Chihuly: A Glass Revolutionary
Of the mediums available to artists, few think to list glass among them. Dale Chihuly has taken glass out of the cupboard and into abstraction. Not the first to take the artisan craft of glass-blowing to museums and conservatories, Chihuly and his team of artists create ethereal installations unlike anything the world has seen before. His work has caught the light at the Tower of David in Jerusalem, Israel and hangs prominently in the entry ways of the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, England and the Bellagio Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada. More than fifty permanent collections throughout the United States, Canada and England, as well as continuous new of exhibitions allow his surreal and fantastic glass confections to touch every corner of the globe.
Several books and films document Dale Chihuly's artistic journey. Chihuly: Short Cuts, released in 2004, is a series of short films that offer a peek at the creation process, inspiration, and hard work behind fourteen of the artist's installations. Each film plays like a chapter and collectively are quiet brief. Chihuly, who works with a team to create his enormous displays, orchestrates each project from its inception through to its installation. When one considers the immense work that goes into the hand-blown glass pieces, his is no small part in the final result, which is why no one complains that each bears his name, and his alone.
The film details some of his most amazing exhibits, such as the Tower of David Museum in Jerusalem, Israel. Created in 1998 and aptly named "The Light of Jerusalem," Chihuly took glass to glorious new heights to pay homage to the beauty of the light that falls upon the ancient citadel. More than one million people of all religions and nations came to see the installation. Dale and his team returned the following year to build a Wall of Ice. One particular shot in the film was moving. Young Israeli soldiers stare in awe and wonder, touching the frigid ice wall, and on their faces are smiles that may not come so easily on any other day. This simplistic, yet incredibly powerful creation stood for three days and three nights.
Director Peter West cleverly draws comparisons between Chihuly's notably abstract, 'organic' style and the sleek, controlled symmetry of the traditional Masters. The brilliance of Chihuly's work is reinforced by the admiration of these old world artisans. Working beside Italians Pino Signoretta and Lino Tagliapieta he is inspired by the traditional methods, making use of glass molds and classical Art Deco forms but infuses it with the rich color and freedom of form indicative of his work. Lino Tagliapieta delightfully confessed, "with Dale I breathed freedom of doing and doing. Dale is truly a great master in that he doesn't teach one how one MUST do a thing."
Not all of his exhibits are completely abstract, but would fall into the surreal. One display featured in the film is "Potatoes and Bamboo," created in 2002 with Pino Signoretta was an organic display of seaweed and pine cones and, as the title suggests, potatoes and bamboo. While working with the Italian master he stated emphatically, "Reality is not important." His inspirations, it is suggested however, are based very much in reality. Chihuly describes with great reverence the gardens of his Mother. "We lived in a modest house in an average neighborhood, but the garden was very large and always beautiful."
For anyone who has not had the opportunity to see his works in person, Chihuly: Short Cuts is a quick way to excite the mind and seduce the imagination creating a true desire to experience his work. Having been lucky enough to see the 2003 opening of his permanent exhibit at The Franklin Park Conservatory, in Columbus, Ohio I can only urge you to watch this film and look for the closest installation.