me the opportunity to execute some 80 x 50 cm panels of sketches and crayon drawings by Salvador Dali, among them his famous slumped clocks. Upon the presentation of the first of three panels to Peggy Guggenheim, she praised both the work and the concept of this kind of collaboration by saying that the glass pieces brought “light and life” to Dali’s sketches. Three years later, in 1972, the first symposium of glassblowing artists took place in the Bellerive Museum in Zurich. From Italy, Fulvio Bianconi, Luciano Vistosi, Paolo Martinuzzi and I were invited. I was the youngest – 30 years old. Vistosi had already broken with the tradition of delicate elegance in Murano glass. His artistic research had brought him to a level of fine art involving the largest glass sculpture ever made. Unfortunately, Vistosi withdrew at the last moment, while Martinuzzi participated in the opening with his glass engravings and didn’t return. Fulvio Bianconi and I remained. Naturally, being young and still excited from the experience of Murano art school, I was much attracted to the American approach to glassblowing as a fine art, and was determined to share with them my expertise, a culmination of centuries of Murano glassblowers’ achievements and experiments in this field. Prior to my trip to Zurich, my artistic career was characterized by my love of painting. I had already achieved a fair amount of success as a painter; production in glass had been simply an economic necessity. Subsequent to the Zurich symposium, and directly related to the excitement that all the participants felt about this new way of approaching glass, I spent all my time that was not devoted to production to experimenting with fine-art forms and colors in Murano glass. Venini, Fratelli Toso and De Maio all graciously allowed me to make use of their facilities while developing my art. While I continued with my lampworking in my studio in the Venice Ghetto, I maintained a rewarding collaboration with Marvin Lipofsky, whom I had met in Zurich. As Mr. Kangas reports, in 1976, Marvin invited me to CCAC to teach American students some of the ancient Murano techniques. Determined to create a cultural bridge between Murano and the U.S., and with his customary generosity, Marvin arranged for me a series of artistic visits to the colleges where new kinds of glass programs were being developed by young and enthusiastic teachers: Harvey Littleton, Joel Phillip Meyers, Michael Taylor and Fritz Dreisbach. (In line with his conception of these visits as a culturally reciprocal collaboration, and in keeping with the contemporary American penchant for protest buttons, we even created a button on which was written “Save the Venice Glass Culture!) I was very impressed by the enthusiasm and excitement of both the teachers and students who were approaching glass from an artistic, intellectual point of view. It seemed to me that colleges and universities were the places best qualified to teach artistic glass, recognizing that the open minds of American students could easily assimilate this beautiful medium. In contrast, many of the Murano factories where I began working as a child of ten were often staffed by workers from outside the traditional Murano glass culture. Motivated solely by economic concerns, outside of the culture and uneducated in its traditions, they viewed glassworking as simply an expedient to make a living. They frequently made life in the furnaces very difficult for us young people with their brutal and vulgar behavior. In the late 1970’s some master glassblowers from Murano were invited to America to teach. Technical virtuosos and highly skilled craftsmen, they demonstrated to the American students the repetition of forms they had been producing for years in the Murano factories. Following these visits, a kind of competition developed amongst the Americans as to who could best imitate Murano techniques. My perception of this phenomenon was that this intense focus on craft production – and, not incidentally, the marketing of it – led the students to neglect the artistic aspect of their education in favor of technical skills. Intent on imitating the classic Murano forms, they lost the opportunity to develop an authentic American dialect of the Murano language. Much credit must be given to those students who continue their artistic, aesthetic and intellectual experiments in glass – they have created art that is quintessentially “American glass,” sprung from Murano roots. They are the true teachers of tomorrow. The Glass Studio Movement was born on the college campuses of America, and it still thrives today. Many of these artists are well represented in the Glass Alive! exhibition, and their work, in years to come, will become an integral part of the historical dialogue between the Murano and American glass cultures – a dialogue that, at its best, is mutually rewarding. As for myself, after fifty-five years working in glass, I am still striving to create my own few original “words” as part of that cultural conversation. – Maestro Gianni Toso _______________________________________________ DUE TO ISSUES raised regarding the letter to the editor published in the May/June/July ‘05 GAS NEWS, the Board of Directors and staff have created the following guidelines for publishing letters to the editor. We encourage all GAS members to express their opinions in letters to the editor, and ask that the following guidelines be adhered to when submitting letters. 1. Letters will be selected for publication based on space availability, topical interest, number of letters received on the same topic or area, and adherence to our guidelines. Only letters from GAS members will be published. 2. Letters containing potentially libelous matter, profanity, or that attack the character or reputation of a company or person will not be printed. 3. Letters may be edited for language and length. 4. Letters should be limited to 200 words. 5. Letters submitted for publication by regular mail or e-mail must include the author’s first and last name, address and phone number for verification purposes. Anonymous letters will be disregarded. If your letter is published, your first and last name will be printed. Your city and state will be included (unless you ask that it not be), but your address and phone number will not be included. 6. When writing, faxing, or e-mailing a letter to the editor, use the subject line or heading “Letter to the Editor.” 7. When responding to a specific article, state the article title and include the date in parenthesis. 8. Frequency of submissions may need to be restricted. If we receive multiple letters on one subject or from one writer, we will attempt to sample a variety of opinions, but may apply the general standard of one letter per writer per three newsletters. The Glass Art Society (GAS), its Board of Directors, members, and employees are not responsible for and do not necessarily endorse the views and opinions expressed in “Letters to the Editor”.
G A S L I N E Glass Fashion Show Extravaganza! Laura Donefer is in the process of planning another wild, over the top glass fashion show for the GAS conference June 11-14 2009, which will take place in Corning, New York. If you would like to participate by making an amazing costume out of glass, please contact Laura directly. The list of artists has already begun. This is your chance to make your dream outfit out of whatever kinds of glass you can come up with, be it blown glass, kiln formed glass, sand cast glass, torch worked glass, stained glass, recycled glass or more! To contact Laura, email her: Lauradon@kos.net Or call her: 613-372-0377 GAS would like to thank the following 2008 Conference Presenters for donating their honorarium to GAS! Giles Bettison Elin Christopherson Rene Friedman Katharine Gray Dan Klein Steve Klein Museum of Glass Hot Shop Team Merrily Orsini Ted Sawyer GAS apologizes for the discrepancy between the printed rates in the pre-conference brochure and the current rates listed on the website. We have only just been notified by the Hilton Portland of the rate changes. These rates are guaranteed through May 16, 2008. Green Matters, a perspective by Taliaferro Jones Elliott Brown Gallery Booth at SOFA Chicago, 2007 Color and art go hand and hand – especially in the eyes of those making, viewing and collecting – but this time “Green,” is given center stage to express its true beauty, depth and need. Kate Elliott refreshingly curated Green Matters, an invitational thematic exhibition for SOFA Chicago 2007. Green Matters played off the loose theme of all things “Green” – from the pure color itself but more over the environmental questions that plague our consciousness in this era, drawing to light the vibrancy of the earth’s bountifulness, to global warming’s cry, to redemption in recycling and raising awareness. Kate Elliott quotes from Pedro Calderon de la Barca, Spanish Poet and Playwright, “Green is the prime color of the world, and that from which its loveliness arises.” Green Matters’ green vibe was dynamic in its comprehensive museum-like display, with the mixed use of the walls painted green to a green iPod nano running a video. The 17 invited artists included: Hank Murta Adams, Lynn Geesaman, Katherine Gray, Joey Kirkpatrick / Flora C. Mace, Mayme Kratz, Robert Larson, Richard Marquis, John McQueen, Louis Mueller, Johanna Nitzke, Robert & Shana Parke Harrison, Pike Powers, Joseph Rossano, Craig Smith and Walter Zimmerman. The work that resonated the most with me was that of Katherine Gray’s ice buckets. These beautiful vintage glass ice buckets recycled into a stacked installation remind us of what is missing – the ever shrinking ice from the polar ice caps, but also that we choose what to fill them with, reminding us of our responsibility to mitigate our actions. They are subtle in their poetic reminder of our fragility and hope. Rob Larson’s colorful compositions of discarded gum wrappers offered up the reminder of the power of transformation. These alluring pieces move us beyond the material and into their beauty illustrating Larson’s success at achieving his goal to remind his viewers that transformation must also occur in our perception. In his words, “to change the way we see the world around us and our relationship to it.” Joey Kirkpatrick / Flora C. Mace’s “Little Green,” leaves us with its simplicity. A large paintbrush dipped into a glass, holding perhaps transparent green paint. So how do you see green through the looking glass and how do you want to paint the world? Harkening back to Pedro Calderon de la Barca, the question remains how do we choose to maintain earth’s “green” loveliness? Eddie Bernard and Angela Bart Bernard of Wet Dog Glass, LLC To Provide Partial Sponsorship of the GAS Student Representative At the start of the new year, Eddie Bernard and Angela Bart Bernard, owners of Wet Dog Glass, LLC, in New Orleans, Lousiana will begin providing financial sponsorship to the GAS Student Representative position in order to offset the travel costs incurred as the representative visits glass schools and programs throughout the country. The idea was hatched after current Student Representative, Drew Smith, mentioned during a recent Board of Directors call that he would be attempting to reach out more to schools and would make Virginia Commonwealth University his first stop. Eddie decided that he didn’t feel that Drew should have to pay his own way for travel, and emailed both Pam Koss, GAS Executive Director, and Drew about it, after deciding that he and his wife Angela would provide up to $1,000 per year for travel and meals when a Student Rep. travels on GAS business. “I remember when I was in college, I thought if I ever got to the point of being “successful,” I would want to sponsor a few students through school,” said Eddie Bernard of his involvement as a Student Rep. sponsor. “I would have them work with me in the summers so that I would have a chance to know them. I’m not at that point yet, but a few years ago I started paying the second half of the Pilchuck Scholarship for Rochester Institute of Technology students, (my alma mater) and my wife Angela and I have also been donating money to Haystack, Penland, and CERF, as we can afford to. We believe in students and young people, and now after going through the mess in New Orleans after the levees broke, we understand how badly crafts people need relief after a disaster or injury.” In exchange for the funding, the Student Rep. would be responsible for writing an article and including images of school visits for upcoming newsletters as both a way to record and archive the trip with GAS. Details of the sponsorship are still being worked on, but the GAS office will handle all booking of flights directly, and monies will be sent to GAS to be put in a dedicated account for travel costs. In keeping with tradition, the hope is that each community the Student Representative visits will provide accommodations. This funding will allow for more travel and outreach by the Student Rep., as well as a way to spread the word about GAS and to learn about the many glass arts programs around the country and internationally. 3
Page 1: januar y februar y 2008 volume 19 i
Page 5 and 6: Glass Life After Katrina: Surviving
Page 7 and 8: New GAS Membership Benefits (cont.
Page 9 and 10: Jan. 14 - Feb. 4: Glassblowing Stud
Page 11 and 12: exhibitions Please Note: Publicatio

letter from the GAs President new Membership ... - Glass Art Society

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