I had the privilege of being invited to the reception celebrating the opening of a new, month-long exhibit at the Bridgeville Public Library and rubbing elbows with the leading lights of the local cultural art community. The exhibit is a joint project of the Library, Public Art Bridgeville, and the Bridgeville Area Historical Society, focusing on artists and artisans working with glass. Both the exhibit and the social contact were rewarding.
Dominating the exhibit are sixteen individual pieces by seven different Pittsburgh area artists. Veteran devotees of previous Public Art Bridgeville exhibitions will immediately recognize the work of Dan Droz; this is his fourth visit to our community. He is well known for his production of three-dimensional steel sculptures made up of intersecting two dimensional planes and the intriguing shadows and reflections they generate. His work in glass is a smaller version of the outdoor sculptures and is equally satisfying to the perceptive viewer.
Perhaps the most unique piece in the exhibit is “Camponotus Ligniperda”, which, for the benefit of our less literate readers, is “carpenter ant”. And, indeed, it is a perfectly preserved chunk of spalted maple burl with portions removed to show the caverns dug by the ants, as well as dozens of the ants themselves. Except, the ants are manufactured from glass by Michael Mangiafico, whose forte is tiny, perfectly proportioned insects. The work, enclosed in a one-half inch thick glass dome, is the product of Mr. Mangiafico and Edward Pinto, a talented sculptor and expert at restoration of components of Victorian houses
Two of the four items exhibited by Sarah Cohen were a pair of lovely mosaics, pieces of colored glass mounted on a wood backing, “Frozen Forest” and “Cactus Flower”. I was particularly taken by them because I remember watching my wife do similar work years ago, with stained glass. It is a craft that combines the eye of the artist with the skill of the artisan.
Percy Echols II is a self-described artist/alchemist whose innovative achievements in glass-working include the incorporation of plasma technology (similar to neon) into some of his pieces. For this exhibition he has provided two examples of his “Image” series, a number of variations on glass-blown reproductions of the human lung in different colors and patterns. This one is titled “Cherry Red”.
Daniel Lager’s medium is acrylic painting on the back side of sheets of glass, painting the foreground first and then layering the background behind it. His contribution to this exhibit was “Grandpa’s Cow”. Its genre is a mixture of primitive and impressionistic; I liked this specific example. I was surprised to learn that there are several versions of the same subject, with the identical name, available for purchase.
Another noteworthy piece in the exhibition is the oddly titled “A Fractured Sense of Self”, by William Haynes, Studio Manager at the Pittsburgh Glass Center. It is a lovely thirteen-inch high chess pawn, constructed of clear glass with a surface covered with what appear to be fracture lines. Are we to assume the subject considers himself to be insignificant and that his opinion is flawed? Or is this another case of my over-analysis of simpler things.
The Higbee pieces in the exhibit illustrate a transition from the artistic, non-functional category into one that is mostly functional, yet retains many elements of art. Perhaps the best example is an excellent tall vase, obviously intended for displaying long-stemmed roses. Its function requires it to be tall and slender with a stable base. Its lines and overall shape are attractive enough to suggest traces of art. The “Gala” pattern pressed into its exterior enhances this impression.
A step deeper into this transition might be the “Delta” pattern shallow bowl. The function of the bowl defines its shape; there is very little “artistic” about its lines. However, the pattern pressed onto it is a different matter. Its panels alternate thistles and hobstars (medallions with many radial ribs). The result is a masterpiece of design. This pattern was commissioned by Andrew Carnegie to celebrate the opening of Carnegie Institute of Technology; the thistle is the floral emblem of his homeland, Scotland. Carnegie was understandably displeased when Higbee commercialized the pattern and named it “Delta”, not “Thistle”. His opinion has been justified today, as uninformed collectors instinctively call the pattern “Thistle”.
The curator has included a glass bottle from the Bridgeville Milk Company in the exhibit. We suspect she subconsciously wanted to highlight the significance of art by contrasting two pieces with similar functions (the lovely Higbee “Gala” vase and the ugly milk bottle). But, is the bottle “ugly”? “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder”; perhaps some of us nostalgics who fondly remember home delivery of milk in glass bottles would object to that classification. At any rate, the transition from the pure artistic form of Echols’ “Image (cherry red)” to the milk bottle certainly exemplifies the difference between art and function.
We are particularly grateful to Public Art Bridgeville and Curator Bitsy Bellaver for inviting us to the reception. Bridgeville is indeed fortunate to have three cultural assets that can collaborate to produce an exhibition of this caliber. It will be available to the public during Library hours through August 19, 2023. We recommend you “fall on by” the Library and soak up a little culture by visiting the exhibition.
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