The Phantasmagorical Art of Lucio Bubacco

Devils and Angels

Angels and devils compete, mythological figures abound, and all are frozen in vibrant and shiny colors.  These are the art glass creations of Venetian artist Lucio Bubacco.

Image courtesy Sarah Hornik/flickr.

He was born in Venice on the island of Murano, internationally famous since the 14th century for glassmaking, the son of a glassmaker.  Traveling with his father, he became aware of the different ways that glass was being used all over the world.

Eden

He began by doing lampwork, and a lot of self-study.  An important part of the preparation for his art was drawing.  He wanted to translate what he was able to draw on paper into glass.  He was always attracted to the human figure, and began to explore interpretations of it in painting, then clay, before taking it to glass.  Sculpting in clay would seem a necessary step to the difficulties of sculpting with glass.

Gold Grape Bacchanal

Over time he studied at various international schools.  Part of the formal education he sought, in order to bring to life his glass dreams, was attending WheatonArts (then Wheaton Village) in New Jersey, home of the Museum of American Glass.  This site is where some of the greatest international glass artists have worked, and he claims his time there was fundamental in his development as an artist.

Carnivale

At WheatonArts he availed himself of their program that was established to provide contemporary glass artists with the facilities and equipment to develop their art - The Creative Glass Center of America.

Grape harvest with Bacchus

In Murano he had bravely set up shop among traditional glassmakers.  Undaunted, he pushed what he had learned, pursuing his own course of education about creating with glass to the limits, incorporating lampwork with blown and cast glass.

Sun Dance

He has had numerous shows all over the globe, and his work can be found in many museums.  He has taught at the Pilchuck Glass School, Sydney College of the Arts, the Corning Museum of Glass, and at the International Glass Workshop in Venice, among other places.

Moon woman

Two stamps for the 2005 Venice Regatta, held every year on the first Sunday of September, featured art pieces by Bubacco.  The first is a contest between an angel and a devil; the second features a gondolier dressed in traditional 18th century clothing.

His work makes many references to the pre-Christian, Mediterranean culture and its mythological figures, and that may be reflective of his Mediterranean upbringing. Wonderful, inventive, inspiring, and fantastic, his pieces are not only greatly imaginative, but beautifully executed and crafted.

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Unless otherwise noted all images courtesy of the artist's website.

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Artist? Surgeon? Bookman?

Brian Dettmer has a thing for books...and other media that he feels is going by the wayside.  His mind works in mysterious ways, and like a book archaeologist, he digs and carves his way through a book's physical body searching for treasure.

He believes the book as a physical form of information is ending, and a lot of history gets lost in the transition.  Since the book's intended function has waned, new roles for it emerge.  He recontextualizes books, maps, tapes, and similar media, creating new modes of expression.

He often begins with a book and seals its edges, creating an enclosed vessel that's pure potential.  Working with his instruments - knives, tweezers, and surgical tools - he cuts into the surface and dissects it, one page at a time.

Nothing within his creations is relocated or implanted, things are just removed. Alternate meanings are exposed.  He sees his works as collaborations between the item, its original creator(s), and himself.

Originally from Chicago, Dettmer now lives in Atlanta.  He has shown his work throughout the U.S., Mexico, and Europe, and is represented by galleries on both sides of the pond.  His work an be found in private and public collections in the U.S., Latin America, Europe, and Asia.

This booklover doesn't think that the physical book as a source of information or entertainment is dead.  There is a tactile pleasure in holding something that tickles your mind.  But there is room in my world for books for reading, and books for art, and Dettmer's work offers me visual pleasure.

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All images courtesy of the artist.

Take a look at his website to see more of his work.

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Opening Up the Known World to the Known World

Elias Ashmole's coat of arms, 1925, in a window of the
Museum of the History of Science, Oxford.

Combine acquisitiveness with perseverance, ambition, and wealth, and you have Elias Ashmole.  This son of a saddler lived a life of varied experiences, a lot of learning, and the desire to share.  It is thanks to his efforts that we have the first public museum in the world - the Ashmolean Museum at Oxford.

Elias Ashmole by John Riley, 1683.

Oxford began displaying objects with the University Art Collection, which began modestly in the 1620s with some portraits and objects of curiosity.  It was based in the Upper Reading Room in the Bodleian Library.  One of the curiosities was Guy Fawkes' lantern.  Jacob's Coat of Many Colors was supposedly included, but is now lost.  (?!?)  In 1636 and 1657 coins and medals were added.  In the 1660s and 1670s more portraits were added, then historical paintings,  landscapes, and scenes of contemporary life.

Guy Fawkes' lantern.

In 1677 Ashmole donated his collections on the condition that a suitable building be erected to house them and that they would be available to the public.  The first building - the Ashmolean Museum - opened in May of 1683.

The "Old Ashmolean", now the Museum of the History of Science.

The collections outgrew their space, and there were many sculptures donated that could not be shown.  In 1845 a new edifice was built that housed both the Ashmolean and the Taylor Institution, which accommodates the modern languages department.  The museum contains fine art and archaeological treasures, including the bequest of Sir Arthur Evans of Minoan fame (and the Keeper of the Ashmolean from 1884-1908).

The "New" Ashmolean Museum.  Image courtesy www.ashmolean.com.

The present Ashmolean was created in 1908, and combines the collections from the original Ashmolean with those from the aforementioned University Art Collection.  Some of the paintings from the Bodleian were included.  It was significantly remodeled between 2006 and 2009 (adding two floors), and reopened in November of 2009.

A modern staircase added in the latest remodel.

When the new edifice was built in 1845, the "Old Ashmolean" was used as office space for the Oxford English Dictionary staff.  Since 1924 the building has been used for the Museum of the History of Science, and includes early scientific instruments given to Oxford by Lewis Evans (brother of Sir Arthur Evans) featuring the world's largest collection of astrolabes.

Astrolabes image courtesy of DocBrown.com.

Ashmole himself was an alchemist and antiquarian.  He had studied at Oxford while he served as an ordnance officer for the King's forces there.  He held many military posts, but never participated in any actual fighting.  In 1669 he received a Doctorate in Medicine from Oxford.  His loyalty to his alma mater was his impetus to leave Oxford his collections.

The Alfred Jewel, an Anglo-Saxon ornament made in the reign of King Alfred
the Great in the late 9th century and discovered in 1693.  Donated to the
Ashmolean Museum by Colonel Nathaniel Palmer.

Ashmole was one of the first Freemasons in England, and was purported to possess the secret of the Philosopher's Stone.  From his writings we know that he was also a Rosicrucian.  Most likely his involvement in both groups was for social reasons, rather than religious, as he left little details about his association with either group.

Coins from the Ashmolean collection.

His published works are still considered valuable, and he preserved many works in his alchemical publications that would have been lost otherwise.  In 1650 he published Fasciculus Chemicus under the pseudonym James Hasolle.  It was an English translation of two Latin alchemical works.

Cover page of the Theatrum Chemicum Britannicum,
image courtesy of the University of Pennsylvania.

His most important alchemical work was published in 1652, Theatrum Chemicum Britannicum, an annotated compilation of alchemical poems in English.  Despite his interest in alchemy, he appears to have been a student rather than a practitioner. His last alchemical book was The Way to Bliss, published in 1658.  Said to be studied by Isaac Newton, it recommended ways to prevent illness by a good diet, moderate exercise, and enough sleep.

Close-up of the engraving from the above title page,
image courtesy of www.ashmolean.com.

There is still controversy about his motives for the Ashmolean.  John Tradescant the Elder was a gardener to various nobles, ending up as the Keeper of His Majesty's Gardens, Vines, and Silkworms for Charles I.  He had many opportunities to travel and did so, collecting mainly botanical specimens.  His son, John Tradescant the Younger followed in his father's footsteps.  In 1634 he was admitted as a freeman to the guild, the Worshipful Company of Gardeners.  He went to Virginia to gather plants, eventually taking up his father's position with the king.

Portrait of John Tradescant the Younger, 1652, attributed to
Thomas De Critz, image courtesy National Portrait Gallery, London.

In 1652, Ashmole helped Tradescant the Younger catalog the Tradescant collection, Musaeum Tradescantianum, and Ashmole published it in 1656. Tradescant the Younger left the collection to Ashmole, but his widow fought for it. The courts awarded it to Ashmole.  When the museum was built in Oxford and all the items were moved there, the Tradescant collection was significantly larger than Ashmole's.  This added fuel to the fire that Ashmole was trying to take credit away from the Tradescants and keep the glory of the collection for himself. However, much of Ashmole's collection had been previously burned in a fire.

Portrait of John Tradescant the Elder, 17th century,
attributed to Cornelis De Neve.

Ashmole also keep notes on his life in diaries, which he planned to use for an autobiography.  It was never written, but the notes have been an important source for information on his life and times.  Two-thirds of his library was left to the Bodleian when he died, again serving as fodder to the notion that he intended the museum for the Tradescant collection rather than his own.

Linear B Tablet, circa 14th century BCE.  Donated by Sir Arthur Evans in 1910.

An interesting man who lead a busy life.  Most importantly, whatever his motives, he contrived to share what he learned - whether in books or the Ashmolean Museum - and we are richer for it.

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Unless otherwise noted, images courtesy of the Ashmolean Museum.

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When Art Irritates

Entropa exhibit.  Image courtesy of Wikipedia.

Two years ago a controversial art piece was unveiled that still has tongues wagging.  Entropa: Stereotypes are barriers to be demolished was created by artist David Černý for a commission by the European Union to commemorate the Czech Republic's presidency of the Council of the EU.

Romania depicted as a Dracula theme park.  Image courtesy of the BBC.

Every six months a different country covers the presidency of the Council.  Prior to the Czech Republic, France held the position.  It is customary for the presiding country to erect an exhibit in the Justus Lipsius building in Brussels.  France offered a large balloon in the national colors of France.

Belgium as a half-eaten box of praline chocolates that have been bitten into.
Image courtesy of Tomáš Pirkl.

Černý chose to create a work that displayed negative stereotypes of all 27 EU member countries.  Each country is shaped like its real borders.  The depictions of each country range from harmless fun to rather risque innuendos.  

Poland with priests erecting a rainbow flag of the gay rights movement
on a field of potatoes, ala U.S. Marines at Iwo Jima.  Image courtesy of Pirkl.

The entire work measures 54' x 54', and weighs 8 tons.  Made of glass-reinforced plastic with joints made of steel, the entire work resembles an unassembled model kit with snap-out parts.  Černý claims that the Monty Python brand of humor influenced him.

Slovakia depicted as a wrapped Hungarian sausage.  Image courtesy of CT24.

The work was unveiled on January 12, 2009.  The next day Bulgaria's ambassador to the EU registered a protest on behalf of his country with the European Commission, and sent a formal protest to the Czech government demanding that the sculpture be taken down immediately.  The Bulgarian part of the piece was covered with black fabric on January 20th.

Bulgaria is shown to be composed of Turkish toilets.

The Bulgarian sculpture after it was covered up.
Both images courtesy of Wikipedia.

Czech officials defended the exhibit and stated that they wanted to avoid censorship as an expression of freedom.  Given the controversy they expected complaints from other countries, but few were forthcoming.

Malta with a dwarf elephant and a magnifying glass.  Image courtesy of Pirkl.

The Czech officials had a change of heart, however, when the evening of the unveiling Černý announced that he and two friends created the entire piece.  When the proposal was made to the Czech government, Černý had said that an artist from each country would create the piece for their respective countries.  They had even published a booklet listing each country's artist with résumés for the artists.  These ended up to be fake.  Černý stated that they had originally planned to contact artists but limited time and financing prevented it.  Once that fact was revealed, the Czech prime minister remarked that had they known that it would not have been authorized.

Portugal as a wooden cutting board with three pieces of meat shaped
like former colonies Angola, Brazil, and Mozambique.  Image courtesy of Pirkl.

Černý was accused of misappropriation of funds.  He claimed that since they knew they would be deviating from the proposal, the funds would be returned.  He also stated that the deception was part of the art.  In the end, it was decided to let the piece remain on exhibit, as it was "art, nothing more and nothing else".

Hungary as the Atomium, a monument in Brussels built for the 1958 World's Fair,
made of watermelons and sausages on a floor of peppers.  Image courtesy of antaldaniel.

No one seems to have denied that the stereotypes were true.  Blaming the art for the stereotypes doesn't cut it.  Since art reflects life, it is the way people think that is offensive, not an inanimate object.  Bravo for artists who dare to reflect shame and ugliness!

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For more of Černý's work click on his website.

Since last September, Entopa is part of the Pilsner

Science Center, Techmania.

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The Art of Nicholas Galanin

Raven and First Immigrant, 2009.
Photo courtesy of Wayne Leidenfrost/Vancouver Sun.

Nicholas Galanin is most recently famous for the art work he did this past March for Boekenweek, the annual Dutch literature event.  But the artist is well-known for making modern art pieces with a traditional twist.

Curriculum Vitae - written portraits of Anne Frank, Vincent
van Gogh, Kader Abdolah, and Louis van Gaal,
for Boekenweek, 2011.  Images courtesy of CPNB.

Born in Sitka, Alaska, he comes from a background of artisans.  His great-grandfather was a wood sculptor.  His father works in precious metal and stone. When he was young he apprenticed with his father and uncle, then other local traditional artists.

Four Seasons, hand engraved copper pillar,
2008, showing spring and winter.

Same pillar showing fall and summer.

Deciding to pursue a formal education, he studied at London Guildhall University from 2000-2003.  Although he graduated with a B.F.A. with honors in jewelry design and silversmithing, he did more modern art work on the side.

Inert, 2009, photo courtesy Wayne Leidenfrost/Vancouver Sun.

Looking for a place he could develop as an artist more creatively with less rigid training, he attended Massey University in New Zealand.  He graduated there with an M.A. in Indigenous Visual Arts.

The Imaginery Indian:  yéil, 2008.
Photo courtesy Wayne Leidenfrost/Vancouver Sun.

Eventually, he moved back to Sitka.  Trained in both traditional as well as contemporary approaches to art, he blends them together.  His work reveals his cultural background and his exploratory nature.  His art is political in the sense that he mocks how native cultures are adopted and adapted into preconceived notions. He cleverly employs traditional cultural themes in ways and mediums that reflect their appropriation by the mainstream.

The Good Book Vol. 15, 2006.
1000 pages containing text from the Holy Bible with human hair.

With such an impressive oeuvre of a wide variety of themes and techniques, his popularity is understandable.  One can only contemplate what he will create next....

S'igeika'awu:  Ghost, 2009.

The Imaginary Indian Series, 2009.
The artist claims "a modern skeletal ruin of ghost like
objects hang on gallery and collection walls, most of
which mimic a romantic cultural lifestyle."

Engraved copper bracelet, 2004.

Knowledge, 2008, 2500 pages of cut and bound paper.  Pages from
Under Mount Elias:  The History and Culture of the Yakutat Tlingit
Parts one, Two, and Three by Frederica de Laguna.

What Have We Become? Vol. 3, 2006, 1000 pages.

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Unless otherwise noted, images courtesy of 

the artist's website.

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