| Art glass usually refers to the modern art | | | | artists as Dale Chihuly and Dante Marioni. |
| glass movement in which individual artists | | | | Lino Tagliapietraa was the first |
| work alone or with colleagues, creating works | | | | Murano-trained artist to leave and spread his |
| from molten glass in relatively small | | | | knowledge in the United States. |
| furnaces of a few hundred pounds of glass. It | | | | |
| began in the early 1960s and showed an | | | | Philip Johnson's Glass House may be one of |
| incremental growth through the end of the | | | | the least functional homes on the planet but |
| century. The glass objects created are not | | | | on an architectural scale, it is one of the |
| primarily utilitarian. From a creative | | | | most beautiful. All the exterior walls are |
| perspective, they have to make an artistic | | | | glass, with the surrounding vegetation as |
| statement. Their market value depends on the | | | | audience. Johnson did not see the house so |
| work and the artist involved, and prices | | | | much as a stage... but as a statement. The |
| range from a few hundred to tens of thousands | | | | inspiration and basic concept for Johnson's |
| of dollars. The best known of the modern | | | | glass house came from Mies van der Rohe, who |
| glass artists is Dale Chihuly. In 1971, he | | | | was designing the glass-and-steel Farnsworth |
| began the Pilchuck School of Glass near | | | | House during this period. Also surrounded by |
| Stanwood, Washington, which is a source of a | | | | a green landscape, the house stands utterly |
| great deal of the current American Studio | | | | transparent with its glass-enclosed living |
| Glass movement. | | | | space and porch. On a conceptual level, the |
| | | | house is the perfect expression of |
| In an art glass studio, "production work" | | | | International Style. Both houses are simple |
| (goblets, vases, pitchers, art marbles etc.) | | | | in structure but it is the use of glass as |
| show more hand worked variation than was | | | | the main material, which makes these houses |
| allowed in a pure factory work environment, | | | | highly significant in the world of |
| and each piece shows some of the lead glass | | | | architecture. |
| worker's creativity. In addition to smaller | | | | |
| production pieces, the studio glass workers | | | | Fritography is the art of using crushed |
| also try to turn out larger individual | | | | glass pieces ("frits") and coloured glass |
| pieces, which might be the equivalent of a | | | | powders to create fused glass artwork. |
| work of genius in the journeyman system of | | | | Artists assemble the frits into patterns that |
| guild and factory work. | | | | can be highly detailed, and even |
| | | | photo-realistic, and then fuse the works in a |
| Glass Blowing might be an ancient art but | | | | kiln. Seattle artist, Michael Dupille, |
| there has been a resurgence in the relatively | | | | pioneered the process. This glass artist |
| recent "studio glass movement" which began in | | | | works in Seattle, Washington. While he has |
| 1962. Harvey Littleton, a ceramics professor, | | | | worked in numerous media, he is widely |
| and Dominick Labino, a chemist and engineer, | | | | regarded as a pioneer in the technique of |
| held two workshops at the Toledo Museum of | | | | fritography, or kiln-fused glasswork. His |
| Art, during which they began experimenting | | | | public work is on display throughout the |
| with melting glass in a small furnace and | | | | United States, including a major installation |
| creating blown glass art. Littleton and | | | | in New York City's Wall Street Park.Through |
| Labino were the first to make molten glass | | | | the centuries, glass has changed its function |
| available to artists working in private | | | | and form. A company that has consistently |
| studios. This approach to glass blowing | | | | stayed on the cutting edge of glassmaking is |
| blossomed into a worldwide movement, | | | | Pilkington glass. |
| producing such flamboyant and prolific | | | | |