Dale Chiluly

Dale Chihuly is an American glass sculpture and entrepreneur whose work is permanently displayed in 32 states and 6 countries around the world.  Due to the massive size of his work, it wasn’t surprising to learn that he does all the creating and designing while his team of craftsman help blow the pieces for the installations.   The piece that I was blessed to see is placed in the infamous Bellagio hotel lobby in Las Vegas, NV.  Titled Fiori di Como, this chandelier is comprised of 2000 individual glass blown flowers that are placed together in the ceilings coffer to span the entire lobby area.  The pieces total size is 2000 sqft., and having the ability to stand below it and gaze at the flowers was breathtaking, to say the least.

Fiori di Como, 1998
Blown Glass
Bellagio Hotel, Las Vegas, NV
2000 sqft

The creation of this piece is from the individual twisting and pulling, curling and fusing of dollop of glass, morphed from the heat of the blasting furnaces in Chihuly’s studio. The translucent, rich, free-form or geometric shapes along with the vast array of colors blast the senses, mimicking flowers gently swaying in a warm summer breeze. Each flower is a one of a kind representation, yet once placed together they seem to flow from one form to the other. There is a sense of fragility, yet your mind is amazed at the strength of the piece. The vibrant colors are impactful, as it shines and glistens to all that view it below. There seems to be no rhyme or reason to the color placement with a mixture of deep dark pieces, light pieces, and a splash of white mixed in, giving the viewer the desire to follow each color into the next ~ from one end of the piece to the other. The installation has a strong emphasis of individuality, yet collective ~ the placement of each flower when overlaid with another can morph the colors into something more elusive. It’s a sight to see, and something I’d advise anyone to witness for themselves.

Fiori di Como, 1998 (close-up)
Blown Glass
Bellagio Hotel, Las Vegas, NV
2000 sqft

Fiori di Como, 1998
Blown Glass
Bellagio Hotel, Las Vegas, NV
2000 sqft

Zaha Hadid

Zaha Hadid

Due to an incredible building I was introduced to in class, I thought I’d look at Zaha Hadid for my next artist. Zaha Hadid is an architect who uses artistic designs in her buildings rising her above the normal brick and mortar status of your typical architect. Since graduating from Architectural Association School of Architecture in London, Hadid has established her own practice designing buildings that look more like works of art, all while teaching all her knowledge to young up and coming architects.

The first structure we’ll look at is the Burnham Pavillion in Chicago, IL. Erected in 2009 for the Burnham Plan Centennial in Chicago’s Millennium Park, the pavillion “incorporates hidden traces of Burnham and Bennett’s original 1909 plans to redevelop the city” (1). This building shows that even back at the turn of the 20th century, Chicago strived to be cutting edge in its architecture. With a futuristic, geometric shape, the pavillion looks more like a sculpture than an actual building you can walk through. While it looks amazing during the day, once the sun sets the pavillion really comes to life. I was amazed by the detail in which the pavillion changes ~ during the day it’s more of a plain white color. But once night hits, the pavillion takes on a life of its own by changing colors and illuminating the Chicago skyline on the inside walls. This intricate feature of the pavilion shows that architecture and art can be one in the same, just as the Romans and Greeks did many years ago.

Burnham Pavillion 2009

Chicago, IL

Floor: 120m2

Site 500m2

Footprint: 300m2

The next structure I looked at is the Bergisel Ski Jump in Innsbruck, Austria. This structure incorporates a ski ramp and sports facilities, along with public spaces such as a café and viewing terrace. The design of the Bergisel Ski Jump not only has state of the art design, it also seems to blend in well with the nature it is nesting in. Just like the Burnham Pavillion, the Bergisel Ski Jump also takes on a new life when the sun sets. The lights that run down the middle of the jump give the structure a glow; adding life to the linear ramp of the ski jump.

Bergisel Ski Jump 2002 

Innsbruck, Austria 

Height: 50m 

Length: 90m

Hadid’s designs have grown architecture outside of the square, dull, everyday “building” and given the world works of art that also serve the general public.  By incorporating art into architecture, buildings become something that is not only useful for its purpose, but also appeasing to the audience that has the pleasure to witness its beauty.  My wish is that more architects take this approach in their designs by changing the mundane high-rise complexes into beautiful works of art.

Resources:

1. Wikipedia. Zaha Hadid. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zaha_Hadid

Do ho Suh

Do Ho Suh

For my the next artist, I wanted to dive into the work of Do ho Suh. Do ho Suh was born in Seoul, Korea, in 1962, and relocated to the United States to complete his studies at the Rhode Island School of Design and Yale University after receiving his BFA and MFA in Oriental Painting through Seoul National University and fulfilling his mandatory term of service in the South Korean Military (1). I chose Do ho Suh because of the enormity of his pieces, the scale of his work is mind blowing to me. In addition to the enormous scale, when you look at his pieces from a far you see the completed piece, but once you get closer you can see the minuet material that he uses to assemble his pieces, giving a new meaning to the work as a whole.

Cause & Effect, 

2007 acrylic and stainless steel and aluminum frame 

142.875 x 400 x 460 inches

Cause & Effect, 
2007 acrylic and stainless steel and aluminum frame 
142.875 x 400 x 460 inches

The first piece is titled “Cause & Effect”. As you can see, this piece stretches from the floor to the ceiling, with a curvilinear form of a tornado. But once you get closer to the piece, you can see that it is actually tiny little men stacked on top of each other. The piece represents individuality along with collective group support, and the coexistence of the two together. To me, I am in awe of how huge his piece is and the tenacity that he shows to complete something that is so intricate in detail.

Karma, 2010
stainless steel
276 x 26.75 x 46.5 inches

This next piece is titled “Karma”.  This piece is comprised of 98 brushed, stainless steel cast iron figures.  The piece has one man that is standing on the ground, with 97 men squatting on top of each other while each man is covering the man below his eyes.  I chose this piece due to the illusion that it seems to stretch on forever ~ reaching the highest peaks of the sky in the Sydney and Walda Besthoff Sculpture Garden at the New Orleans Museum of Art.  I can only imagine the meaning of the piece; maybe Suh is trying to portray the dependence of individuality in reference to a group as he does in “Cause and Effect”, or maybe he is trying to represent a skeleton made of men which leads support into infinity.  No matter what Suh is conveying, the massive size of his work seems to take my breath away.

Karma (detail), 2010

stainless steel

276 x 26.75 x 46.5 inches

Resources:

      1. Art 21. Do ho Suh. http://www.art21.org/artists/do-ho-suh

Georgia Russell

Georgia Russell

The first contemporary artist I chose to examine is Georgia Russell.  I LOVED the piece “The Story of Art” that we saw in class, and made the decision to look more in depth at her work.  I found a collection of her work at englandgallary.com, along with her biography explaining the method behind her madness, her education, and listing her exhibitions to date.        

Georgia Russell was born in 1974 in Elgin, Scotland, and studied Fine Art at Aberdeen University and the Royal College of Arts (1).  In the course of her career, Russell has received several awards for her work along with holding many solo and select group exhibitions in not only the United States, but also abroad.  She also shares her knowledge and works on educational projects as a visiting lecturer at universities and art schools, and her work has been featured in many publications over the years. 

To create her work, Russell “slashes, cuts, and dissects”(1) printed material such as books, photographs, maps, music scores, etc., which she then transforms into works of art.  Her pieces are displayed either in acrylic cases or bell jar’s, giving the spectator the ability to see the work from all angles.  Examples of her work is included below; I included 2 pieces that I really enjoyed, and 1 that I am not very fond of.  

After Carot 2011 

Cut photographs in acrylic case 

25.75 x 30 x 7 inches

This first piece is titled “After Corot”, and is comprised of cut photographs arranged in an acrylic case.  This piece showcases Russell's talent of taking something like cut up photo’s and presenting an organic representation of a mountain lake.  In fact, this piece reminds me of Payette Lake in McCall in the early morning.  I can honestly see the trees surrounding and mirrored in the lake, along with the softness of an early sunrise just peeking through the brush.  I can also imagine touching this piece, which I envision would feel as soft as feathers based upon the swirls that run throughout the piece but are most evident on the left side.  I love this piece, it’s absolutely beautiful and takes me back to mornings during my childhood years of heading down to the lake at sunrise to catch some fish.

L’Erotisme 2008

Cut and painted book in bell jar

29.5 x 12 inches

Next we'll look at a piece that is placed in a bell jar instead of an acrylic case.  This piece is titled "L'Erotisme", and to me it subtly screams erotica between the black paintings of the book pages, to the overlapped page representing a butterfly.  This piece gives me the impression of breaking free from the cocoon, which I see as breaking free from whatever is tying a person down.  Gaining freedom to be who you are and live your life the way you desire can be quite an erotic experience in and of itself.  

Lust for Life 2011

Cut book in a bell jar 

21.5 x 12 x 8.25 inches

Since I chose 2 pieces that I thoroughly enjoyed, I felt the need to experience something I didn't like.  This below piece is titled “Lust for Life”.  To me this is piece holds the same qualities as “L-Erotisme” but it feels very plain.  The book binding is flat instead of circular, and without any color this piece just doesn't seem to pop the way “L-Erotisme” does, and a few other pieces of Russell’s do.  I also feel that the paper seems to hang in a haphazard way making the piece feel somewhat sloppy. 

All in all, I really enjoyed diving into Georgia Russell’s work, and seeing what all she has accomplished during her career.  I hope you enjoyed my assessment ~ take a look at her work at englandgallary.com and let me know what you think!!!

Resources:  

1.       1. New England Gallery. Georgia Russell. http://www.englandgallery.com/artist_bio.php?mainId=32