Section One, Veils

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Object Name: 
Sculpture
Title: 
Section One, Veils
Accession Number: 
2009.4.341
Dimensions: 
Overall H: 56.5 cm, W: 27.9 cm, D: 27.9 cm
Location: 
On Display
Date: 
2009
Web Description: 
The source of inspiration for Mark Peiser’s “Palomar” series is the largest object owned by The Corning Museum of Glass. This is the first (failed) casting for the mirror of the Hale Reflecting Telescope. The second (successful) cast mirror is still in operation at the Palomar Observatory in Southern California. Nicknamed the “200-inch Disk,” the giant mirror was developed by Corning Glass Works scientists in 1934. For decades, it was the largest single cast glass object ever made. In developing his “Palomar” series, Peiser wrote that he wanted to “acknowledge those who have experienced expanding the boundaries of glass, to recognize the existence and place of failure in that pursuit, to convey the wonder, awe, beauty and scale I experienced on first seeing the cast at Corning, to revisit the aesthetic of the industrial age when parts were made and assembled by hand and eye, and to create a glass that not only transmits or reflects light, but which embodies it.” The opal glass that Peiser used for the series is his own recipe. Peiser has been actively making and exhibiting blown and cast objects in glass since the early 1970s. He has never hesitated to explore new directions in glass and glassmaking techniques. Signed “MARK PEISER INC. / PENLAND, NC, USA / PROJECT / PALOMAR SERIES °03 / TITLE / SECTION 1, “VEILS”, / CAST SCALE BY / 2/27/9 1 / 3 111 PEISER” on label on base. For more information on Mark Peiser’s work, see Pamela L. Myers and Dan Klein, Looking Within: Mark Peiser, the Art of Glass: Works from 1967–2003, Asheville, North Carolina: Asheville Art Museum, 2003.
Series: 
Palomar
Provenance: 
Wexler Gallery, Source
2009-12-14
Inscription: 
MARK PEISER INC. / PENLAND, NC, USA / PROJECT / PALOMAR SERIES °03 / TITLE / SECTION 1, "VEILS", / CAST SCALE BY / 2/27/9 1/3 111 PEISER
label
on top base
Primary Description: 
Dichroic opal glass; cast, cut, ground, polished. Mounted on an aluminum stand, metal engraved label. Wedge-shaped sculpture made to look like a fragment of the Hale Telescope's honey-combed 200-inch mirror disk. Treated like a scientific display, the "specimen" is labeled and presented on an aluminum stand.
Curious and Curiouser: Surprising Finds from the Rakow Library
Venue(s)
Rakow Library, Corning Museum of Glass 2017-04-08 through 2018-02-17
From advertisements for glass eyes to patents for preserving the dead in glass; from glasshouse dollars to drawings by worldfamous artists such as Salvador Dali and Georgia O’Keeffe. These are some of the rarely seen wonders in Curious and Curiouser: Surprising Finds from the Rakow Library. Artists, researchers, authors, and glass enthusiasts of all kinds use the Rakow Library’s holdings to learn more about glass, which often leads to voyages of discovery in unexpected directions. Come discover how the rare collections and curiosities in the Rakow Library have inspired others and how they can inspire you.
Venue(s)
Corning Museum of Glass 2011-01-10 through 2011-10-30
Rakow Research Library
 
Meet the Artist: Mark Peiser (2014) illustrated, p. 8, top; BIB# AI98354
The Artfulness of Utility (2011) illustrated, p. 30, fig. 1; BIB# AI85730
The Corning Museum of Glass: Notable Acquisitions 2009 (2010) illustrated, pp. 72-73, #50; BIB# AI79879
Recent Important Acquisitions (2010) illustrated, p. 116; BIB# AI79772