1977

In this time line I pull quotes to illustrate a thread in popular and scholarly writing and criticism about glass. Here we will see current glass artists defending their art against the accusations and separating themselves from these stereotypes and, hopefully, find out how and where the now-common opinion was born. Fundamentally, the general thesis seems to be born of the question, What Is Art? This question I will leave to others to answer, here I am only documenting the written history of a popular way of thinking and a popular taste.

1977 Artweek:

Stained Glass--From Social Comment to Decoration

“An impressive installation of stained glass works by eighteen California artists is now at the Fresno Arts Center.  Most of the works, designed without constraints of architecture, have been illuminated and set into temporary walls for the duration of the show.  Guest curator Dan Fenton included his own work, with others who represent a wide range of contemporary sensibilities.  The majority of the artists work with geometric abstractions a stylizations from nature, while a smaller content0conscious group related messages of personal fantasy and social comment.  The artists in the show who are boldest about using glass as a means of literal communication are generally most innovative in technique.  Their inventions sometimes smack of gimmickry, but the bravado is refreshing.  One of the most intriguing, Fred Abrams’ graph of U.S. Dependence on Overseas Oil, is surrounded by a border of credit card receipts, sandwiched between layers of clear glass.

Paul Marioni, Richard Posner “Another Look at My Beef with the Government”, Narcissus Quagliata…

“Several artists show handsome abstract works that find justification beyond their decorative appeal or possible architectural function.  In one of these, Sandford Barnett’s whimsical Space Age Couple…"

Peter Mollica, Robert Kehlmann, Peter Wickman…

“This exhibition is a seductive crowd-pleaser, but it doesn’t stop there.  Those who enter the gallery with the promise of decorative pleasantries leave enlightened with the expressive possibilities of stained glass.”

Artweek January 8, 1977 vol 8 no 2 west coast p 6.

1977 Laurie H. Glass:

“Frederick Eversley knows about the variety of reaction to his cast polyester resin sculpture, on exhibit at the Oakland Museum.  He knows, too, that his work draws on his background in science as an engineer, and that it shares the joining of technology with art clearly present in recent kinetic and light/motion sculpture.  He ought to know, and probably does, that his sculptures are beautiful. 

…Be that as it may, some fault Eversley’s work as exemplary of the too slick, too easy art supported by “The Establishment,” to the detriment of different efforts battling for the same meagar support.  While it makes little difference whater I defend or condemn his work with respect to those harsh criticisms--since each person may judge for her-or himself--I do believe that his work flirts dangerously close to a thralldom to an ideal of perfection acclaimed by those who believe, more than I can, in our ultimate redemption by science and technology.”

Fred Eversley Retrospective by Laurie H. Glass p. 16 Artweek march 26, 1977, vol 8 no 13 oakland.

1977 Robert McDonald:

“The porcelain works of Lee Gray, at the Tyson Gallery, either confuse the issues of beauty and utility or clarify the one about the utility of beauty.  I feel it’s the latter.  If a piece is beautiful, it’s useful….”

“Gray’s form [sic] are refined, but substantial and chaste.  There’s no fussiness or extraneous decoration, whether the object is a butter dish, teapot, cup, vase, lamp or sculpture.”

Artweek april 23, 1977 vol. 8 no 17  75 cents a copy west coast p 16  Lee Gray and George Woodward SanFrancisco by Robert McDonald

1977 Suzanne Muchnic:

“The earliest works of the show are clearly concerned with plastic as plastic.  Doug Edge's plexi-glass Beaudry Chair, dated 1970, is a masterful re-creation of a familiar object. This transparent version of a wooden classic does not imitate the original; it illuminates the beauty of both traditional form and contemporary material.”

Work in Plastic Opens New L.A. Arts Center by Suzanne Muchnic (place: Sylmar) artweek sept 17 1977. Pg 5 vol 8 no 30

1977 Ron Glowen:

“Works created in the 1977 summer workshops at the Pilchuck Glass Center are on display at the Polly Friedlander Gallery.  The center, located about fifty miles north of Seattle on a privately owned, wooded site, attracts many renowned artists and students to the sessions, which are devoted to molten and blown glass methodology.

The works, representing about twenty-five artists, were selected by Dale Chihuly, Pilchuck’s educational coordinator.  Many of the pieces are “classical’ in the sense that they conform to the traditional cylindrical or radial shapes created about theh axis provided by the blowing or turning rods.  Also included are stained glass and panels, castings and free-form works.”

Fritz Dreisbach, Paul Marioni, Dale Chihuly, Steve Edwards, Rpvert Adamson, Scott White, Russell Kelly, Benjamin Moore, David Fernandez, John Leighton, Stan Price, Ann Warff

“As group shows go, this one is quite successful in presenting a wide range of technique, skill and idea.  Glasswork deserves respect, as its elegance and purity belie the difficulties of execution; the essentially ‘one-shot’ chance at success, the high temperatures necessary to render the glass plastic and the cutting edge of sharp glass combine to create what seems to me a somewhat dangerous work environment.  The practitioners at the Pilchuck Center ply their trade with skill, discipline, and elan.”

"Glass from Pilchuck" Ron Glowen Seattle Artweek p 20 oct 1 1977 vol 8 no 32

1977 Suzanne Muchnic:

“Richard Marquis’ whimsical, blown glass containers are permanently capped and hold nothing but air.  His Crazy Quilt Cofeepot and Checkerboard Teapot are built from square modules of colored glass that are stretched, distorted and fused under heat.”

“An inventory of containers”  suzanne muchnic (Sylmar) artweek November 12, 1977 p 5