"If Northwest American Indian artistic tradition is to be carried on by people like Preston Singletary, then it is in excellent hands. The Seattle-based glass artist embodies symbol, design and spirit in this nontraditional medium with strength of purpose and eye – and nowhere is this shown more clearly than in the recently opened exhibition “Preston Singletary: Echoes, Fire and Shadows” at the Museum of Glass.
Organized by MOG, the show is the first midcareer survey of Singletary’s work, but spans only the last 15 years of his 27-year career in glass – the years after he made the decision to find a Tlingit voice in that medium. The show is also the first curated by MOG’s new-ish resident curator, Melissa Post, and leaves something to be desired both organizationally and aesthetically.
[...]Singletary’s ability to merge the aesthetics of different media shows in his 2008 “Eagle” and “Raven” dance staffs, among a dozen works created specifically for this show.
[...]
On the side, Post has separated Singletary’s collaborative works, a fascinating section which could have been larger. As Singletary translates designs by other native artists of other traditions into glass, the two minds create a new metaculture. The designs of amulet and prow by Maori artist Lewis Tamihana Gardiner especially take on Singletary’s strength of line with grace.
In the middle is a section apparently based on the legend of Raven stealing the sun. It’s a bit confusing, as many of the works don’t fit in: the cheeky frog, the smooth, intelligent otter, the burst-open eagle mask and the two rather simple multimedia masks which use video projections of fire and water to illuminate clear glass faces with all the subtlety of a B-grade sci-fi movie.
Post has included an interesting pairing of plate work to contrast Singletary’s earlier superimposition of prefab design with his later creativity in embedding and reworking the design to fit the form. Here, as elsewhere, it pays to read the wall-texts, as the curatorial concept isn’t clear at first sight.
[...]
Crowning all, though, is the centerpiece “Clan House,” an installation of giant proportions commissioned by MOG. Glass panels make up a central golden house-screen carved with animal symbols; flanking this are two yellow and gray longhouse posts carved in bas-relief with a man holding a medallion of the world, inlaid and laminated. The whole thing stands 10 feet high, a mastery of both glass technique and the surety of an art rooted in tradition and moving into the future.
The “Clan House” stands, as does all Singletary’s art, on its own. There’s no need for MOG’s moody (too dark) lighting, atmospheric music and videos. It’s deep work, speaking clearly in a language all its own despite the presentation, and thoroughly deserves this wide-ranging survey."
Excerpted From:
Ponnekanti, R. "Celebration of Indian glass artist's work lacks organization." The News Tribune, Tacoma WA. July 26, 2009. website accessed July 27, 2009. http://www.thenewstribune.com/entertainment/story/822977.html
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