Spectators (in the background) are entertained by the process of glassmaking by Cedric Mitchell in the auditorium of the new Perry Glass Studio of Chrysler Museum of Art.
By Jeff Maisey
Take your seat; the show’s about to begin.
Light-tight mechanical black curtains seal the windows as the house lights completely dim.
The floor level “stage’ comes alive with overhead theatrical colored lights. Glowing flames from torches and wall encased furnaces illuminate. Atmospheric music pulses from the speaker system to enhance the fiery mood.
A gasp from the audience follows.
This is something new.
No, you’re not at a Kiss concert. Nor is it a reimagined horror production of Patrick Mullins’ ROŪGE theater.
If you’re thinking performance art, however, you’re mind is on target.
What your senses are experiencing is a bedazzling glass making demonstration designed and executed as entertainment with a wow factor.
Welcome to the highly anticipated Perry Glass Studio of the Chrysler Museum of Art — opening to the public over the March 28-30 weekend.
“If you look at molten glass it’s glowing,” said Robin Rogers, the museum’s Glass Studio Manager and Program Director. “I think it’s the most magical material on the planet.”
The finished product is often delicately whimsical, curvy, intriguing, and intricately beautiful, but for Rogers and the viewing audiences, observing the fluidity of the material that seems “alive” as the artists work in collaboration with the hot material is a fascinatingly unparalleled thrill with limitless possibilities. The glob of 2,400 degree lava-like goo can take any shape right before your very eyes.
And this is the appeal and promise of the Perry Glass Studio.
While traditional visual art museums around the United States over the past 15 years struggled with how to engage a 20-something audience with static works on display, the Chrysler Museum of Art has found the answer.
Some 120 chairs on the floor level with another 90 stadium seats on the second tier overlooking the studio provide excellent sight-lines.
Like a concert venue, the Perry Glass Studio has a full production mixing board for both sound and lights.
The Perry Glass Studio, which initially opened in 2011 as a 9,200-square-foot glass-making and artist studio, underwent significant renovations, including a 24,000-square-foot expansion, bringing the total capacity to 33,200 square feet. What began as an experiment to complement the Chrysler Museum’s world-class glass collection turned into a significant draw for Museum visitors.
The opening weekend will showcase more than a dozen artists from around the world, including Dante Marioni, the famed American artist who entertained guests at the first Perry Glass Studio opening. Other artists will include the internationally renowned de la Torre Brothers, Netflix hit series Blown Away contestant Minhi England, and more.
According to Rogers, who joined the museum in 2011 and has been instrumental in the $55 million campaign to triple the glass making component, the expansion of the glass studio was much needed.
“We could do one thing at a time really well, and now we can do five things — which is great because there is a demand for it. That capacity is really driving the project.”
The demand Rogers speaks of is multifaceted. There’s a free each day at noon glass making demonstration in the Studio that draws a crowd of curiosity seekers.
The Glass Studio also offers educational classes to the general public from ages 6 to above at a variety of levels: beginner, intermediate, and advanced. The specific areas of learning includes everything from colorful coasters, fused glass plates and stained glass suncatchers to glass sculpting and glassblowing. Also offered are seasonal hour-or-two-long sessions to make personal, thematic holiday ornaments, glass ducks for Easter, starfish for summer, and glass pumpkins for Halloween.
The Glass Studio classes engage people and expands their interest and appreciate of the art-form. The classes also bring in revenue to the museum.
“There’s a huge demand for that, families love it,” Rogers said.
The full weekend classes are designed to enhance a student’s technical and artistic skills.
The expanded Glass Studio allows the staff and volunteers to operate many of these classes simultaneously.
“We have one of the largest collections of glass in the nation. We’re trying to educate the public about glassmaking and getting them to appreciate the collection (Chrysler’s permanent collection) more,” Rogers said of the museum’s goal.
Some of the museum’s part-time staff in the Glass Studio rent private, off-time slots to work on their own artistic creations as well as commercial ventures.
The idea of individuals making glass is relatively a new concept in human history.
“If you look into the Studio Art Glass Movement,” Rogers explained, “prior to 1962, worldwide, glass was only made in factories — in an industrial setting. There would be a designer and a team of workers who would make hundreds of them (glassworks). That still happens, obviously, but in 1962 a ceramic artist named Harvey Littleton wanted to build a smaller scale glass furnace and make art — one-of-a-kind, experimental.”
In a factory setting, such artistry was not economical.
Rogers said the studio glassmaking world is so small he’s met many of the pioneers. He marvels in continuing this movement forward.
“That lineage is something we are very much a part of,” said Rogers.
Robin Rogers is keen to give credit to the Chrysler Museum of Art’s actively engaged financial contributors and board members for their foresight in developing a significant, world-class glass collection, and now second-to-none Glass Studio.
“There’s a commitment from the City of Norfolk itself as well as the Barrys, Perrys, and Goode family. The Barry’s have their own art museum on ODU’s campus. Doug and Pat Perry — their name’s on this building but they also have the Glass Light Hotel and studio, which has another incredible collection, in downtown Norfolk.”
These combined efforts, according to Rogers, have now made Norfolk a glass destination.
“It’s a must-see if you know anything about glass,” Rogers said with enthusiasm. “I have 25 people who work with me, and most of them moved here to be part of the studio. So we’re growing the artist population and the community here in Norfolk.”
