Twelve-Arm Cut Glass Chandelier Now on View

Posted on December 27, 2012 by Mandy Kritzeck

A recently acquired twelve-armed cut glass chandelier was installed this month in the Museum’s crossroads, at the intersection of the Contemporary Glass Gallery and the Glass Collection Galleries.

The ceiling where the chandelier was installed is above a two-story opening to the ground floor. Our preparators are no strangers to scaling great heights to install and de-install glass artworks, and were able to hang the delicate object piece by piece by using a lift.

The chandelier hangs over an opening to the ground floor and a lift was needed to install.

Crafted around 1760-1765, the Museum’s chandelier with twelve arms is one of the most intact examples of an English cut glass chandelier from that time period. The chandelier has all of its original arms and drip pans, a rare occurrence as these parts were often easily broken or damaged.

Museum preparators Fritz Ochab and Stefan Zoller carefeully install each drip plate.

Museum preparators Fritz Ochab and Stefan Zoller carefully install each drip plate.

In the 18th century, the English chandelier became an important decorative component within the elegant interiors in the homes of the nobility. This style of chandelier grew out of a 17th-century desire for spectacular lighted centerpieces that were originally constructed from rock crystal. Glass was more accessible and affordable than rock crystal, and it could be just as stunning when it was properly cut and illuminated.

Additional arms wait in carts to be put back together while Warren Bunn and Stephen Hazlett watch on as Fritz attaches an arm onto the hanging chandelier body.

A significant enhancement to the basic form of this chandelier was the use of finely executed decorative cutting on all of its elements. The cutting amplified the reflective qualities of the glass and made the entire assemblage a beautiful and glittering addition to an interior space. Watch how this technique was done in this video on lathe cutting.

Another similar chandelier of this period hangs in Independence Hall in Philadelphia. Dated around 1745-55, it differs in arm and stem configuration, but has twelve arms and is cut in a similar fashion to the Museum’s recent acquisition.

Chandelier with Twelve Arms, European, England, about 1760-1765. Blown, cut, and assembled. Overall H: about 125 cm, Diam (max): about 107 cm (2012.2.8) View the full record in the Collections Browser: http://www.cmog.org/artwork/chandelier-twelve-arms

Behind the Glass Screen Walls

Posted on November 9, 2012 by Corning Museum of Glass

During your next visit to the recently renovated GlassMarket Café at the Corning Museum of Glass, pause to look more closely at the custom designed architectural glazed screens and walls.

©Michael Orr Associates

These 3 major architectural elements are integrated into the spacial planning of the new Café to add function, seclusion and intimacy within the large open plan renovation.

The screens/walls are planned as:

a 4 Panel Mobile Screen which functions as a café bar.
a 4 Panel Pocket Sliding Wall Screen which functions as a private entrance divider.
a 6 Panel Fixed Screen Wall which acts as a space divider to adjacent retail areas.

Each Screen/Wall explores industrial glass transparency and translucency by combining clear class rods, hollow glass tubes, ribbed glass tubes and clear glass frit filled tubes.

©HAIGHArchitects

The glass raw material is Simax borosilicate scientific tubing, rod and milled frit. The selection of borosilicate is an industrial reference to the Corning’s history of manufacturing scientific glass. A precedent for utilizing glass rods in architectural elements is evidenced in the original Corning Glass Center bridge damaged in the flood of 1972.

Courtesy of Corning Incorporated, Archives

A number of years ago I worked with Peter Drobny, formerly of Steuben Glass, to realize some initial concepts in glass tubing and develop fabrication techniques. The opportunity to develop and realize these ideas for the GlassMarket Café project brought these concepts to life.

©Kevin Smith Carbone Metal Fabricators

Prior to final fabrication, by Carbone Metal Fabricators in Boston, several small scale mock-ups were built to visualize the prismatic and optical effects created by the varying tube and frit types.

Once finalized, Pegasus Glass of Toronto, Canada, fabricated the glass components for assembly on-site. Each screen/wall is fabricated from custom anodized aluminum sections and assembled from multiple panels, The glass tube/rod types are randomly stacked within each panel during assembly into the frames.

©HAIGHArchitects

Enjoy and linger a little longer.

Paul Haigh : November 2012

Architect, designer and educator, Paul Haigh is Principal of HAIGHArchitects llc. His most recent projects for the Corning Museum of Glass include the GlassMarket Café in association with Hunt EAS and the Making Ideas: Experiments in Design at GlassLab Exhibition.

Exhibition on Louis C. Tiffany features Stained Glass Window from Corning Museum

Posted on October 23, 2012 by Yvette Sterbenk

Louis C. Tiffany and the Art of Devotion, an exhibit currently on view at the Museum of Biblical Art (MOBIA), in New York City, showcases the array of church decorations and memorials that Louis C. Tiffany (1848-1933) produced beginning in the early 1880s. On view through January 20, 2013, the exhibit shows the breadth and depth of the firm’s oeuvre, and the place Tiffany Studios created for itself in American religious art.

The centerpiece of the exhibition is a Corning Museum artwork, The Righteous Shall Receive a Crown of Glory (96.4.230). The window, which measures 12’ 10” x W. 8’1, was created for the United Methodist Church of Waterville, New York, around 1901.

Warren Bunn, CMOG’s manager of exhibitions and collections examines the window pre-conservation with Drew Anderson, conservator at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and independent curator Diane Wright.

When the window was removed from the church, it went into the collection of Mr. and Mrs. Bruce Randall. The couple offered it to the Corning Museum in 1996. At that time, it was too large for the Museum to display in any of its gallery areas and needed restoration work. However, since one of the most important roles of a Museum is to collect and preserve important objects for the future, the donation was accepted and the window stabilized for storage.

Curators and conservators from The Corning Museum of Glass and the Metropolitan Museum of Art examine the window to assess conservation treatment.

When MOBIA began planning its Tiffany exhibition, it approached the Corning Museum about this window. Several institutions then came together to complete conservation work on this beautiful object. CMoG offered its existing conservation report to facilitate work on the window. The Neustadt Collection of Tiffany Glass offered conservation studio space where the treatment could take place. MOBIA incorporated the cost of the restoration into its exhibition budget.

The window was secured in 12 custom-built crates at CMOG and taken to the Neustadt Collection of Tiffany Glass in July 2012. Over the summer, it was restored by Drew Anderson, a conservator at the Metropolitan Museum of Art who specializes in stained glass.

Preparing to install at MOBIA.

When the exhibit at MOBIA ends, the window will come back to Corning, and the curatorial staff are working on trying to find a space to display it. We’ll keep you posted.

In place at MOBIA. The window measures 12’ 10” x W. 8’1.

The ins and outs of the new curatorial loading dock

Posted on September 6, 2012 by Warren Bunn

Things are never dull behind the scenes at the Museum. There is a constant stream of glass leaving the Museum on loan to be exhibited at other institutions, loans from other museums coming in, as well as new acquisitions to add to the permanent glass collection. Every year between 500 and a few thousand glass objects pass through our doors.

In 2012, the Museum will loan objects to exhibitions in the United States, Canada, Asia, Europe, and Australia. Receiving institutions include the National Museum of the American Indian in New York, NY, the Heard Museum in Phoenix, AZ, and the National Museum of Australia in Canberra, and many others. Our glass objects have gone as far as the Suntory Museum of Art in Tokyo, Japan, and as close as the Memorial Art Gallery in Rochester, NY.

Islamic bowl on loan to a traveling exhibition that will be on display in Provo, UT, Indianapolis, Houston, and Brooklyn. Bowl, transparent emerald-green, mold-pressed and cut. Islamic; Western Asia; perhaps Iran, c. 9-10th century. H: 7.6 cm.(55.1.136)

Have you ever wondered how and when this all happens? All the glass moves in and out through our curatorial loading dock, which recently underwent renovations.

For years, the Curatorial Department has struggled with an aging lift and a fairly ineffective loading dock. As the main artery for glass objects coming in and out of the building (and the first experience for other museums’ couriers and art shippers) we felt that it was finally time for an upgrade.

Construction on the new loading dock.

Earlier this year we embarked on a project to not only replace the often malfunctioning lift and to increase the effectiveness of the dock, but also, to make the back of the house as “World Class” as the rest of the Museum.

Ready to receive and ship glass to and from around the world

Ready to receive and ship glass around the world.

Thanks to the hard work and good planning of the Preparators, Operations, Safety staff and our contractor, Streeter Associates Inc., I am happy to announce that the new loading dock has been built with safety, efficiency and flexibility in mind, and is now officially open for business.

Photographing Glass: Coffee Pot by Studio Job

Posted on August 22, 2012 by Andy Fortune

Glass sculptures always pose challenges when it comes to photography, but we recently had an object in the studio for photography that presented some interesting ones. Coffee Pot by Studio Job (Job Smeets and Nynke Tynagle) may appear functional at first glance but a longer look reveals it to be utterly non-functional. The artists appropriated an unused cased and cut lead glass vessel from the Val St. Lambert storerooms and added a cast, polished, and gilded bronze top. Finally, they created a gloss white pedestal decorated with gilded wood elements. The result is something that looks like an absurdly fancy Pyrex coffeepot on steroids. In fact, the coffeepot alone weighs in at over 64 pounds.

Coffee Pot by Studio Job (Job Smeets and Nynke Tynagle) 2012.3.30.

Our first challenge was to convey the size of the sculpture in a photograph. That is difficult enough with any sculpture, but when the object is something as instantly familiar as a coffeepot, we have to overcome the viewer’s assumption of a certain size. Of course, this dynamic between expectation and experience is part of what makes Smoots and Tynagel’s design work, so it is especially important to communicate the scale for that reason. Photographing the sculpture on a wooden floor rather than a neutral backdrop establishes a scale reference for the overall view. For the tighter views, keeping the object large in the frame and choosing a slightly high angle helps convey its mass and size, as well as the thickness and weight of the metalwork.

over-sized cut green glass coffee pot with gold handle on a white pillar stand

Photographing the sculpture on a wooden floor helps with scale

The second challenge was dealing with a highly polished metal surface which acts like a mirror. Aside from not wanting to mirror the camera in the image, the gold only appears correct when it is mirroring something white. We frequently deal with this this type of lighting with white cards or white tenting around an object on a photo table, but in this case we had to build eight foot high white foam core “walls”. The images below show the object without and with the white cards.

showing the difference with and without the white cards reflecting light onto the object

Left: without the white cards / Right: with the white cards

This image shows the studio with the “room” built around the sculpture.

a room is constructed around the object to photograph without glare

Gold only appears correct when it is mirroring something white

The third challenge was making the cut glass look good. The cut glass requires contrast, but the foam core walls diffuse and soften the light. A bright Fresnel spot (visible on the right in the above image) is focused on the wall behind the glass to provide some “pop”.

For the tighter views, even more foam core was required.

A "room" is constructed around the object

When all was done, it was time for a coffee break.

Museum photographer Nick Williams holds up a coffee mug next to the object

Museum Photography Department Manager Nick Williams

Construction wraps up on the Hot Glass Show Innovation Stage

Posted on July 24, 2012 by John Cowden

Today’s post comes from John Cowden, a retired supervisor and narrator of the Hot Glass Show. John works with special projects at the Museum, and is supporting the new Hot Glass Show Innovation Stage construction project. John will be reporting on the progress of the project on an ongoing basis.

Construction on the new Hot Glass Show Innovation Stage is making good progress. The stage is sufficiently completed to accept the new melting equipment. The equipment was built in Seattle, WA by Spiral Arts and shipped to Corning. The owner of Spiral Arts, Fred Metz, came to Corning to make some final adjustments and troubleshoot the installation.

Fred Metz

The furnace was delivered to the Museum at night.

Working in the Museum while it remains open complicates the construction process for the contractors. Having construction on-site complicates operations for the Museum. The Museum has restricted some construction processes to after-hours. For example, most construction deliveries are scheduled outside Museum hours. Any paint which produces odors is applied after hours. Also restricted are noise making and dust producing operations. As a result, there are people working on the new Hot Glass Show Innovations Stage twenty-four hours a day. Some people are working five 8-hour days a week. Some are working four 10-hour days a week. Some are working four 12-hour days a week. A few are working five 12-hour days a week.

The new equipment installed. From left to right across the back of the stage: the furnace (with Fred inside), the iron warmer and color box, the annealer and the gloryhole. All of the equipment is electric.

There are a lot of signs that the project is coming to the end. The scaffolding which was erected to work on the ceiling has been dismantled and the ceiling is nearly complete. There is a painter doing touch up which you can see in the foreground of the picture of the equipment. The cooling equipment has been installed under the stage. The walls are finished. You can see the new paneling behind the exhaust vents.

The furnace was turned on last night and it is performing very well. The initial temperature rise is slow to get the moisture out safely (perhaps as slowly as 15° F/hour). Any initial firing of a glass furnace produces odors. The first trial of the ventilation system removed all of the initial firing odors. It will soon be time to add the glass to the furnace.

The electricians are making a few last minute adjustments.

The carpet is being installed and all of the brackets for the seating are installed.

Join us in celebrating the opening of the Hot Glass Show Innovation Stage Thursday, July 26 at 10am. Drop by (no reservations necessary) and watch as a procession of glassmakers make their way through the Museum (with much fanfare!) and transfer molten glass to the new furnaces using a hot glass torch.

Re-fusing a Bomb

Posted on May 25, 2012 by Astrid van Giffen

The installation of exhibitions always requires a lot of glass to be moved in a short amount of time. Although our preparators are excellent at moving glass without damage, sometimes gravity happens. During the installation of our Making Ideas exhibition that opened May 19, the fuse was broken off of one of the glass bomb prototypes designed by Steven and William Ladd. Luckily it was just one break and the piece was treated in time for the opening.

Glass bomb with the broken fuse before treatment.

Glass bomb prototype with the broken fuse before treatment.

Glass bomb prototype during treatment. The bomb had to be positioned in such a way that the fuse would stay where it needed to be because the adhesive we use takes a long time to set.

If you visit the Museum, look for the bomb in the Making Ideas: Experiments in Design at GlassLab exhibition, now on view through January 6, 2013.

One lucky member’s design selected for Making Ideas preview GlassLab session

Posted on May 18, 2012 by Mandy Kritzeck

A summer of Making Ideas kicks off tonight with the Member’s preview of Making Ideas: Experiments in Design at GlassLab. GlassLab, the signature design program of the Museum, offers a unique opportunity for designers to work with hot glass. Historically, access to glass has been limited for artists and designers. Through GlassLab, nearly fifty international designers from various disciplines, including product, industrial, graphic and fashion design, have worked with the Museum’s artist-glassblowers to create prototypes of their design concepts and work with glass in ways never possible before. In lieu of a glassblowing production factory, designers work on a mobile glassblowing stage at museums and design events across Europe and the United States including Design Miami, Art Basel, Vitra Design Museum, and Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum.

Designer Nacho Carbonell at GlassLab design session

Designer Nacho Carbonell assists GlassLab gaffers during his design session at Vitra Design Museum

Members of the Museum have exclusive access to one of the world’s best collections of glass design. The GlassLab program has increased access to the material of glass for designers and artists. In the spirit of this summer’s exhibition, we invited our members to become designers themselves in a live GlassLab session.

Museum Members at the Friend level and above were asked to submit a design concept to be made in glass during a special Hot Glass Show at the Member’s-only reception for Making Ideas. Designs could be functional vessels, lighting, or sculptural explorations. After receiving many sketches and unique concepts, a winner was selected.

GlassLab Member's preview design concept

Dr. Wayne C. Templer's design concept

Dr. Wayne C. Templer, a member of the Museum for nine years, submitted this design for an Atlantic salmon fly. Museum glassmaker Eric Meek said, “This design will be fun to see come together onstage because of its shape. It’s not a typical vessel – it was the most unusual design that was submitted.” He noted that a fly fishing lure is something that is universally identifiable, but not necessarily when made in glass.

This summer, visitors to the Museum will have the opportunity to see GlassLab in action at design sessions at the Hot Glass Show every Tuesday and Wednesday from May 29 through August 29 (see the full schedule). Designers will work with glassmakers to explore and prototype their design concepts live. If you missed your opportunity to submit a design for the Member’s reception, You Design It; We Make It begins on May 25^th, and become a Museum Member for special access to events throughout the year.

Update: see the finished piece on our Facebook wall.

Checkmate

Posted on January 31, 2012 by Yvette Sterbenk

It’s not often our curators and preparators get to “play” with our objects, but the team who recently moved Gianni Toso’s Chess Set, a whimsical work that is a favorite with our visitors, got to learn a little bit about chess.

The chess pieces are made in the form of Jewish and Roman Catholic religious figures. A Jewish rabbi and a Roman Catholic bishop (kings) join a group of holy men and women holding Judeo-Christian symbols of faith, including crosses, Torahs, menorahs, and single candles. Each chess piece has the appropriate costume, hairstyle, and accessory of its rank. Learn more about this object.

The artist does not dictate where the pieces should be placed on the chess board, so the team chose to set it up to show the Fool’s Mate, also known as the Two-Move Checkmate. This is the quickest possible checkmate in chess. See how it works .

Taking down The Glass Wall, Part 2

Posted on January 20, 2012 by Astrid van Giffen

With team work and good planning the de-installation of Brian Clarke’s The Glass Wall went off without a hitch!

Removing the glass panes one by one

In three days our team of three preparators, one collections and exhibitions manager, two conservators, and two outside contractors removed all 245 panes of glass, and all of the hanging hardware and steel support structures. Most of the work was carried out by our outstanding preparators who had to climb on ladders and scaffolding to reach and release all of the glass components.

Each large section of the window is made up of 35 smaller sections held in place with hardware and various set-screws. To dismantle, one person supports the adjacent glass panes, and the other loosens the set-screws. Once released, each panel is then handed down to another person and placed into specially constructed slotted crates. What makes it particularly difficult, is all of this is done some 30+ feet above the floor level!

Stephen hands off a glass pane

Most of the panes were in excellent condition, although they were extremely dirty. There were about a dozen panes with loose cames which will need to be reattached. One pane had an old break in it. It had been repaired previously, but needed a little clean up in the lab.

The glass panes are packed for safe transportation

One thing we hadn’t thought about in our extensive planning was that the panes would be slightly loose in the slotted crates. We realized it quickly and improvised with small squares of volara (closed-cell polyethylene foam) and acid-free board tucked around the panes to prevent them from rattling while they were moved. We also found that some of the panes were slightly wider than others. Luckily the difference was not a big enough to be a problem.

Now that the panes are safely in our offsite storage facility, the next step is to clean them and repair the loose caming.

See more photos of taking down The Glass Wall: http://flic.kr/s/aHsjy8cdZ4

by Warren Bunn, Collections and Exhibitions Manager and Astrid van Giffen, Assistant Conservator