Wednesday, October 17, 2007

Sunburst-The Answer

I thought that this quiz was going to be far more difficult. I guess that I gave too many hints in the commentary. Strangetastes from St. Louis, Missouri, clever little devil, found the answer on the MIA website and wins the postcard. The beautiful chandelier by Dale Chihuly can be found in the foyer of the Minneapolis Institute of Arts. When it was being constructed, piece-by-piece, my then-preschool grandson and I sat off-and-on in the mezzanine for two days watching the worker bees putting each piece in its alloted place. Illuminated by neon lights in the interior, here is how the the museum describes it:

"Since the 1960s, Dale Chihuly has pushed the limits of glass in all directions -- including color, scale, and display -- to form organic, sculptural environments. Chihuly studied at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the Rhode Island School of Design, where he experimented with glass, neon gas, steel, and Plexiglas. In 1968 a Fulbright scholarship allowed him to study at Venini Fabrica. There, he absorbed the ancient Venetian method of teamwork, in which glass masters work with assistants to produce a collaborative work. Chihuly brought the method back to RISD, and in the early 1980s, back to his home state of Washington. He centers his glassmaking and teaching activity in Seattle at his studio, The Boathouse, and the Pilchuck Glass School. Since loosing an eye in a car accident in 1976, Chihuly now serves as designer and director of his collaborative works, no longer blowing glass himself. Sunburst is made up of more than 1,000 individual pieces of glass and 100 feet of neon tubing. It weights more than 3,000 lbs." (MIA Website)

13 comments:

  1. That is crazy looking! I've never seen this nor heard of it before.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I can't believe it weights that much. Amazing.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Love his work since seeing the ceiling work at the Bellagio in Las Vegas. It must have been fascinating seeing them assemble this work of art.
    Beautiful.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Anonymous1:22 PM

    It weights a ton and a half? Wow. What kind of chain holds that sucker up? I would never have guessed what it is.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I'm reminded of Medusa?

    ReplyDelete
  6. wow thats really amazing. I love the colour in his work.
    I saw one of his works when I was in seattle last Spring.
    You can see it here

    ReplyDelete
  7. I remember when he was just doing fancy bowls at galleries here in RI.
    Good quiz, that was a tough one.

    ReplyDelete
  8. the yellow ball looks a bit scary =) {joking}
    crazy posts Kate.

    Hey, surprise! I've tagged you and now you're it! Please visit my Wednesday post to see what to do.
    Jazzy

    ReplyDelete
  9. I adore Chihuly's work, thank you for posting this for us to enjoy! Tag your it! Check my blog for instructions...

    ReplyDelete
  10. Chihuly is extremely popular on the photo blog pages. I have seen a lot of his work posted on here.

    It is gorgeous.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Chihuly had an exhibition here, in Fairchild Garden, not to long ago, where his glasswork was in lakes, hanging from trees, everywhere.

    ReplyDelete
  12. That's incredible. This man has lived a life and done things in a part of this world I know nothing about.

    My knowledge of art pretty much is limited to photography. Stuff like this and the man's resume blow my mind.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Hi Kate. I like this and had not seen pictures of it yet. We have a Chihuly in the San Antonio Central Library and also some of his work at the SA Museum of Art.

    ReplyDelete

Thanks for visiting my blog; I appreciate it! Come back often!!