Session Information
All sessions take place in the Auditorium of The Corning Museum of Glass, unless otherwise noted. Can't make it to Corning? Watch Lino Tagliapietra's demonstration online by connecting to the Museum's Ustream channel.
Thursday, October 18
8am
Registration/Coffee
Enjoy coffee and sign up for gallery tours.
9am
Welcome and Notable Recent Acquisitions
Karol Wight, executive director of The Corning Museum of Glass
Wight will discuss some of most important acquisitions of 2012.
9:30am
Is New Glass Old Glass?
William Warmus
Independent curator and appraiser
In 1978, Warmus was a fresh young curator at the Museum, quickly learning about the world of %%studio glass%% as the Museum prepared for its landmark 1979 exhibition, New Glass. This lecture guides you through the history of %%studio glass%%, with an exploration of the movement’s key players, including artists, collectors, and important masterpieces. It even answers the question posed in the title.
11am
Creating Context: American %%Studio Glass%% and Ceramics
Martha Drexler Lynn
Specialist in 20th- and 21st-century craft and design
This lecture will address the position of %%studio glass%% vis-à-vis American studio ceramics. It will explore the role of beauty, the development of critical %%tools%%, and the mobilization of institutional acceptance. Because clay was a groundbreaking medium in the post-war development of non-traditional art, a side-by-side comparison with glass will reveal key achievements and the potentials awaiting the %%studio glass%% community.
1:30pm
Panel Discussion: Evolving Dynamics of Marketing and Collecting American %%Studio Glass%%
Jane Adlin, associate curator, The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Dale and Doug Anderson, patron of the arts
Doug and Katya Heller, owners, Heller Gallery
Elmerina and Paul Parkman, collectors
Tina Oldknow, curator of modern glass, The Corning Museum of Glass
Panelists will share their experiences and unique perspectives on building significant private and public collections and the evolution of the %%studio glass%% market. They will also answer questions from the audience.
2:45 - 4:15pm and 4:30 - 5:45pm
Glassworking Demonstration at The Studio (live streaming available from 2:45 - 4:15pm)
Maestro Lino Tagliapietra
Many American %%studio glass%% artists turned to the traditional glassworking centers of Venice, central Europe, and Scandinavia for inspiration and knowledge. Tagliapietra, the highly influential Italian maestro and teacher, will be making work at The Studio this week and will provide a special glassblowing demonstration for Seminarians.
Friday, October 19
9am
The Early Years at Pilchuck: Mud, Glass, and Glory
Tina Oldknow
Curator of modern glass
The lecture will present the story of the many artists who formed Pilchuck Glass School, founded by Dale Chihuly and John and Anne Hauberg in 1971. The influence of Pilchuck on the development of American %%studio glass%% also will be discussed.
10:30am
Light in the Public Realm
James Carpenter
Principal, James Carpenter Design Associates Inc.
Carpenter is internationally known for his architectural glass projects. His cross-disciplinary background, and constant interest in light, has led him and his studio to expand our common perception of glass as a material and as an idea. The lecture will identify the development of his unique practice of integrating the experience of light into urban environments.
11:30am
Freeing the Furnace from the Factory: 32 Bricks and Beyond
Durk Valkema
Artist and director of Vrij Glas studio, Amsterdam
The young Valkema witnessed the early days of the %%studio glass%% movement alongside his father, Sybren, a Dutch %%studio glass%% pioneer and friend of Harvey Littleton. In this lecture, he will share the story of the %%studio glass%% furnace—from 32 bricks to the latest developments using efficient design. He will also discuss the importance of the artist’s direct experience with the material.
2:30pm
“What’s the Big Idea?”
Paul Marioni
Artist
Marioni, one of the founders of the American %%Studio Glass%% movement and an influential teacher, will discuss his 43 years of working with glass, his life as an artist, and will offer a few thoughts about life itself.
3:30pm
Gallery and Exhibition Tours
Please register for tours at the registration table. Space is limited.
Tours run concurrently on Friday afternoon and Saturday morning, so please choose only one tour each day. The tour of the glass installations at Corning Incorporated Headquarters takes place on Saturday evening and requires registration as well.
Ben W. Heineman Sr. Family Gallery of Contemporary Glass and Masters of %%Studio Glass%%: Erwin Eisch
Kelley Elliott, curatorial assistant for modern glass
The Museum’s Contemporary Glass Gallery focuses on work made by international artists over the last 25 years. The gallery is named for the Heineman family, who donated a major collection of contemporary glass to the Museum in 2005. The tour includes a special exhibition of vessels and sculptures by one of the founders of %%studio glass%% in Europe, Erwin Eisch (German, b. 1927), who is recognized for his achievements in developing glass as a material for artistic expression.
Founders of American %%Studio Glass%%: Harvey K. Littleton and Dominick Labino
Beth Hylen, reference and outreach librarian
Explore two exhibitions celebrating the founders of the American %%Studio Glass%% movement. Start on the Museum’s West Bridge to view works spanning the career of Corning native, Harvey K. Littleton. Continue across campus to the Rakow Research Library to discuss Dominick Labino’s extensive archive and examples of his glass from the Museum’s collection.
Making Ideas: Experiments in Design at GlassLab
Tina Oldknow, curator of modern glass
This special exhibition presents the Museum’s signature design program, GlassLab, in which designers are invited to work with hot glass. The exhibition features more than 150 design prototypes by almost 50 international designers and emphasizes the designer’s role in the process of collaboration and creation using glass as a material.
“Rediscovering the Glass Collection Galleries”
Bonnie Wright, gallery educator
Covering the origins of glass through the 20th century, this tour will illuminate some of the new acquisitions, recent installations, favorite masterpieces and hidden treasures in the Museum’s Glass Collection Galleries.
5pm
2012 Rakow Commission: Steffen Dam
The 2012 Rakow Commission honors the Danish artist Steffen Dam, a consummate glass craftsman, who will give an illustrated talk on his work. Although inspired by nature, Dam’s work is entirely imaginary: the specimens he creates, in his words, are “plausible, but not from this world.”
5:30pm
Reception and Unveiling of Rakow Commission
Saturday, October 20
9:30am
Gallery and Exhibition Tours
Please register for tours at the registration table. Space is limited.
Tours run concurrently on Friday afternoon and Saturday morning, so please choose only one tour each day. The tour of the glass installations at Corning Incorporated Headquarters takes place on Saturday evening and requires registration as well.
Ben W. Heineman Sr. Family Gallery of Contemporary Glass and Masters of %%Studio Glass%%: Erwin Eisch
Kelley Elliott, curatorial assistant for modern glass
The Museum’s Contemporary Glass Gallery focuses on work made by international artists over the last 25 years. The gallery is named for the Heineman family, who donated a major collection of contemporary glass to the Museum in 2005. The tour includes a special exhibition of vessels and sculptures by one of the founders of %%studio glass%% in Europe, Erwin Eisch (German, b. 1927), who is recognized for his achievements in developing glass as a material for artistic expression.
Founders of American %%Studio Glass%%: Harvey K. Littleton and Dominick Labino
Mary Cheek Mills, education programs manager
Explore two exhibitions celebrating the founders of the American %%Studio Glass%% movement. Start on the Museum’s West Bridge to view works spanning the career of Corning native, Harvey K. Littleton. Continue across campus to the Rakow Research Library to discuss Dominick Labino’s extensive archive and examples of his glass from the Museum’s collection.
Making Ideas: Experiments in Design at GlassLab
Bonnie Wright, gallery educator
This special exhibition presents the Museum’s signature design program, GlassLab, in which designers are invited to work with hot glass. The exhibition features more than 150 design prototypes by almost 50 international designers and emphasizes the designer’s role in the process of collaboration and creation using glass as a material.
“Glass: The Material and A Survey of Some Historical Techniques”
William Gudenrath, resident adviser at The Studio
From the brilliantly colored glasses made in ancient Egypt to the first colorless lead crystal of 17th-century England, the history of glassmaking is no less interesting than that of glassworking. Stroll the galleries and see how both skills came together at various times and places for the creation of key masterpieces.
11am
The Double-X Factor
Toots Zynsky
Artist
After nearly three millennia of glassmaking history, the American (and European) %%Studio Glass%% movement marked a significant rise in the number of female artists working in the medium. Zynsky will discuss key American female artists, along with the important influences of female European artists on the American %%Studio Glass%% movement.
1:30pm
From Bellows to Lathes: The Legacy of Contemporary Flameworking
Beth Hylen
Artist and reference and outreach librarian, Rakow Library
Contemporary flameworking has a rich legacy. Its origins include scientific glassblowing, cottage industry beadmaking, and carnival shows. Using images from the Rakow Research Library, the Museum’s collections, and interviews with contemporary flameworkers, this brief survey will explore some of these traditions in relation to artists working at the torch today.
2pm
A Not So Still Life: The Ginny Ruffner Story
Film Viewing & Discussion with Ginny Ruffner
The film, A Not So Still Life, peers into the kaleidoscopic mind of Ginny Ruffner, an artist as beloved for her magnanimous spirit as for her evolving "visual thought experiments." The film explores Ruffner's life, from her childhood in South Carolina to her emergence as a world-renowned artist. Meet the luminaries in her orbit, including Dale Chihuly, Graham Nash, and Tom Robbins. Witness Ginny's determination to recover from the accident that nearly claimed her life, but barely slowed her constant reinvention of the world around her. (Film running time: 82 minutes)
5:15pm and 5:30pm
Behind-the-Scenes Tours of Eleven Glass Sculptures at Corning Incorporated Headquarters
Please sign up for this one-hour tour in advance at the registration table. Cameras and camera phones are not permitted on the tour.
Enjoy a rare opportunity to tour Corning Incorporated’s world headquarters. Built in the 1990s, it features 11 skylit atria showcasing permanent glass sculptures by Peter Aldridge, Dale Chihuly, Erwin Eisch, Rury Iwata, Stanislav Libenský and Jaroslava Brychtová, Donald Lipski, William Morris, Therman Statom, Bertil Vallien, Harumi Yukutake, and Dana Zámecníková.
Tours will be given by
Allison Duncan, special projects team leader at The Studio
Kelley Elliott, curatorial assistant for modern glass
Mary Mills, education programs manager
Bonnie Wright, gallery educator
6:30pm
Cocktails
Corning Incorporated Headquarters
7pm
Dinner
Corning Incorporated Headquarters
