Chihuly Show

Is it possible to be both impressed and unimpressed with something at the same time because I finally dragged my lazy ass to the Dale Chihuly show at the MFA and I have to say I found it to be less than spectacular. Don’t get me wrong, the glass itself was beautiful (I’ve always wanted to blow glass myself but seeing as I hate being hot and sweaty and I get easily winded, it's never going to happen) and there were some surprisingly lovely bits like the little crystal cherub tucked amongst a ceiling full of endless anemones, starfish, tubes, bowls and balls, but mostly it was really pretty dull.

One thing that annoys the hell out of me is artists who, once they’ve gotten too big for their fancy little britches, rely too much on their minions (or studio monkeys as I like to call them) to do the bulk of the work and it’s pretty obvious that Chihuly is one of those artists because there’s no way he blew all that glass himself. I know that apprentices and assistants have been around as long as there have been artists churning out the goods in their workshops and studios, but it still pisses me off. An artist’s work should be an artist’s work from their own hand, not that of someone working anonymously under said Big Name Artist, no matter their medium. The bowls available in the show’s gift shop that one is required to pass through in order to leave the exhibit, made by “an artist in the Dale Chihuly Studio” (who is of course nameless and faceless), bore an average price tag of $5000 apiece. Seriously?

Okay, so maybe I’m too damn persnickety about the semantics of art, but I was sad that I felt so let down by this show. After all, it had been built up in the local media as being something truly extraordinary. I kept my thoughts to myself and after pondering all that glass for a couple of days, was just beginning to think there was something wrong with me for not being ecstatic over every last detail when Griffin quietly (and out of the blue while we sat lazing in the summer sun a few afternoons later) admitted to me that he thought the show was “shit” and hoped his confession wouldn't take anything away from my experience. I laughed out loud. Never believe the hype till you see it with your own eyes.

And the ironic thing is, I have to go see this show a second time with David. Do you think there's any chance it will magically improve by then?

Photo courtesy of Derek Mau.