DARBYxMICKELSEN COLLABORATION DOCUMENTARY

[Trevor]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r_qZGaGhyr4

[Nicholas Rado]

Sick piece. well done documentary. great artist perspectives. Thanks for posting this i can't wait to see what else they make

[SethBickis]

Well done doc!

[Nomad]

cause glass is the best.... works way better then metal. Nice documentary! I waited all day for it to come out on youtube.com.

[Nomad]

I wonder how much they want for the piece? I am guessing over $5,000.

[Kaizen]

^ lmao.

[oG Glocc Coma]

I think all of RAMs gun series have been going 10k and up, I believe the Eush x RAM collab is the most expensive.

[Dan Kooper]

RAMbo

[Nomad]

It is a tight piece. I like how well it fits together. I am not big on the gun thing. But it is still pretty cool.
They deserve the money. If they were making anything else they would have made that much in 4 days? I guess it is really not about the money though. It is nice to have though.

[LooseSeal Baller]

:clap::archer1::copyright
RAMbo

[swillz]

Another great moment in the movement

[RyanBaker]

Wow,truly an amazing piece.

I wouldnt be the least bit surprised if that went for 20+

Such a great collab that just had to happen at some point.

[Chubbles]

It went for more than that.

[mistahead]

that was nicely done...these weapons pieces are soooo nice, i'd love to be able to see one in person! go RAM!!! go Darby!!!!

[RyanBaker]

It went for more than that.

And here I am,not the least bit surprised.

Do you happen to know exactly what it went for? I was just thinking that the right person might pay 50g for that collab.

Very exciting seeing price tags on pipes that high.

[Trevor]

that was nicely done...these weapons pieces are soooo nice, i'd love to be able to see one in person! go RAM!!! go Darby!!!!

Piece of Mind Fremont has one, its fucking amazing

[talonst]

An interesting video - Thanks to Trevor for posting and of course to RAM and DARBY for making the piece and coordinating the effort to document it so that we can all have the opportunity to take a peek inside a collaboration project like this.

The result is an exquisitely crafted piece that showcases the potential of collaborations and the range of artistic expression available through flameworked glass.

What follows are just some ideas that occurred to me as a result of watching the video. None of this is meant to be disrespectful to either the artist's or their work. If anything, I'm curious about what others think about these type of artistic pieces and how people view them now and how they are likely to be seen in the larger context of art over time.

In creative work there are many drivers seen and unseen that get tangled up in the process of creating and the resulting pieces. Sometimes artists see their work more clearly with the passage of time which helps to clear the fog of ideas and motivations that were swirling in the artists's head as he/she was making the art. I've been curious about RAM's reasons for making these weapon pieces , so his comment's about the shifting artistic glass market and his curiosity about his rural neighbor's fascination with guns was an interesting intersection for me. The gun can be seen as a symbol of man's ability to adapt and dominate the environment through his superior use of tools and technology. Clearly, Mr. Mickelsen has been a dominating force in the flameworking community for many years. Having the artistic market dry up when you are at the top of your game must be very intimidating. As demonstrated by his comments and actions this has required a high degree of adaptation on his part, including making new relationships, making different types of work, and embracing new movements in the glass world. Could it be that the making of an assault weapon in glass gives expression to the idea of the glass artists having to adapt to a new hostile market reality? Are there other ideas at play?

The union of the artistic interpretations of both pipe and gun can be seen as pointing (literally and figuratively) toward the strength that results from artistic collaborations, networking, and the potential for new and exciting work in an open and connected community. Here though, I wonder - does the symbolism part with the intent? Is an assault weapon really the exemplar for communicating ideas of cooperation and connectedness ;-))

How do you think an object like this is likely to be viewed over time? In my own mind I see functional objects and art objects differently (I'm not trying to dredge up the "is it art or is it craft" conversation or say one is better than the other). A piece like this is not likely to ever be used even though it is "functional" - instead it's likely to be in a gallery somewhere for people to look at and to contemplate. What questions is it asking, what messages is it communicating?

Anyone care to jump in?

[mattholimeau]

I have not (yet) watched the video, since I'm at work, and pointedly don't watch videos in my cubicle (though I'm sure I'll give it a gander tonight), but your comments provoke me to disagree. You say that the gun/pipe points toward the strength that results from artistic collaboration, etc. My first impression when I saw the image of the embedded video was the exact opposite - it's a gun made out of glass, highlighting a contradiction, as a gun is often symbolic of power, and glass is often symbolic of fragility. It may be that the fragility of glass is something that lampworkers do much to avoid, and thus are unlikely to focus on (or maybe even accept [since "my shit don't shatter", which is a respectable attitude, as we've all put many hours practice into ensuring as solid and durable a piece as possible]), but I'd expect the general public to equate glass with shattering.

So, we've got a gun, used to destroy, made out of glass, something that is easily destroyed. Maybe it's a bit of a snake eating its own tail, or a reflection of the instability of power, or that government, like money, is only a tangible thing because of an intangible that we've all given power to, but in reality is a house of cards, ready to tumble down quickly if the wind picks up.

Or maybe guns are cool, and we happen to be flameworkers. I like the pretty colors of the shells.

[Nomad]

It is because RAM thinks that guns are made to look beautiful. So there is something to be said about a weapon used to kill people being beautiful also. It is supposed to say something about human nature.
Watch the video it is only like 20 minutes long. They explain it better than I can in the video.

[B-Rye-oNeR]

and here comes the dub-step....

[paulsafo]

Or maybe guns are cool, and we happen to be flameworkers. I like the pretty colors of the shells.

Well played haha

[Simian]

Awesome piece/doc!