BGuthrie Photos: VA -- Norfolk -- Chrysler Museum of Art -- Glassworks

VA -- Norfolk -- Chrysler Museum of Art -- Glassworks:

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Specific picture descriptions: Photos above with "i" icons next to the bracketed sequence numbers (e.g. "[1] ") are described as follows:
1. CHRYSG_150531_018.JPG: Glass Today: What does glass look like today? Examine the diverse artwork in this room to see for yourself. Artists today still use processes that earlier glassmakers would find familiar -- from sculpting and flameworking to fusing and cameo-carving -- but they often push glassmaking well beyond the limits of traditional techniques. They also combine methods in surprising ways and often use glass as one element in works that integrate multiple mediums, even video and performance art. The unexpected approaches to the material serve to express each artist's individual idea. Explore the techniques in this gallery and you'll discover many unique stories. Here at the Chrysler, you can also participate in the world of glass through performances, workshops, demonstrations, and classes at our Perry Glass Studio. Let the works in this gallery inspire you, then join us next door to create a work of art yourself!
2. CHRYSG_150531_020.JPG: Gianni Toso Chess Set, 1985
3. CHRYSG_150531_053.JPG: Karen LaMonte Dress VIII, 2002
4. CHRYSG_150531_064.JPG: Susan Taylor Glasgow Good Housekeeping Toaster, 2005
5. CHRYSG_150531_071.JPG: Luke Jerram Swine Flu, 2010
6. CHRYSG_150531_079.JPG: Introducing Glass: The Chrysler Museum's collection includes approximately 10,000 glass objects spanning 2,500 years of history. In these galleries and throughout the Museum, you will encounter a wide variety of glass: tumblers and pitchers made for everyday use, unique experiments in color and process, glass made to imitate precious stones, commemorative plates and souvenir goblets, and vases shown at World's Fairs. Here we trace the history of glass, from its ancient origins in Mesopotamia, through Asia, Europe, and North America, to pivotal manufacturers like Tiffany Studios, and to the Studio Glass Movement and beyond. At every turn, we invite you to discover the mysteries of this remarkable material, asking questions such as: * How is this glass made? * What was its function? * What influenced the design? * What does the glass say about the people who used it?
7. CHRYSG_150531_082.JPG: What is glass? Glass in manufactured according to a process developed 3,500 years ago. Created by heating a mixture of dry ingredients until it becomes a gooey liquid, molten glass is then cooled slowly enough to prevent cracking, but fast enough to prevent the formation of a regular crystalline structure. Because its atoms bond in an irregular pattern, the structure of glass is unlike other solids. It may be rigid, but glass is structured like a liquid. Glass is its own state of matter. Who is glass made? Thousands of workable glass compositions exist, and new ones are being developed every day. Three basic ingredients are needed to make glass. Together, these are called the batch. Here is the basic formula: Silica + Alkali + Stabilizer + Heat SILICA, also called silicon dioxide, is the primary ingredient in glass. Most silica comes from sand. ALKALIS lower the very high melting point of silica. Historically, glassmakers used either soda (sodium carbonate) or potash (potassium carbonate) as an alkali. STABILIZERS make glass strong and water-resistant. Glassmakers commonly use lime (calcium carbonate) or lead (lead oxide) as stabilizer. HEAT (about 2,300 degrees F) melts the ingredients of a typical silica-soda-lime formula. Historical fuel sources included wood, coal, and natural gas, but now we also use propane, electricity, and forced air systems.
8. CHRYSG_150531_088.JPG: What does glass look like? COLOR: Glassmakers color glass by adding metallic oxides or minerals to the batch.
9. CHRYSG_150531_091.JPG: What does glass look like? FORM: Once glass has been melted, it can be shaped and decorated. The basic processes we use in our Glass Studio today were developed in the ancient world, but new ones are discovered all the time.
10. CHRYSG_150531_094.JPG: Why is glass used? Glass has many properties that make it suitable for a wide range of uses in our lives. Glass is STRONG. Glass is HARD. Glass is ELASTIC. Glass has OPTICAL PROPERTIES. Glass is SHOCK-RESISTANT AGAINST HEAT. Glass is CORROSION-RESISTANT. Glass is ELECTRICALLY INSULATING. Glass is HEAT-ABSORBENT. Think about the various places you encounter glass each day. Glass is everywhere.
11. CHRYSG_150531_097.JPG: Islamic and Sasanian Glass: Travel and trade spread glassmaking techniques. As glassmakers became more comfortable with the medium, they began experimenting with designs and decoration. The animal-shaped flask at the right is a good example. It carries a pack, perhaps like the ones used to transport goods along the same roads traveled by artisans. The Sasanians, whose empire stretched from the Mediterranean to modern-day Pakistan, produced distinctive cut glass with flat oval facets. Textiles and calligraphy influenced Islamic glassmakers, whose green cameos and gilded designs make for some of the most opulent pieces in this gallery.
12. CHRYSG_150531_100.JPG: Ewer, ca 1100-1300 CE Islamic
13. CHRYSG_150531_107.JPG: Cameo Fragment with Triton and Sea Nymph, ca 300-400 CE Roman Empire
14. CHRYSG_150531_112.JPG: Pre-Roman Glass: The earliest glassmakers covered an organic core of clay, dung, and water with some form of glass to create vessels. Then they trailed a contrasting color onto the surface and combed it to achieve zigzag designs. Although people stored perfume or the healing cosmetic kohl inside these tubular bottles, their function was secondary to their beauty. Glass was as precious as gemstones, and artisans used glass along with rare materials like lapis lazuli and chalcedony to decorate jewelry and furniture.
15. CHRYSG_150531_115.JPG: Jar (Amphoriskos), ca 300-200 BCE Eastern Mediterranean
16. CHRYSG_150531_119.JPG: Bowl, ca 100-300 CE Roman Empire
17. CHRYSG_150531_123.JPG: Roman Glass: During the first century BCE, the Romans learned how to shape glass using a blowpipe. They found that blowing air into the pipe quickly transformed a small gather of molten glass into a large vessel, like the jugs and jars seen here. This technique revolutionized glassmaking. Now easier and cheaper to produce, glassware quickly became as common as vessels made in clay, metal, or wood. The properties of glass -- nonporous, translucent, and odorless -- made it ideal for storing food, drink, medicine, and cosmetics. Its optical and decorative qualities made glass especially desirable.
18. CHRYSG_150531_124.JPG: Glass in the Ancient World: The exact origins of glassmaking around 2,500 BCE remain a mystery, but the objects that survive help tell the story. The vessels in this room might appear small and modest to our eyes, but complicated early processes meant that only the elite could afford to own glass. As new techniques like the blowpipe developed, production become faster and cheaper, and practical glassware became a part of everyday life. Shifts in eastern Mediterranean culture and politics also changed the way glass looked. As empires rose and fell, religion, travel, and trade influenced glass design. In this gallery, look for a vessel in the shape of Hercules' club, textile designs carved into cameo glass, and bottles for pilgrims to capture oil, water, or sand as holy souvenirs. Each unassuming vessel reveals details about its complex cultural origins.
19. CHRYSG_150531_135.JPG: Charlotte's Web Artist Charlotte Potter transformed her online life into a tangible reality by making glass cameo portraits from the profile pictures of her 864 Facebook friends. By using cameo pendants -- a traditional form of jewelry -- and connecting them to her own portrait with fine chains, her work explores how people adorn themselves with their friendships. Arranged geographically based on where she met each person face-to-face (you can make out the contours of the United States), the work also maps the spaces, both real and virtual, that shape our relationships. While Charlotte's Web raises challenging questions about how we create and maintain meaningful connections in a largely digital world, its visible web seeks to enhance those relationships. With that in mind, we invite you to connect with the community of visitors who had seen and experienced Charlotte's Web by participating in our own web project, Chrysler Connections.
20. CHRYSG_150531_141.JPG: Glass in the European World: When trade routes and cultural influences shifted, so did centers of glass production. As Venice grew into a booming commercial center, the Italian city produced some of the most complex and beautiful glass. When Great Britain's navy took control of the seas, the British became major producers, exporting their glass throughout Europe. Glassmakers also gained recognition through experimentation and innovation. In the race to make glass that looked as clear and brilliant as natural rock crystal, both Venetian and British manufacturers invented new formulas. In 1676, an English glassmaker patented the addition of lead oxide, which significantly improved the clarity of British glass. Skilled artisans also developed a variety of techniques to shape and decorate glass -- bright colors, intricate painted and engraved images, shining facets, and altogether original forms. These designs tell the stories of their makers as well as their original owners: wealthy families, collectors seeking beauty, extravagant diners, fun-loving drinkers, and patriotic citizens.
21. CHRYSG_150531_152.JPG: American Glass: Glassmaking was America's first industry, introduced in 1608. Production eventually evolved from windows and simple storage bottles to decorative and whimsical forms. As immigrant craftsmen brought techniques from Europe and combine different styles, they created new, distinctly American forms and designs. The invention of the mechanical press in the 1820s made glassmaking quicker and cheaper than labor-intensive glassblowing. The press could even reproduce the look of complicated cut-glass patterns at a fraction of the time and cost. As the industry developed, more people could own glass that was both beautiful and practical for everyday use. Glass became such an integral part of life that by the 19th century glassmakers began designing pieces simply for decoration. Tables were adorned with amusing shapes like patriotic log cabins, which came in outrageous colors inspired by new synthetic dyes. Even some children's toys like tea party sets were produced in glass.
22. CHRYSG_150531_156.JPG: Bottle and Window Glass: American colonists establish glass workshops to make windows, which escaped the British ban on locally manufactured goods. At the end of the workday, the glassmakers turned their leftovers into useful tableware. By the 1800s, these simple bottles and flasks had become mainstays of the industry. With added decoration, glassware also became a fashionable way of supporting political causes, as with the flask on the upper right that celebrates sailors' rights. Gathering revelers probably filled these festive flasks with whiskey or other alcoholic beverages.
23. CHRYSG_150531_173.JPG: Art Glass: London's Great Exhibition of 1851 was the first international fair of its kind, and it changed the world. Manufacturers from countries all over the globe could travel by steamship and train to showcase their art and technology. Glass companies marketed their products there, but they also sought out other displays, like those of Chinese porcelain and Japanese prints, for inspiration. This type of exhibition was a clearinghouse of ideas where manufacturers could show off the latest and greatest merchandise and consumers could get a taste of the newest trends. People didn't purchase glass directly at the fair, but they returned home and shopped for new pieces. As companies tried to stay relevant in the market, they made bigger objects, sought out foreign design sources, and competed to invent new techniques and color formulas. This new glass was inspired by international art and technological innovations. Called Art Glass, it was designed to beautify and awe.
24. CHRYSG_150531_191.JPG: Mt. Washington and Pairpoint: In 1890, Mt. Washington advertisements described the company as the "Headquarters for Art Glass in America." Merging with the Pairpoint Manufacturing Company, a silver-plating firm, in 1894, the company became one of the country's longest-running luxury glass producers, enjoying a boom until the 1930s. From its Rococo-revival and Asian-inspired enameled scenes to its elaborate lamp and flower forms, the company constantly experimented with new designs and techniques, satisfying shoppers' demands for the latest fads. But some of these examples -- like the leaf-covered pink-and-green Verona vase (at center right) -- are especially rare today because they failed to capture the fancy of consumers.
25. CHRYSG_150531_198.JPG: Tiffany Studios While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks at Night, ca 1910
26. CHRYSG_150531_208.JPG: Tiffany Studios Woman in a Pergola with Wisteria, ca 1915
27. CHRYSG_150531_211.JPG: Tiffany Glass: Louis C. Tiffany (1848-1933), heir to the jewelry fortune of Tiffany & Co., started his own decorating firm, eventually known as Tiffany Studios, in 1878. A trained artist and a world traveler, Tiffany was also a businessman who employed a workshop of talented men and women to produce his innovative glassworks. Although influenced by classical art and ancient glass, he and his designers looked especially to nature for inspiration. Notice the floral-shaped vases, detailed lamps with realistic foliage and dragonflies, and elaborate leaded glass windows throughout this section. To convey the colors and textures of the natural world, Tiffany advanced glassmaking techniques including the manufacture of opalescent glass with confetti-like inclusions and surface treatments resembling drapery and ripples. His artisans selected and cut this flat glass to create the lamps and windows that famously decorate churches, synagogues, private residences, and public buildings. Although now well known for these stand-alone works, Tiffany was hired by his wealthiest clients to decorate church interiors or entire homes, complete with furniture, lighting, and desk accessories.
28. CHRYSG_150531_263.JPG: Pate de Verre Twentieth-century French glassmakers revived the ancient technique of pate de verre, French for glass paste. They made powdered glass into a paste, pressed it into a mold, and then heated it inside a kiln. As the glass melted, it filled in every detail of the mold. Dry powdered glass could be applied to create soft gradations of color. Look closely at the surfaces of these insects, animals, and figures. The technique gives the glass a sugary texture and dreamy feeling.
29. CHRYSG_150531_267.JPG: Modern Glass: As the Victorian preference for ornament waned, modern glass artists abandoned elaborate surface designs. Rather than applying decoration or layering on intricate details, manufacturers turned to abstract forms and stylized imagery. The results are the silhouetted animals, bold geometric shapes, and vivid solid colors seen throughout this gallery. This change in taste accompanied a growing interest in subjects more in tune with modern life -- from high-speed travel to skyscrapers to mechanized production. Although some artists were skeptical of the city and the machine, everyone was touched by them. Many companies producing glass relied on mass production -- and they found customers who embraced new technology and saw them as a benefit to society.
30. CHRYSG_150531_283.JPG: Cocktail Culture: Despite Prohibition in the United States from 1919 to 1933, the cocktail hour was born in the 1920s, inspiring the need for new forms. Manufacturers produced modern glasses, decanters, liqueur sets, and cocktail shakers to satisfy consumers. These once-uncommon forms found their way into homes of all social strata. The most fashionable households had glassware with smooth gleaming surfaces and a modern vibe. The style quickly went beyond tableware alone -- women complied with a new dress code of functional, yet chic, cocktail dresses, which they wore while gathered around new furniture forms like the coffee table.
31. CHRYSG_150531_300.JPG: Stylized Animals: Sleek, fast, and svelte, and gazelle represents everything the Art Deco vision celebrated. Artists employed many different materials to depict the lithe animal in silhouette, often leaping playfully through stylized foliage. Found in ceramics, metalwork, textiles, and glass, the abundant use of this motif made it the poster child of the movement -- literally. As seen here, it dances across a poster advertising the 1925 International Exposition in Paris, where decorative works like those in this case would have been displayed.
32. CHRYSG_150531_344.JPG: Studio and Contemporary Glass: For hundreds of years, glassmakers worked in factory settings, where powerful furnaces could produce the high temperatures needed to melt glass. Although some workers experimented and created their own designs, it wasn't until the 1960s that artists pursued glassmaking in small, privately owned studios. Using more efficient furnaces and new glass recipes, these artists invented entirely new ways of using glass. The earliest Studio Glass artists had no background in glassmaking and were either entirely self-taught or learned by apprenticing with more experienced glassmakers. Their lack of workshop experience, however, was often an asset, freeing them from assumptions about how glass should look and even from the idea that it had to be useful. Instead, they explored the unique medium and used glass as part of their broader artistic vision. The Studio Glass Movement eventually spread throughout America and Europe as artists established glass centers and university programs. Look around this gallery to see the highly original works they've created. Whether blown or molded, clear or colorful, shiny or matte, the objects push beyond aesthetic boundaries as they delight and inspire.
33. CHRYSG_150531_347.JPG: Josepha Gasch-Muche 7.3.2011, 2011
34. CHRYSG_150531_354.JPG: Erwin Eisch Night of Crystal Death, 1991
35. CHRYSG_150531_367.JPG: Stanislav Libensky, Jaraslava Brychtova Astronomical Calendar Sphere, 1994
36. CHRYSG_150531_374.JPG: Dale Chihuly Silvered Gold over Clear Venetian, 1990
37. CHRYSG_150531_402.JPG: Chihuly in the Garden: Dale Chihuly Turquoise Reeds and Blue Marlins, 2015 The blown-glass sculptures installed throughout Memorial Garden reveal Dale Chihuly's passion for imaginatively interpreting the natural world. The tall, vertical tendrils of Turquoise Reeds and the irregularly spiraling Blue Marlins dramatize the outdoor environment with their luminous surfaces and brilliant colors. Strategically placed among the Garden's plantings, Chihuly's Reeds and Marlins transform under the changing sunlight and when illuminated at night. Wander along the Garden's paths to explore Chihuly's botanical wonderland. Share your pictures at #ChihulyInTheGarden. Acclaimed for large-scale, multipart installations like this one, Dale Chihuly has been transforming the world of glass for more than 50 years. A pioneer of the Studio Glass Movement, the artist first began blowing glass in 1965 while studying interior design at the University of Washington. He also experimented with glass, incorporating neon and creating interior installations while pursuing graduate studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and at the Rhode Island School of Design. A Fulbright scholarship took Chihuly to Venice where he learned from glassblowers at the Venini factory, integrating their innovative methods into his own work. In 1971 Chihuly co-founded the Pilchuck Glass School in Stanwood, Washington. The school began as a dynamic workshop where artists could teach each other, and it remains a premier destination fir artists working in glass today. Chihuly maintains his workshop in Seattle, Washington, where he and his team of glassblowers continue to experiment with color and form while creating elaborate works of art in glass that can be found throughout the world. This exhibition complements the Virginia Arts Festival and Virginia Symphony's presentation of Bela Bartok's opera Bluebeard's Castle on April 18 and 19, 2015, at Chrysler Hall. The opera features 14-foot-tall glass sets designed by Chihuly. For more information, go to www.vafest.org .
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Wikipedia Description: Chrysler Museum of Art
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Chrysler Museum of Art is an art museum in the Ghent district of Norfolk, Virginia. The museum was originally founded in 1933 as the Norfolk Museum of Arts and Sciences. In 1971, automotive heir, Walter P. Chrysler, Jr. (whose wife, Jean Outland Chrysler, was a native of Norfolk), donated most of his extensive collection to the museum. This single gift significantly expanded the museum's collection, making it one of the major art museums in the Southeastern United States. From 1958 to 1971, the Chrysler Museum of Art was a smaller museum consisting solely of Chrysler's personal collection and housed in the historic Center Methodist Church in Provincetown, Massachusetts. Today's museum sits on a small body of water known as The Hague in the Ghent district, near downtown Norfolk.

The Collection:

The New York Times described the Chrysler collection as "one any museum in the world would kill for." Comprising over 30,000 objects the collection spans over 5000 years of world history. American and European paintings and sculpture from the middle ages to the present day form the core of the collection.

The museum's most significant holdings include works by Tintoretto, Veronese, Peter Paul Rubens, Diego Velazquez, Salvator Rosa, Gianlorenzo Bernini, John Singleton Copley, Thomas Cole, Eugene Delacroix, Edouard Manet, Paul Cezanne, Gustave Dor�, Albert Bierstadt, Auguste Rodin, Mary Cassatt, Paul Gauguin, Georges Rouault, Henri Matisse, Georges Braque, Edward Hopper, Jackson Pollock, Andy Warhol, Richard Diebenkorn, and Franz Kline.

The Chrysler Museum is home to the final sculpture of the Baroque master Gianlorenzo Bernini, a marble bust of Jesus created as a gift for the artist's benefactor, Queen Christina of Sweden.The Museum also houses one of the world's greatest collections of glass (including outstanding works by Louis COmfort Tiffany), distinguished holdings in the decorative arts, and a fine and growing collection of photography. The arts of the ancient world, Asia, Africa, and Pre-Columbian America are also well represented.

Programs and Exhibitions:

The Museum recognizes a responsibility to assist its visitors in getting the most out of their visit. A full range of guided tours, lectures, films, concerts, family days, travel programs, and publications are designed both to make the Museum a lively and engaging place to provide information on the works displayed and their historical context. The Chrysler is particularly proud of its school tour program. Each year over 100 volunteer docents welcome over 60,000 students from Hampton Roads for tours at the Museum itself and for living history experiences at the historic houses.

Each year the Chrylser presents an average of 15 special exhibitions. These bring to Norfolk outstanding artworks from around the world. Recent offerings have ranged from Myth, Magic, and Mystery: One Hundred Years of American Children's Book Illustration, to Rembrandt and the Golden Age of Dutch Painting: Works from the National Gallery of Art, the Art of Andy Warhol, Photographs of the Civil Rights Movement, M.C. Escher, Ancient Gold Jewelry from the Dallas Museum of Art, Art of Glass, A Fair Wind: Maritime Paintings by WInslow Homer, and Rodin: Sculpture from the Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Collection.

The Jean Outland Chrysler Library:

With a collection of 80,000 volumes, the Jean Outland Chrysler Library is one of the largest and most important art libraries in the South. The collection covers the entire history of world art, with special emphasis on material relevant to the Chrysler's Permanent Collection. The library subscribes to several hundred art-related journals, has an extensive collection of current and historical auction catalogues, and exchanges publications with 400 art museums world wide. There are also extensive vertical files on artists and art-related topics.

The library named in honor of Jean Outland Chrysler, wife of the late Walter P. Chrysler, Jr., who played a leading roled in its formation and expansion. The collection is based on the original holdings of the Norfolk Museum of Arts and Sciences library. In 1977, the library of the London art dealer M. Knoedler & Co. was purchased, adding major historical reference volumes, periodicals, and rare annotated slaes catalogues. The Library also houses the Museum archives, a rich source of local history that includes Mark Twain's original typescript of a speech he delivered at the Jamestown Tricentennial Exposition of 1907. A collection of papers from the Moses Myers family provides unique insights into the life of an important Tidewater merchant during the nation's early history.

The A. Kempton d'Ossche Art Video Collection is a fast-growing Library resource. The collection covers a variety of artists and art topics.

Historic Houses:

In addition to its main building in downtown Norfolk, the Chrysler Museum of Art also administers two important Historic Houses.

The Moses Myers House in downtown Norfolk is not only an unusually elegant example of Federal period architecture, but almost unique in America as it retains 70% of its original contents. The house and its furnishings provide a wonderful opportunity for visitors to experience first-hand the life of a prosperous Jewish merchant and his family during the early years of the 19th century. Moses Myers moved to Norfolk in 1787 with his wife Eliza. Five years later he purchased a large lot, where he erected a home for his family. Today the house contains an important collection of American, English, and French furniture, along with glass, silver, and ceramics, and portraits by Gilbert Stuart, Thomas Sully and John Wesley Jarvis. All were commissioned or acquired by members of the Myers family.

The Norfolk History Museum at the Willoughby-Baylor House: The Norfolk History Museum at the newly-refurbished WIlloughby-Baylor House (ca. 1794) illuminates the wide range and richness of the history of the entire region by providing enganging thematic offerings and surveys, including the decorative arts of Norfolk, the story of Norfolk at various stages in its long history as an international port and maritime center, the area's impressive naval and military heritage, and the area's historic building and residences at different periods in history.
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