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Corning Museum of Glass

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The Corning Museum of Glass is a museum in Corning, New York in the United States, dedicated to the art, history, and science of glass. It was founded in 1951 by Corning Glass Works and currently has a collection of more than 50,000 glass objects, some over 3,500 years old.[2]

Corning Museum of Glass
Corning Museum of Glass exterior
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Interactive fullscreen map
Established1951
LocationCorning, New York,
United States
Coordinates42°8′59.3″N 77°3′15.5″W / 42.149806°N 77.054306°W / 42.149806; -77.054306
Visitors400,000 (2012)[1]
Websitewww.cmog.org

History

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The Corning Museum of Glass (CMOG) is a not-for-profit museum dedicated to glass, first created as the Corning Glass Center, in 1951. It was built by Corning Glass Works[3] (renamed Corning Incorporated in 1989[4]) upon the company's 100th anniversary.[5] Thomas S. Buechner, who would later become director of the Brooklyn Museum, was the founding director of the glass museum, serving in the post from 1951 to 1960 and again from 1973 to 1980.[6]

Growth and renovations

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Hot glass workshop with bench and furnace openings
 
Tower sculpture consisting of 600 glass bowls

The original museum and library were housed in a building designed by Harrison & Abramovitz in 1951.[1] Gunnar Birkerts designed a new addition, which was opened on May 28, 1980.[7]

The Studio opened for classes in 1996.[8][9]

The museum was renovated in 2001, with exhibitions designed by Ralph Appelbaum Associates.[5][1]

In 2012, the museum again expanded,[10] with a redesign by Thomas Phifer. The Contemporary Art + Design Wing opened on March 20, 2015.[11][10][12][1][13][14][15]

In 2015, Karol Wight was appointed president and executive director of the museum.[16][17] She is also curator of ancient and Islamic glass at the museum.[18]

In December 2023, the museum opened The Wendell Weeks & Kim Frock Residency Center, an expansion of The Studio from 24,000 square feet (2,200 m2) to 60,000 square feet (5,600 m2). The expansion provides space for artists and students for short and long-term residency. The Residency Center also hosts the Glassmaking Institute, which offers a two-year program.[19]

1972 flood

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In June 1972, Hurricane Agnes severely damaged the museum. A case holding 600 rare books was tipped over, and the books were covered by mud and shards of glass panes. Half of the entire library collection was damaged in the flood, and according to Martin and Edwards, 528 of the museum's 13,000 objects had sustained damage.[20]: 11 [21]

During the extensive recovery efforts, the library occupied an abandoned Acme grocery store across the street from the museum. Altogether, staff and volunteers dried, cleaned, and restored over 7,000 water-logged and frozen books over the next two years. The rare books were sent to Carolyn Price Horton, a leading restoration expert, who disassembled, washed, deacidified, and rebound them.[22] On August 1, 1972, the museum reopened with restoration work still underway.[23]

The Glass Collection

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Galleries

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The museum's collection of contemporary artworks includes pieces by significant artists such as Lino Tagliapietra, Dante Marioni, Klaus Moje, Karen LaMonte, Dale Chihuly, Libenský / Brychtová, Ginny Ruffner and Josiah McElheny.[24] The galleries include: Glass in Nature, Origins of Glassmaking, Glass of the Romans, Glass in the Islamic World, Early Northern European Glass, The Rise of Venetian Glassmaking, Glass in 17th–19th Century Europe, 19th Century European Glass, Asian Glass, Glass in America, Corning: From Farm Town to "Crystal City", Paperweights of the World and Modern Glass.

In addition to these galleries, there is the Jerome and Lucille Strauss Study Gallery, Frederick Carder Gallery, Ben W. Heineman Sr. Gallery of Contemporary Glass, and the Contemporary Glass Gallery.

The museum's Ben W. Heineman Sr. Gallery of Contemporary Glass focuses on vessels, objects, sculptures, and installations made by international artists from 1975 to 2010. The purpose of the gallery is to show the different ways in which glass is used in art, craft, and design. The gallery is named for the Ben W. Heineman Sr. family, who donated a major collection of contemporary glass to the museum in 2005.[citation needed]

Exhibitions

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The CMOG offers exhibitions year-round. Past exhibitions have included: Medieval Glass for Popes, Princes and Peasants,[25] East Meets West: Cross-Cultural Influences in Glassmaking in the 18th and 19th Centuries[26] and Mirror to Discovery: The 200-Inch Disk and the Hale Reflecting Telescope at Palomar.[27] Several special exhibitions are offered at the museum and the Rakow Research Library each year, from shows focused on specific artists to major exhibitions on important topics in glass and glass history.[28]

The Rakow Commission

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Inaugurated in 1986 by the CMOG, the Rakow Commission supports the development of new works of art in glass. This program, which provides $25,000 each year, is made possible through the late Dr. and Mrs. Leonard S. Rakow, who were museum fellows and benefactors of the museum. Each commissioned work is added to the museum's collection and is displayed publicly for the first time during the annual seminar.[29]

Selected collection highlights

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  •  
    Unknown author
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    Louis Comfort Tiffany

Glassmaking

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Visitors can watch live glassmaking,[30] or learn to make glass at the museum.[31]

The museum offers several live glassmaking demonstrations.[32] The Hot Glass Show is a demonstration where one of the museum's glass blowers provides a live glass-blowing demonstration, which is also narrated by another of the glass blowers. The Hot Glass Show is performed at the museum, on the road, and at sea on three Celebrity Cruise ships.[citation needed]

At the museum, the Hot Glass Show is offered daily and is included in the cost of admission.[33] At each demonstration, the glassmaker takes a glob of molten glass and shapes it into vases, bowls, or sculptures. Throughout the demonstration, a narrator describes the process, and cameras give viewers a close-up look into the furnaces where the glass is heated. The show gives viewers a look into an ancient Roman technique that is still used today for glass making. Each show lasts between 20 and 40 minutes.[34] The museum takes the Hot Glass Show on the road, bringing the demonstration to the public, designers, and other museums in the US and abroad.[35]

GlassLab

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GlassLab is the design program at the museum. GlassLab's focus on material and process aims to help designers and artists realize new forms, functions and meanings for glass. The program is by invitation only and provides designers with access to explore concepts in glass. GlassLab designers come from various disciplines, such as product, graphic, and fashion design. In public "design performances" or private workshops, designers and glassmakers collaborate and prototype design concepts.[36]

Research

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Live Outdoor Hot Glass Show

The museum actively researches, publishes, and provides lectures about a range of glass topics.[37] It hosts The Rakow Research Library, which houses a collection of materials on the art and history of glass and glassmaking, and is open to the public.

Rakow Research Library

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The Rakow Research Library, founded as part of the CMOG in 1951,[38] is a public institution that houses a comprehensive collection of materials on the art and history of glass and glassmaking.[39] The library collection ranges from medieval manuscripts to original works of art on paper to the latest information on techniques used by studio artists. More than 130 archives contain unique material from individual artists, galleries, companies, scholars, and organizations. The library also presents exhibitions featuring rare items from its collection. In 1985, the museum renamed its library the Leonard S. and Juliette K. Rakow Library in honor of donors Dr. and Mrs. Rakow. The collection does not circulate. However, the library is a member of the Online Computer Library Center (OCLC), an international bibliographic service, and microfiche copies of books on glass and photocopies of periodical articles can be borrowed through interlibrary loan.[40]

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The Canadian reality glassblowing competition television series Blown Away includes an artist residency at the CMOG as part of its prize. The museum also provided assistance during the series' production.[41]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d Sterbenk, Yvette (June 11, 2012). "Corning Museum of Glass Unveils Plans for $64 Million Expansion". GlassOnWeb.
  2. ^ "About Us". Corning Museum of Glass. Retrieved March 15, 2013.
  3. ^ Pepis, Betty (May 19, 1951). "New Glass Center Mirrors Industry; Corning Building, to Be Opened Today, Reflects the Growth and Potential of Old Art". The New York Times. Retrieved October 9, 2022.
  4. ^ "Corning Name Change". The New York Times. March 10, 1989. Retrieved October 10, 2022.
  5. ^ a b Schneider, Keith (October 14, 2014). "A Glass Museum That Just Can't Contain Itself". The New York Times. Retrieved October 9, 2022.
  6. ^ Grimes, William (June 17, 2010). "Thomas S. Buechner, Former Director of Brooklyn Museum, Dies at 83". The New York Times. Retrieved October 9, 2022.
  7. ^ "Corning Museum of Glass | ArchivesSpace Public Interface". archivesspace.cmog.org. Retrieved October 10, 2022.
  8. ^ Eisenstadt, Peter, ed. (2005). The Encyclopedia of New York State. Syracuse, New York: Syracuse University Press. p. 399. ISBN 978-0-8156-0808-0.
  9. ^ Page, Andrew (February 18, 2013). "In Memoriam: David Whitehouse (1941–2013)". UrbanGlass. Retrieved October 10, 2022.
  10. ^ a b Vartanian, Hrag (June 6, 2012). "Largest Contemporary Glass Museum to Open in Upstate NY". Hyperallergic. Retrieved February 12, 2021.
  11. ^ Volner, Ian (May 4, 2015). "Corning Museum of Glass Contemporary Art + Design Wing Thomas Phifer and Partners". Architect Magazine. Retrieved October 10, 2022.
  12. ^ Minutillo, Josephine (May 16, 2015). "Corning Museum of Glass Contemporary Art + Design Wing | May 16, 2015 | Architectural Record". Architectural Record. Retrieved October 10, 2022.
  13. ^ Murray, Jeff (January 25, 2015). "Corning glass museum acquires new contemporary pieces". Star-Gazette. Elmira, NY. Retrieved February 12, 2021.
  14. ^ van Straaten, Laura (January 19, 2015). "Fred Wilson's Othello-inspired chandelier among pieces to go on show". The Art Newspaper. Archived from the original on January 22, 2015.
  15. ^ "History". Corning Museum of Glass. Retrieved August 2, 2020.
  16. ^ "Biography: Karol Wight". Corning Museum of Glass. Retrieved October 5, 2019.
  17. ^ "Karol Wight Appointed Executive Director of The Corning Museum of Glass". Art Daily. Retrieved October 5, 2019.
  18. ^ "The Responsibilities of Museums and the Market: Karol Wight's Interview with the Antiquities Coalition". Antiquities Coalition. December 16, 2015. Retrieved October 5, 2019.
  19. ^ Madison, Linsey (January 19, 2024). "Corning Museum of Glass Expands its Studio Space & Opens Residency Center". weny.com. WENY News. Retrieved March 20, 2024.
  20. ^ Martin, John H., ed. (1977). The Corning Flood: Museum Under Water (PDF). Corning, New York: Corning Museum of Glass. p. 60. ISBN 087290-063-0. Retrieved March 16, 2013.
  21. ^ Brumagen, Regan. "LibGuides: Corning, New York: The Crystal City: 1972 Flood". libguides.cmog.org. Retrieved October 10, 2022.
  22. ^ Palmer Eldridge, Betsy (February 2002). "Carolyn Price Horton 1909–2001". Cultural Heritage. Retrieved October 10, 2022.
  23. ^ "Corning Glass". New York Heritage. Retrieved October 10, 2022.
  24. ^ Lawrence, Lee (August 9, 2011). "Art, technology, design, crisscrossing the globe [exhibition review]". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved March 15, 2015.
  25. ^ "Medieval Glass for Popes, Princes and Peasants". Corning Museum of Glass.
  26. ^ "East Meets West: Cross-Cultural Influences in Glassmaking in the 18th and 19th Centuries". Corning Museum of Glass.
  27. ^ "Mirror to Discovery: The 200-Inch Disk and the Hale Reflecting Telescope at Palomar". Corning Museum of Glass.
  28. ^ Moonan, Wendy (April 18, 2008). "Roman Inspirations at Corning Glass Show". The New York Times. Retrieved March 16, 2013.
  29. ^ Halvorson, Jennifer (October 22, 2012). "The newly unveiled 2012 Rakow Commission work by Denmark's Steffen Dam examines the experience of a". The UrbanGlass Quarterly. Retrieved February 12, 2021.
  30. ^ "Glass Demos and Programs". Corning Museum of Glass.
  31. ^ Harris, Patricia; Lyon, David (April 19, 2006). "Glass and the spirit of the West shine in Corning museums". The Boston Globe.
  32. ^ Shattuck, Katherine (May 28, 2008). "Designers Teach Glass (and Themselves) New Tricks". The New York Times. Retrieved February 12, 2021.
  33. ^ Pogrebin, Robin (June 6, 2012). "Corning Museum to Get New Wing". The New York Times. Retrieved February 12, 2021.
  34. ^ Details glass blowing in Corning, N.Y. November 18, 2001. The Washington Post. Accessed via LexisNexis. [dead link]
  35. ^ "High Museum of Art Presents the Hot Glass Roadshow" (Press release). High Museum of Art. August 28, 2012. Archived from the original on September 17, 2012. Retrieved February 12, 2021.
  36. ^ Felsenthal, Julia (July 8, 2012). "Blow by Blow". The New York Times.
  37. ^ "All About Glass | Corning Museum of Glass". cmog.org.
  38. ^ Czarnecki, John E. "Juliette K. & Leonard S. Rakow Research Library, Corning Museum of Glass". Architectural Record. Archived from the original on November 30, 2013.
  39. ^ Reif, Rita (May 3, 1987). "Antiques; Glass Fit for an Emperor". The New York Times. p. B33. Retrieved February 12, 2021.
  40. ^ Kammen, Michael (May 18, 1986). "Getting a Clear Focus on the World of Glass". The New York Times. p. J25. Retrieved February 12, 2021.
  41. ^ Schuster, Clayton (July 16, 2019). "Where Reality TV and Museums Meet: How Netflix's 'Blown Away' Teamed Up With Corning". observer.com. Observer. Retrieved March 19, 2024.
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