Tuesday, October 02, 2007

Art in Gardens

A surprise find in a library mesmerised me for an hour as I flipped through the pages of this book featuring the art of a famous glass artist by the name of Dale Chihuly. Some of the glass installations in gardens and in open spaces. There were beautiful pictures of various glass houses in famous gardens in various parts of the world. I guess it was to impress on us that glass has always been seen as functional and protective until the artist saw that glass could break convention and become what it chooses to be in the mind of the artist. So we now look at glass as complementing and enhancing both created and natural landscapes without questioning its purpose. We look and conceive in our minds what the glass sculptures represent or simply feel their presence without attributing it to any particular reason.

This is the most refreshing book I've come across in quite a long while for it led me to explore the beautiful works of Dale Chihuly and to see flowers and plants through the eyes of an artist for a change. Check out his fabulous website for more of his works that will hold you spellbound for as long as you are looking at them especially this section that features the scultptures in the Garfield Park Conservatory.

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