2004

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. The years are not in chronological order, there are posts from 1886 to 2009, you may search by year, i.e. "1981" in the search box.

2004 Robert Bersson:

A McGraw Hill Higher Education Text Book called "Responding to Art" includes a few paragraphs on glassblowing: "Similarly, glassblowers who create practical objects usually see themselves as craftspersons while those who aim primarily for aesthetic interest, intellectual conception, or emotional expression invariably view themselves as glass artists...the glassworks blown and assembled by the contemporary master Dale Chihuly (born 1941) and his teams of skilled assistants are assertively fine art. Chihuly's large installation pieces, for example, are really floating or hanging sculptures made of glass...While Chihuly and his sassistants may use a traditional craft materials and employ some traditional craft techniques, they are inventing new technical processes and creating works that are essentially avant-garde sculptures made out of glass ('glass art')...The same distinction might be made relative to cloth and the sewing of quilts..."

Responding to Art: Form, Content, and Context. Bersson, R. McGraw Hill Higher Education, New York, NY. 2004. p 239