Blown Glass

One of my own personal little rules in photography is not to take pictures of other people’s artwork. But perhaps that’s a little too broad of a statement, seeing as how I don’t really have a problem taking pictures of buildings, statues, monuments, or things like the blown glass in today’s picture. Maybe it’s more just paintings and photographs now that I think of it. And I think the reason I feel that way is because unlike paintings and photographs, these other forms of art can be represented in numerous ways depending on how they are photographed. For instance, I shot these blown glass pieces from underneath a glass shelf which they were resting on. The light was coming from above the pieces, so it was almost like the glass itself was glowing. But there would have been numerous other ways to capture the same art in a different light that would give the artwork an entirely different feel or appearance. The same could probably be said of a painting on a wall as well, but when you photograph the painting, you are more changing the feel of the atmosphere around the painting (frame, wall, darkness/lightness of the room, etc…) rather than the mood of the painting itself. I could be wrong, but I feel as if the painter or photographer is trying to convey a message in the image versus a three-dimensional piece that is constantly subject to change depending on light, shadow-play, etc…

Today’s picture comes from the Franklin Conservatory in Columbus, Ohio. These pieces are the work of Dale Chihuly, whose magnificent collection hangs in around 28 different states in the U.S. as well as Canada, England, Singapore, and the United Arab Emirates.

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