Fireworks of Glass Tower and Ceiling

Last updated

Fireworks of Glass
Fireworks of Glass.jpg
MaterialGlass, aluminium, steel.
Size43 ft.; 18,000 lb.
Created2006, Dale Chihuly
Present location The Children's Museum of Indianapolis
Identification2006.1.1 (tower), 2006.1.2 (ceiling)

Fireworks of Glass Tower and Ceiling, also known as Fireworks of Glass, is a blown glass sculpture installation in the permanent collection of The Children's Museum of Indianapolis located in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States of America. The tower sits on a glass base, a pergola ceiling, and rises through the center of the museum's spiraling ramp system. Created by Dale Chihuly in 2006, it is his second-largest permanently installed glass sculpture. Beneath the tower is an accompanying exhibit that describes the sculpture and the process by which it was made. The tower and pergola ceiling are two distinct accessioned objects in the Children's Museum's collection. [1]

Contents

Description

Fireworks of Glass and Pergola Ceiling is a 43-foot tower composed of 3,200 pieces of red, yellow, and cobalt blue blown glass and a pergola ceiling made up of 1,600 pieces of multicolored glass. On the tower, two to four feet pieces of twisted glass are situated on a metal armature suspended by steel cables. The tower rests on a glass plate over a pergola ceiling filled with other pieces of glass. Each piece of glass was individually blown by a team of glassblowers based out of Chihuly's studio in Tacoma, Washington. . [1]

The installation is made up of the main tower, which is composed of Horny and Gooseneck-shaped glass pieces, and the pergola ceiling, an area underneath the artwork that serves as the ceiling for the Fireworks of Glass exhibit in the lower level of the museum. The ceiling includes 1,600 pieces of glass in some of Chihuly's favourite shapes such as Putti, Seaforms, and Persians. [2] Other shapes represented in the ceiling are Gooseneck, Mexican hat, twisted horn, split leaf, sea tube, frog foot, starfish, and horn bale. [3] [4]

Exhibit

An interactive exhibit is located on the lower level of the museum below the pergola ceiling where the tower rests. Visitors can sit on circular, rotating benches in order to look up at the pergola ceiling and observe the colours, shapes, and the light interacting with the glass. The exhibit includes hands-on elements that allow visitors to build towers using plastic pieces of coloured shapes. Computer kiosks walk the user through the glassblowing process. [5]

Process

Acquisition

After discussions with Children's Museum CEO Dr. Jeff Patchen in June 2001, Chihuly began sketching ideas for the tall, vertical space within the museum's ramp system. It took Chihuly and his team five years to plan and create Fireworks of Glass, which was inspired by the idea of an upside down chandelier. [2] The sculpture cost a total of $4.5 million. [2] The sculpture was unveiled on Saturday, 18 March 2006. Indianapolis Mayor Bart Peterson said of the installation, "This one of a kind work of art will serve as an icon for cultural tourism for our city." [4]

Installation

Installation of the sculpture began in January 2006. Under the direction of Chihuly, a team of glassblowers created the 4,800 glass pieces in Tacoma, Washington before shipping them to Indianapolis in 350 cardboard boxes. [2] After completion of the glass base, three artists from Chihuly's team and six museum collections staff began carefully adding the glass pieces to the metal armature. A plastic tube was inserted into each piece of glass to protect it when placed on the armature and to hold it securely to the metal rods. [2] [6] It took 14 days for all 4,800 pieces of glass to be installed, 1,600 in the pergola ceiling and 3,200 in the tower. [1] The team worked from the bottom of the tower to the top, using ladders and scaffolding as they went. They followed design plans created by Chihuly, but also had the freedom to make design decisions on site, depending on the surrounding museum environment. [2]

A contractor is suspended from the ceiling in order to clean the artwork. Fireworkscleaning.jpg
A contractor is suspended from the ceiling in order to clean the artwork.

Maintenance

Over time, dust settles on the sculpture and dulls its color. Professionals come into the museum each month to dust the tower in order to restore it to its original color. Hanging from the ceiling, they are able to rappel down and reach every piece of glass. [7] Museum staff also clean the base and lower glass pieces on a weekly basis. [2]

Artist

Glass is the most magical of all materials. It transmits light in a special way ... I'm pleased that my art appeals to so many people of all ages. As a parent and an artist, I'm especially looking forward to leaving a legacy at The Children's Museum, a place where I hope my work brings joy to children who visit from all over the world

Dale Chihuly, [6]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dale Chihuly</span> American glass sculptor and entrepreneur

Dale Chihuly is an American glass artist and entrepreneur. He is well known in the field of blown glass, "moving it into the realm of large-scale sculpture".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Glassblowing</span> Technique for forming glass

Glassblowing is a glassforming technique that involves inflating molten glass into a bubble with the aid of a blowpipe. A person who blows glass is called a glassblower, glassmith, or gaffer. A lampworker manipulates glass with the use of a torch on a smaller scale, such as in producing precision laboratory glassware out of borosilicate glass.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Studio glass</span> Modern use of glass as an artistic medium

Studio glass is the modern use of glass as an artistic medium to produce sculptures or three-dimensional artworks. The glass objects created are intended to make a sculptural or decorative statement. Though usage varies, the term is properly restricted to glass made as art in small workshops, typically with the personal involvement of the artist who designed the piece. This is in contrast to art glass, made by craftsmen in factories, and glass art, covering the whole range of glass with artistic interest made throughout history. Both art glass and studio glass originate in the 19th century, and the terms compare with studio pottery and art pottery, but in glass the term "studio glass" is mostly used for work made in the period beginning in the 1960s with a major revival in interest in artistic glassmaking.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Museum of Glass</span> Non-profit organisation in the USA

The Museum of Glass (MOG) is a 75,000-square-foot contemporary art museum in Tacoma, Washington, dedicated to the medium of glass. Since its founding in 2002, the Museum of Glass has been committed to creating a space for the celebration of the studio glass movement through nurturing artists, implementing education, and encouraging creativity.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tacoma Art Museum</span> Art museum in Tacoma, Washington

The Tacoma Art Museum (TAM) is an art museum in Tacoma, Washington, United States. It focuses primarily on the art and artists from the Pacific Northwest and broader western region of the U.S. Founded in 1935, the museum has strong roots in the community and anchors the university and museum district in downtown Tacoma.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Children's Museum of Indianapolis</span> Childrens museum in Indianapolis, Indiana, U.S.

The Children's Museum of Indianapolis is the world's largest children's museum. It is located at 3000 North Meridian Street, Indianapolis, Indiana in the United Northwest Area neighborhood of the city. The museum is accredited by the American Alliance of Museums. It is 472,900 square feet (43,933.85 m2) with five floors of exhibit halls and receives more than one million visitors annually. Its collection of over 130,000 artifacts and exhibit items is divided into two domains: Arts & Humanities and the Natural Sciences. Among the exhibits are simulated Cretaceous and Jurassic dinosaur habitats, a carousel, a steam locomotive, and the glass sculpture Fireworks of Glass Tower and Ceiling. The museum's focus is family learning; most exhibits are designed to be interactive, allowing children and families to actively participate.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Abravanel Hall</span>

Abravanel Hall is a concert hall in Salt Lake City, Utah that is home to the Utah Symphony, and is part of the Salt Lake County Center for the Arts. The hall is an architectural landmark in the city, and is adjacent to Temple Square and the Salt Palace on South Temple Street. The hall can hold up to 2,811 occupants.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lino Tagliapietra</span>

Lino Tagliapietra is an Italian glass artist originally from Venice, who has also worked extensively in the United States. As a teacher and mentor, he has played a key role in the international exchange of glassblowing processes and techniques between the principal American centers and his native Murano, "but his influence is also apparent in China, Japan, and Australia—and filters far beyond any political or geographic boundaries."

Italo Scanga, an Italian-born American artist, was known for his sculptures, prints and, paintings, mostly created from found objects.

<i>DNA Tower</i>

DNA Tower, a public sculpture by American glass artist Dale Chihuly, is in the Morris Mills Atrium of the VanNuys Medical Science Building, on the campus of Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI), which is near downtown Indianapolis, Indiana. It was commissioned for the Indiana University School of Medicine through a gift from an anonymous donor and was dedicated on September 30, 2003.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bridge of Glass</span> Bridge in Tacoma, Washington

The Bridge of Glass is a 500-foot (150 m) pedestrian partially-covered footbridge spanning Interstate 705 in Tacoma, Washington. It was opened in 2002 as a gift to the city. The Bridge of Glass connects the Museum of Glass on the Thea Foss Waterway to the downtown and attractions along Pacific Avenue such as Union Station, Washington State History Museum, and Tacoma Art Museum. Together, these attractions make up an area of Tacoma described as "Museum Row." The Bridge of Glass was designed by Texas architect Arthur Andersson and is decorated with artworks by Dale Chihuly. Chihuly has described the Bridge of Glass as "the gateway that welcomes people to Tacoma." It is accessible and free to the public 24 hours a day, lighting up during the nighttime.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Glass art</span> Art, substantially or wholly made of glass

Glass art refers to individual works of art that are substantially or wholly made of glass. It ranges in size from monumental works and installation pieces to wall hangings and windows, to works of art made in studios and factories, including glass jewelry and tableware.

<i>Lime Green Icicle Tower</i> Glass and steel sculpture by Dale Chihuly

Lime Green Icicle Tower is a 2011 glass and steel sculpture by American artist Dale Chihuly. Housed in the Museum of Fine Arts (MFA) in Boston, Massachusetts, it has been on display in the Ruth and Carl J. Shapiro Family Courtyard since the 2011 exhibit "Chihuly: Through the Looking Glass". The sculpture proved so popular during the exhibit that the museum launched a fundraising campaign to purchase the piece.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chihuly Garden and Glass</span> Glass exhibition in Seattle, Washington

Chihuly Garden and Glass is an exhibit in the Seattle Center directly next to the Space Needle, showcasing the studio glass of Dale Chihuly. It opened in May 2012 at the former site of the defunct Fun Forest amusement park.

<i>V&A Rotunda Chandelier</i> Glass sculpture by Dale Chihuly

The V&A Rotunda Chandelier is a glass sculpture by Dale Chihuly. It hangs under the glass rotunda at the entrance to the Victoria and Albert Museum in South Kensington, London. Considered to be an artwork as much as a source of light, it was installed in 1999 and then substantially altered and enlarged to its current size in 2001, coinciding with a V&A exhibition of the artist's work.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kait Rhoads</span>

Kait Rhoads is an American glass artist. She uses traditional Italian techniques as a base to create public art, sculpture, vessels and jewelry. The aquatic realm is the root of much of her work, the result of spending six years on a boat in the Caribbean in her youth. Since moving to the Northwest over two decades ago, her fascination extended from coral colonies to kelp forests. Aquatic life infuses her sculptures with animated forms, sparkling surfaces and faceted exoskeletons. Rhoads volunteers at the Seattle Aquarium, gaining inspiration and information on ocean ecology first hand on a weekly basis.

James Mongrain is a Seattle-area glass artist. He was educated at Moorhead State University in Minnesota, then studied glassblowing at Massachusetts College of Art and Design and the Appalachian Center for Crafts. Mongrain lives in Everett, Washington and operates a studio in Mukilteo at a former salmon smokehouse. He is considered one of the leading artists of the studio glass movement in the Pacific Northwest, and has unique mastery of Venetian goblets, combining the techniques of using a mold and blown glass on the same piece.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arlon Bayliss</span> Visual artist and professor emeritus

Arlon Bayliss is a visual artist, glass sculptor, and emeritus professor of art at Anderson University, known for his monumental public art installations in Indiana, as well as for his studio glass and factory art glass represented in European art museum collections. Bayliss has designed glass art series for companies such as Rosenthal, Steuben, Blenko and EOS Murano.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Fireworks of Glass:Installation". childrensmuseum.org. Archived from the original on 22 February 2011. Retrieved 26 February 2011.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Fireworks of Glass: The Art of Dale Chihuly" (PDF). Unit of Study. The Children's Museum of Indianapolis. Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 June 2010. Retrieved 26 February 2011.
  3. Museum of Glass. Tacoma, Washington (2002). Macchial.
  4. 1 2 "Fireworks of Glass the largest blown glass sculpture by Dale Chihuly to unveil at Children's Museum". Press Release. Sawf News. Archived from the original on 16 July 2011. Retrieved 18 March 2006.
  5. The Children's Museum of Indianapolis. "Fireworks of Glass: The Exhibit". childrensmuseum.org. Archived from the original on 21 November 2010. Retrieved 27 February 2011.
  6. 1 2 The Children's Museum of Indianapolis (2006). Interpretive label.
  7. "Swiffer Named 'Official Cleaner of the Children's Museum of Indianapolis'". PR Newswire. Retrieved 22 December 2009.

39°48′39″N86°09′26″W / 39.81073°N 86.15734°W / 39.81073; -86.15734