2009 Alix Browne:
"And while [Beth Lipman] is the first to admit that she is not a master craftsman, this, she believes, is what ultimately sets her apart as an artist. The tension in her work, she is quick to point out, doesn’t come from its technical virtuosity but from the feeling of 'Oh my God, it’s broken and it’s on the table.' Lipman doesn’t reject anything that she makes. 'Basically, I’m a hack,’ she says. ‘‘But I’m setting deliberate parameters so I don’t become too invested in the crafts process. I want it to be about the fragility of life and the inability to achieve perfection.'"
Brown, A. "Alix Browne meets with an artist with a heart of glass." The New York Times Blog. Design Fall 2008.
http://www.nytimes.com/indexes/2008/09/28/style/t/index.html#pageName=28lipman
2009 Annie Buckley:
“The history of glass as art is…lengthy--stretching from ancient glass beads, to Syrian tablets iterating instructions for glassblowing, to the storied glass factories of 16th-century Murano, where keeping techniques exclusive was the key to this lucrative industry. Yet while the history of making objects from glass is fairly clear, the art world’s reluctance to accept objects made from glass for consideration as sculpture is far murkier.”
“For more than two decades, accomplished teacher and artist Jocelyne Prince has used glass in the service of a fascinating and moving study of the ephemeral. Yet her website opens with the phrase, ‘Glass is my material, not my tradition.' Prince is not alone in her keen awareness of the negative associations of the term “glass artist.” Mark Zirpel, whose primarily glass works are inspired by nature and the environment, makes a similar point when discussing his work in interviews."
"In a sign of a generational shift, emerging artist Carrie Paterson, who has been investigating art and science in mixed-media works and recently collaborated with a technical glassblower for a new project, is less reticent about her relationship to the material. Perhaps it is the actual labor of blowing glass that seems suspect to the art world focused on concept and fabrication, but the preference for fabrication verus developing one’s own craft could swing back the other way as artists and their audiences adjust to a worsening economy…"
“The Art of Inquiry.” by Annie Buckley. "Glass Quarterly." No. 114 Spring 2009 pg. 41.
2009 Author Unknown:
"HABATAT GALLERIES, CHICAGO, IL
“Even as an undergraduate, Shayna Leib’s dazzling glass art was racking up awards as she snapped up an “Emerging Artist” award from the Museum of Arts and Design,” says Michael John Hofer, Habatat, Chicago gallery manager. “But still her artistry remains significantly undervalued,” he says, “as compared to contemporary art, her work is a bargain with prices beginning at only $12,000.”
A number of high profile corporate CEOs, private investors and interior designers own her glass sculpture. Above all, they are attracted to Leib’s dynamic exploration of materiality. “To complete just one square inch of her wall pieces requires more than a grueling two hours of pulling intricate glass canes for firings,” says Hofer. “If you don’t collect her work very soon, it will become untouchable in terms of prices as Shayna branches into the fine arts like few other glass artists.” “She’s amazing,” he says. “Just how many other artists have technical skills honed while earning a Masters of Fine Arts, Summa Cum Laude?”"
Author Unknown. Quote taken from the front page article on www.sofa.com: "SPECTACULAR HIGHLIGHTS TO BE OFFERED AT 12TH ANNUAL SCULPTURE OBJECTS & FUNCTIONAL ART FAIR". SOFA NEW YORK APRIL 16-19, 2009, OPENING NIGHT PREVIEW, APRIL 15 PARK AVENUE ARMORY, PARK AVENUE AT 67TH STREET
“Living and working abroad was a first for [Naomi] Shioya; in Marseille, she experienced culture shock for two reasons. One was the European hierarchical concept of art; despite the best efforts of an institution like CIRVA, the attitude was that fine artists and glassblowers were considered separately in French society, and Studio Glass wasn’t valued.”
Glass Quarterly no. 113 Winter 2008-9, “The Door Left Ajar” by Tomoko Aoki. p. 24
2008-09 William Warmus:
“...And the Museum of Arts and Design, perhaps alone among American museums, might also be able to mount a second, more controversial exhibition, one that explores the value of Studio Glass in the context of other media. Is glass still a “minor art”? Did Studio Glass come to an end in the 1980s, as some claim I once suggested? Is ceramic art fundamentally purer and better than glass? It might be excruciating to tackle these issues, but it also will lead to a healthier dialogue among the critics and curators of the various media.”
“MAD Deciphered.” by William Warmus. Glass Quarterly no. 113 Winter 2008-9. p. 37.
2008-09 Andrew Page and Judith Schaechter:
“AP: In an interview years ago, you said that glass is often regarded by the art establishment as the ‘dumb blonde’ of the art world, of which little is expected except a pretty appearance. Can you talk a bit about how you feel about working against this preconception?
JS: I think glass and perhaps especially stained glass, sets itself up to disappoint the view by being ‘beautiful’ before the artist has so much as touched it. But I don’t think the public expects a pretty appearance--quite the contrary! I think they expect nothing short of enlightenment, catharsis, empathy, and revelation! But often what they get is another artist to bedazzled to manipulate the medium into something like a Tran formative experience, and that leads to frustrated expectations and the sense that glass art is all glitz and/or kitsch. As for me, I like to put some hurt onto the glass. Perhaps I want to punish it for being so pretty when I often feel so ugly.
AP: Have you experienced the much-discussed bias against work that bears ‘glass’ or ‘craft’ associations? As your work is increasingly embraced by the so-called fine art world, such as being included in the 2002 Whitney Biennial, how has this changed, if it has changed?
JS: It is correct to infer that I see a difference between the two--although as a maker it’s clear to me that they are not separate at all. It’s a cultural and historical distinction. The division has grown over the centuries to where they are now discreet practices, and art has become so intellectual as to reject objects and have much more in common with philosophy. This is wonderful news for the unskilled and for students! Any moron can have a meaningful idea. (And they do! They do!) What’s really challenging is to make a decently made physical object that is intelligent, original, ‘beautiful’, and that engenders empathy. To me, so much is lost in making art a predominantly cerebral pursuit.”
“My work-being so derived from materials and process-is clearly craft, but so heavy into subject matter and representation that it’s art. I am happy to show in a fine arts context. There’s a lot more clout and money in that arena; the stakes are higher. Of course, I am utterly unconvinced that one has any superiority, in any arena, over the other. I am not impressed with a lot of what goes on in the art wold in terms of the social climbing and weird self-promoting, which seem sleazy and distracting. I intensely dislike humoring the opinions of people who disdain craft. On the other hand, the craft world bothers me because it often lacks critique. I deeply admire the idea of a ‘virtuoso’ but not at the expense of brains. For all the crowing about and celebrating of a merger of art and craft, I more often see ‘fine arts’ shooting itself off into impossible realms of intellectual refinement and arcane conceptualism, and ‘craft’ embracing feel-good unquestioning support and inclusiveness. Glass itself seems to be in a downswing. I'm not sure if that’s a natural response to how trendy it got for a bit there, or if it needs to do something to change that!”
“Everything is Sacred” by Andrew Page. Glass Quarterly no. 113 Winter 2008-9.
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