Dale Chihuly

Dale Chihuly.

He is my favorite contemporary artist. Thanks to the fact that all of you are curious as to who he is and what he does, I get to share a bit.

In fact, I suppose the thanks should go to Google, which has added the ability to customize their clean, white homepage with pre-selected images, as well as images you can upload from Picasa Web Albums. If you wanna know how to make the switch, simply look in the bottom left hand corner of the Google homepage. Props to Google, once again. Love those guys and gals.

Digressing. Dale Chihuly. My wife got me into this guy’s work about a decade ago. I was familiar with his work, but never knew his name before then. Chihuly is the most prominent glass worker/artist in the world, and his creations are absolutely mind-blowing. Truly gorgeous.

Yes, my Google page is set to his work, and it will inspire my web-searching capabilities. If you have ever been to the Bellagio Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, you’ve probably seen some of his glass work as a floral canopy, engrossing the ceiling in one of the lobby hallways. If you have a chance to see his work in exhibition, don’t hesitate.

Chihuly was born in Tacoma, Washington, and took in some formal education at the College of the Puget Sound, before transferring to the University of Washington at Seattle a year later. He received his bachelors in Interior Design. He went on to receive his Masters of Science in sculpture at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, and also received a Masters of Fine Arts from the Rhode Island School of Design.

If you’ve seen him, you’re curious–why the eye-patch? No, it’s not some weird artist thing. Chihuly was in a head-on car accident in 76, and was thrown through the windshield. He was left blind in his left eye. I inappropriately call him a pirate when referring to him, but it’s with mad-respect and awe that I do so.

Three years later he dislocated his shoulder in a body surfing accident, and at that point, he could no longer work with the glass blowing pipe. Because of this, he teamed with glass artists and has described himself as “more choreographer than dancer, more supervisor than participant, more director than actor.”

(Image via: Galaide.org)

Leave a Reply