Glass Pipemaking is the most significant movement in American Glassmaking history.

[3 rip min]

what is the most significant movement in American Glassmaking, roger?

[CitizenNot]

butt plugs

[$$$$$$$]

nile blowouts.. Nile is so tight, that you can only back nile with dichro not vice versa

[slinger]

I can't help but wonder which university will set up a lampworking program because of this show, or which public funding agency will suddenly recognize the importance of lampworking, or which mother will suddenly decide lampworking is what her kid should be doing. Take it for what it's worth. Just food for thought. Nice work though.

is this the criteria for an art movement to be significant?

[3 rip min]

nile blowouts.. Nile is so tight, that you can only back nile with dichro not vice versa

this was a pretty good post but the one that really made me laugh for some reason was when someone asked for help with blowing a big bong bubble and you said, " add dicro"..

[Robert Mickelsen]

Come on look at the work. It is as good or better than any other work at GAS.

I saw the show and am willing to state that the work was really good... but it was not better than any other work at GAS. Sorry... but did any of you catch the Clifford Rainey Retrospective at the Bullseye Gallery? Stunning, jaw dropping exhibition. No way the Degenerate show even comes close to something like that.

Look... part of the whole point is that pipe makers are dissed needlessly and the show demonstrates that they should not be. Like any genre of glass art pipes now have a place at the table. Welcome aboard boys... you have earned it.

For anyone who may have missed it... my favorite Rainey piece was a room installation titled "Art Committee". The walls were covered with outsized cast glass penises. http://www.bullseyegallery.com/Artis...?ArtistsID=366


- RAM

[skip]

I didn't get a chance to see that exhibit. I was referring to the work I did see at the auction and the demos. Sounds like I missed some good stuff. I got to watch Lucio's demo that was off the hook.

[Mr. Wonka]

What criteria would confirm the claims that pipe making is “THE MOST” significant movement in American glassmaking history? Some people might argue that it was the early days of the United States such as Jamestown, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, or the home studio movement of the 1960’s / 70’s (Chihuly / Pilchuck).

Perhaps it could have started with Corning who developed the borosilicate glass we work with today… or Paul Trautman for bringing to market the colors we have adapted for use in our art / craft.

What about our predecessors such as Bill Rasmussen, Harold Hacker, Homer Hoyt, Lewis Wilson, Mickelsen, Emilio, Bandhu, Parramore, or the countless other people that have paved the way for us... willing to shatter the glass curtain by sharing their in techniques and styles?

How about torch companies such as Fischer Scientific, Premier Industries (National), Carlisle, Bethlehem, etc that preceded GTT?

None of what we do today would be possible without the above mentioned people, places, companies, and ideas that came before us. I’ve heard time and time again that ex pipe makers (such as myself) have “forgotten their roots” when they moved on to other forms of glass art. I have not forgotten my roots… I remember and embrace the same “roots” that many of you refuse to even recognize. Pipe making would not exist if it were not for the people that came before us and developed products, pushed boundaries, shared information, and paved the way for the current movement(s).

On a final note: you / we have made many strides in the current glass market thanks to all of our predecessors. By the same token, we are paving the way for future generations that will push the limits and boundaries far beyond what is being done today and make modern pieces look like old school crap: just like a piece from 10 or 12 years ago that was made with 15-20 reverse balls… and actually changed color when you used it!

Pay tribute to, and recognize the people who have come before you, and hope that your name, work, talent, and legacy will live on as long (or longer) than those that have done the “leg work” for the modern day glass worker, pipe maker, or whatever path you have chosen to pursue.

Much love… Tom

[Celcius]

RAM,
Thanks for reminding me about that hilarious penis piece. (well, I found it funny) That piece was made to challenge social and political norms too.

Yes, the Clifford Rainey show did make my jaw drop. It had almost a sacred aura about it. But the pipe show made me happy and filled me with excitement for the future. Glass pipes have come of age, and this show felt like its coming out party. It was very significant to my eyes. I guess the next question is, now that it has gained acceptance (at least in the glass world), will it lose its edge? I'm guessing not for a long, long time.

Keep on meltin'

[mer]

Come on look at the work. It is as good or better than any other work at GAS.

I saw the show and am willing to state that the work was really good... but it was not better than any other work at GAS. Sorry... but did any of you catch the Clifford Rainey Retrospective at the Bullseye Gallery? Stunning, jaw dropping exhibition. No way the Degenerate show even comes close to something like that.

i wonder if either of you might elaborate on this thought. i'm uncertain as to how art can be better or worse than other art. are you speaking about what you personally preferred or are you addressing something quantitative about the craftsmanship or the creativity displayed? i agree that both shows were amazing, it just never occurred to me to rate them against each other since they seem to be so different.

i'd also like to say that this thread is one of the best discussions that i've ever seen here. thank you all for the intellectual stimulation.

[skip]

damn I got quoted twice in one thread lol...

Let me rephrase my statement. I originally responded to that on a break and typed it pretty quickly. The original statement doesn't convey the point I was trying to make.

The new and improved statement is

Come on look at the work. It is as good or better than a lot of the work at GAS.

I am speaking about the work like Scott deppes celtic knots and Clinton's work in general. Those are pieces I say to myself damn how did they pull that off?

I didn't see much work at the conference that made me say that. Eschuke's trash did though that's for sure.

I am sorry I missed the exhibit at Bullseye. Sounds killer.

[slinger]

well RAM and WONKA you still didnt prove that anything else is bigger or more significant than the pipe movement...

Paul Trautman wouldnt still be making color if it wasnt for glass pipes.

Glass Alchemy would not exist if it wasnt for glass pipes.

GTT would not exist if it wasnt for glass pipes.

Dichro Alchemy wouldnt exist if it wasnt for glass pipes.

Chihuly and Pilchuck and Corning may have laid some foundation, but all they did was pioneer a medium...

WE, the PIPEMAKERS, pioneered a MOVEMENT... a YOUTH movement with our own social and political ideals

what was social and/or political about the studio glass movement?

We pipemakers are just young bucks, give us another 10-20 years and you'll see whos running this glass world...

Boro lampworking is the most utilitarian form of glassworking,,, the common man can afford a studio and have a voice... and i know that the studio movement might have had that idea too of moving glass out of the factories,,,, but the lampwork movement took glass from the rich who could afford a furnace and glory hole, and gave it to the have-nots and disenfranchised...

[slinger]

see the main difference is that the other glass movements are just people striving to work a medium..

our movement is people striving for a voice in society,,, its secondary that the pipes are even made out of glass,,, the glass is the less significant aspect of the movement....

its the PIPES.

all the Pipes we make, from prodo to art pieces send a message politically and socially in this country,,, doesnt even matter WHAT medium they are made from....

the pipe movement TRANSCENDS glass making and the industry...

[slinger]

i dont even consider myself a glass artist...

the glass is irrelevant.

[slinger]

like when inner city kids were spray painting trains with graffiti in the 1970's and 80's that spawned a world wide graffiti art movement...

it would be ridiculous to start saying that Krlyon spray paint was responsible for the graffiti art movement, or that the inventors of spray paint should be praised for their role in graffiti...

people had a want and a need to appropriate space in the inner city, and they used the tools and things they had at hand,,,

same as us,,, we just wanted to make pipes, it just happened to be torches and glass we used, b/c it was what was available and logical at the time...

[lucky]

graffiti art as well as pipes inspired me to enter the glass art community. The ability to showcase your pipes as funtional art adds an element that is not felt through "mainstream art" pipes are meant to be shared amongst friends, not be imprisoned in a museum available for viewing fives business days a week.

[Chris Carlson]

breakin the law, breakin the law.

[slinger]

i didnt know who robert mickelsen or lewis wilson was when i started making pipes.

i was probably at least 5 years into before i heard their names.

and mr mickeslon and mr wilson can THANK pipemakeing as the only reason i even know who they are, let alone give a shit.

pipemaking made glass cool to me.

pipemaking afforded me and inspired me to take a mickelson class after i was already making a living lampworking for 10 years.

but mickelson and wilson didnt play ANY roll in my desire or introduction into lampworking.

for that i would thank Bob, Hugh, Tory, Dave and Amy, Ezra, Seth G, Pat K, and last but not least the Grateful Dead and Phish for making the commerce side happen...

[lucky]

hey slinger, it's great to see you so passionate to state the validity of pipes in our society, as well as the making pipe art what it is today. props man!!!

[Big Jay]

I guess you have a pretty strong point about glass being brought to the masses through pipes. But I'd have to think most peoples exposure to lampworking comes at a much younger age through places like Disney World or even small soft glass demo stores. I know my love affair with glass happened when I was a little kid watching people make cheap soft glass products on a small torch then followed by seeing hot shops in Mexico.
I really thought you were saying that just because its pipes does not mean it can't be art. There are a lot of pipes out there that I'd like to put in my china cabinet next to the other glass art I have bought in my life. You see a lot of old world tobacco pipes being collected by people that have no interest in smoking. I truely thought the point of what you were originally saying was that you were trying to elevate pipes from just the counter culture underground.