F R O M T H E E D I T O R
W h e n B e a u t y I s S u s p e c t
I W A S O N C E H IR E D T O D E S IG N
a p u b lication about one o f the
m ost co m m ercially successful
architects in the U n ite d States.
A s I did m y research, I becam e
enthralled b y the m an’s w o rk -
a m useum th a t lo o k ed as i f it
w e r e g r o w in g ou t o f a h illside,
a ligh t-in fu sed airport th at
seem ed to h o ver in th e clouds,
a g o v ern m e n t cen ter standin g
in a d esert like a m inim alist,
m odern castle. I w as in the pres-
en ce o f greatness.
T h e n , as I dug deeper, the
sto ry g r e w m ore com plex. H e ’s
not all he’s cracked up to be, som e
in the field w h ispered. It’s n ot
th at h e’s a great architect, th e y
said; h e’s a great m arketer. H e ’s
using tricks to d raw the eye. H is
w o r k isn’t original.
I w a s n ’t a n y less cap tiva te d
b y th e g u y ’s w o r k after I heard
th o se things (and I did w o n d e r
about pro fession al jealousy), but
th ey gave m e pause.
I th o u gh t ab ou t this as w e
p u t to g e th e r this issue fo cu sed
on glass. T h is year marks the 50th
an n iversary o f stud io glass in
th e U n ite d S ta tes, and the sto ry
o f the rise o f glass in this co u n -
try is a fascin atin g one (page 42).
G lass stands apart fro m o th -
er m edium s in sign ifican t w a y s.
F o r on e th in g , as an art m aterial,
it’s y o u n g . B ecau se it requires
a sp e cia lize d fu rn ace, h o t glass
has been in the g lo v e d hands
o f in d ividu al artists for o n ly
five d ecad es. A n d glass m ay be
m ore o b v io u sly d a zzlin g than
oth er m edium s. D o u se it w ith
ligh t and colo r, and th e result is
o th erw o rld ly. Y o u w a n t som e-
th in g am azin g in yo u r atrium ?
G o w ith glass.
G lass also cam e o f age at
a tim e o f risin g e xp ecta tio n s
in the field o f fine cra ft, a tim e
B e v e r ly Sanders alludes to
in h er re v ie w o f the “ C ra ftin g
M o d e rn ism ” sh o w (p age 34).
A rtists w e re gain in g m astery
o v e r glass as m od ern ism w as
sh iftin g to p ost-m od ern ism ,
w h e n th e reign in g eth ic m o ved
from “ surround y o u r s e lf w ith
ob jects o f b e a u ty and w o n d e r ”
to “ dem and m ean in g o f those
ob jects o f b e a u ty and w o n d e r.”
In its fo rm ative ye a rs, as
A m erica n glass w as read y to
strut its stu ff, the m ore so p h isti-
cated v o ice s in th e craft field
w a n te d m ore. B e a u ty is fine,
th e y su ggested , b u t n o t at the
exp e n se o f a brain.
Y o u can sense the skepticism
about glass am o n g critics such
as G le n n A d a m so n (page 19).
H e is w a r y o f the “b e a u ty c o n -
te st” am o n g glass artists and
caution s th em against cap ital-
izin g on the m ed iu m ’s “ easy
pleasures.” T h e glass w o r k he
favors is less colo rfu l, less d a z-
zlin g, m ore cerebral in its im pact.
T h a t’s the role o f criticism ,
o f course, to push artists, and art
lovers, beyon d w h a t th e y think is
possible. A n d the m ore yo u kn o w
about an art form , w heth er archi-
tecture or fine craft, the m ore
skep tical y o u ten d to b eco m e
o f its sed u ctive qualities.
B u t I recall h o w a ffe cte d I
w as b y the w o r k o f a lead in g
arch itect, b e fo re I k n e w v e r y
m uch. I w as m o v e d - and w h a t
is art fo r, i f n o t to cap tiva te us?
T h e le ft brain parses and
d eco n stru cts, som etim es v e r y
im p ressively. B u t the righ t
brain feels and w o n d e rs, and
that in stin ctive, em o tion al
respon se m atters too.
I w a n t it b o th w a y s: n o t
d u p ed b y the sh in y o b je ct but
n o t im perviou s to sheer b e a u ty
either. C a n w e h ave it all?
08
american craft feb/maris
Photo: Jeff Spielman, Getty Images
