The four previous pieces were in the Museum's gift store. This one is in the permanent collection (I think), and was not part of the big show.

JDA.

Are you bored Jamey? You have plenty of beads you could show. That Dale's work is exciting there can be no doubt, but what the heck, so is the work of a thousand other artists, like Toots Zinsky, Billy Morris, Leno Taglipietra, Picasso, Renoir, etc. etc. etc. How about staying on topic? This is a beads forum. As the primary responder here one might expect you to know and respect that.
Happy thanksgiving to all you bead lovers,
art

On 9/29 Jamey posted that he had seen this show and asked whether it would be appropriate or enjoyed by viewers if he posted images from it. More than one person said "yes!". Me included! Off topic as in not beads, but glass, glass, for sure! I have only seen Chihuly pieces at the Monterey Aquarium some time ago. Didn't make it in to the DeYoung for this show and I appreciate seeing these images. So thanks, Jamey, I loved seeing these. Sorry they rub ya the wrong way Art, but it's pretty darn cool for any modern artist still vertical and breathing, and a glass one at that, to get a show at the DeYoung. Like him or not, Chihuly is. To further ponder "off-topicness"...i guess it's something we should address in our inevitable protocol page...I feel the occasional off-topic post is okay. I do it about twice a year myself, much more profoundly off-topic than Jamey's. Once it was a series of spring-time beach images of Colin with starfish, sea anemones and stuff. Other times, it's been 1960s rock art posters for New Year's eve posts in years past.

I don't believe I suggested that Dale's work was other than exciting. Dale is responsible for glass being seen as a serious medium of art in the twentieth century for sure. No one else can be given as much credit as he in that regard. Many can be joyful for that, myself included. Still This is a bead forum. I come here to read about beads. and see beads. There are many glass art forums out there, and many much better and in focus pictures of Dale's exciting work to be seen than Jamey posted. If one is interested in Dale's work there are mountains of images to be found of it. My question remains. Why is Jamey posting a massive thread of bad pictures of non bead work here? I'd rather read pages and pages of Juergens and Kirks diatribes . At least they are on topic and I find much to think about in them. I'm even coming around to seeing some of Kirks viewpoints as regards Ghana bead things. Perhaps I'm getting old and grinchy, but beads is beads and this is a beads forum. As moderator you suggest taking Kirk or Juergen off the forum for their remarks from time to time, but they stay on topic and a forum should be a place for free exchange of ideas. I see Juergen as being the terminal skeptic on authenticity, and this ain't all bad, but that rubs some wrong. I'm holding my position here. If we go off topic next we'll be talking the palace doors of Abu Dahbi. They are fabulous, they are glass, but they have no place in a bead forum.
respectfully,
art

Mentioning that I really don't feel that the Occasional off-topic post is a terrible thing. As I stated, I have posted much more off-topic threads than the Chihuly one above. I don't have a problem with the great series on hand-carved wooden molds today either - because they are a related item, at least to me. Yes, we are a bead discussion forum, but I am thinking that it really should be okay for each participant to start perhaps 2 unrelated threads per year. Judgement on that is subjective too. Because Chihuly is a glass artist, and so many beads are glass, some would argue that it is not off-topic.

And what would Dale Chihuly have become without Harvey Littleton? In what medium might he have decided to design? I'm not very outspoken here as I'm here to learn and share a few pictures when I can. I do admire the designs of Chihuly and he has certainly done much to advance the modern studio glass movement. Jamey asked and he provided fair warning that he was posting Chihuly pics--I skipped over them but was interested to see if Art shared my opinion. Chihuly's work is, IMHO, bright, eye catching and BIG but has no soul. A number of years ago I caught a traveling show featuring Chihuly, Morris, Statom and one or two others. Morris's Artifact Wall was one of the most evocative and soulful installations I've ever experienced. I was in the exhibit nearly by myself and and I literally laid down on a couch before the wall and felt the energy of design and execution that went into every artifact-I would have been honored and happy to die there on that couch. Many of those artifacts can be worn as pendants and I'll try to remember to post a picture of a necklace inspired by one.
My point here is that people need to know that Chihuly is a designer who directs the creation of his designs. I feel the soul of the artisans who's skill and muscle create the finished piece but IMHO, Chihuly strives for his persona to overshadow the importance of the artisans who create his designs. I just don't have much respect for that.
Juel

Thanks for the link to Billy Morris’ work Juel, and your observations on Dale’s work. He doesn’t make any of that stuff, only encourages the many artists working for him to make the objects. Dale is a showman and a promoter, but worst of all to me as an artist is that, he totally subsumes the identity of his artist employees with his own ego. Billy Morris worked for Dale, Lino worked for Dale. When I was a production glass blower working for Mike Nourot, Micheal always included the individual artist initials in the studio signature on the piece. But I didn’t make my post to start a long discussion on the merits of Chihuly’s work or ethics or glass art in general. I too bypassed looking at most of the pictures as I’ve seen many Chihuly installations up close over the years and would also rather spend a minute with a Billy Morris piece than an hour with a room sized Chihuly installation. That aside, I yet stand by my position as stated in the title of my first post in this thread. What’s Chihuly got to do with beads? Jamey is an artist, an historian, an archivist, a researcher and a professional, and his field of expertise is beads, amulets etc. If we all start posting long threads of photos of our non bead related vacations and day trips, It won’t take long before this will become the travelog forum and one will have to sift through pages of threads to find relevant bead related material. Yes, I’m exaggerating here, but not by a lot. It all starts somewhere. Political remarks have been creeping into posts. Will religion be next? People here on this forum look for bead related material and look up to Jamey for bead information, not travelogues. He could have posted a link to some really good Chihuly photos instead of making a long thread here with post after post after post of poorly shot, out of focus low light images. If one looks at the reads on the posts one will see that the average reader here grew weary pretty quickly of the images. Jamey, you must have thousands of good pictures of exciting beads to show here. Logan, I didn’t make my remarks to insult or scorn, but in the context of the many great images posted on this forum, most all on topic or closely related, I found Jamey’s Chihuly posts to be not just off topic but an insult to the quality of the fine images posted here by Thomas, Thomas, Steve, Nisheda and so many others. And yes, I’d rather read those long posts from Kirk, Juergen, Jamey and others about beads than see a long one person generated thread with fourteen posts about a totally non bead related subject. At least here that is. The web is full of places to go to see and read on any subject imagineable. I just did a simple search for Dale Chihuly and pulled up two hundred seventeen thousand hits. Do we need him here? Is his work bead related? Even remotely? Are we here because we are looking to read about beads? Heck many beads are made of stone. Would a travelogue of pictures of the stone quarries of Carrara be appropriate here? For Bob, your molds might be pretty keen as beads if you drilled 'em.....LOL. Nice objects- and nice photos.
Here's to whirled peas for sure.

Actually, I hit "view all" most of the time when I open a multi-post thread. Hitting "view all" will add a count of one only to the opening post of the thread, which at this moment is at 93. The individual post tallies represent just the individual hits to that specific post. Well, it's a valid point of discussion - where "admin" should draw the line of relevancy. It's a subjective thing. I have forever said I don't want a protocol page, I like anarchy, torn jeans and tie-dye!!! But the day is comin'. Did you know we've been on the net since May 2, 2002? Didn't get used until the old nbs went down in Sept. 2003. That's still 5 years of pretty informative, fun and interactive bead times. Overall, we're doing all right! And a lot of us are even friendly! If you count your on-line relationships, how many more bead friends do you have today than before beadcollector.net started sucking up your on-line time?! Psychosis, disagreements, hurt feelings and ruffled feathers happen, unfortunately. Just like in real life, we can't protect each other from that stuff any more than we can control the actions of others. Still guidelines should help to communicate that manners and decorum are important in such an internet community as well as your own neighborhood.

I've just been online the very moment "Glassman" daydreamt through offtopicland.

Spontaneously, after seeing 2-3 pics (NEVER!! liked nor been impressed by Chihuly's "snake-works". Frankly? I find them (!) ugly and tasteless)
I wanted to post "thanx for the beads, Glassman".

I changed my mind, left the field for Art to tell all the right things (in anything but harsh tone!! "logos" does not come from Logan!).

Though,...frankly? I´d like to see the glass-doors in "Dhabi". "Abu Dubai", right...? Maybe Glassman new "discussion site" on Thai Chi Huly!
~J~

No-no-no Art!

I can´t agree!
Glassman knows,
what´s good for us!

It's not you to walk on water,
part the ocean!

Blasphemic!
Jürgen

There was ample warning in the subject line to let me know that this was possibly not a bead post - it was referred to as art. I am not familiar with the artist, but I still looked at the post.

Art, I was surprised by your unfriendly reaction. You'd rather read rants and raves about beads than view one artist/teacher/researcher/author/the-list-goes-on's pictorial essay?

Well, as much as I like the occasional surprising comment, I'd rather know that I'll find respect and congeniality than harsh statements written in anger, which you say you'd rather read. Well, read on. I'm sure they're here, further down.

I applaud you as one of the most incredible artists of our day. Here was a pleasant holiday photo essay and you found reason to insult and scorn? From what does this stem, I am wondering?

I'm gonna go see if Jue responded to Carl's request to show some beads... maybe that was more flavorful to your palate and you wrote more there.

Art, don't you think Joyce and David have had enough banter as of late? I'm still stunned as to why you would reply this way. I guess I'm just so surprised I can't figure out how to express it. And, words are usually my art form...

I loved seeing these images--art is art this is inspiring to me

I'm not trying to be strident here, but really. This isn't an art forum. It isn't a general subject chat room. It's a forum for the discussion of collectible beads. Just like it says at the top of the page. There are lots of bead related objects which have found and might find their way here and into the discussion and I personally am happy to see them and learn about them. But nothing in the art glass realm from Louis Tiffany to Dale Chihuly or anywhere in between relates to beads unless, and I expect it's out there, there's a decorated piece with the decoration showing someone making or wearing beads Maybe there's a lovely Italian glass sculpture by Pino of Venus wearing beads. Don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to nitpick here. I make art glass for a living. I love the stuff, but there are specific forums for showing and discussing art glass just like there is this one for beads. The nature of special interest forums like this is to cater to that interest. I have a bead made of hand forged damascus iron. It would be appropriate to show it and discuss it here and on a blacksmithing forum as well. But it would have no place on a machinery forum just because most machines are made of iron, no? I don't think Joyce and David have had too much banter of late. The nature of this type of forum is to generate banter and they've taken that on. Jamey is quick to jump on anyone who he feels is out of line and does it not infrequently. He's jumped me. I survived. But he has to live up to his own standards and this post wasn't just a little off topic, It was out of left field. All I'm asking for is some relationship to the forum topic.

Why defensive, Art?

Your point is obvious, easy-to-see and right! No question about it!
Jürgen

PS
Explanation:
generally, at least where possible, I try to make up my own subject of words used in the "subject" I am answering to. Could be one word (from many), could be two or more, or, like often, I use words even if they are not in direct order. I say so, because I was asked already twice, what the sense of my "subject" is.

out of topic mails can also give new directions to look at. thank you. hans

66

45

39

30

27

25

19 (the others started "opening pics" backwards!)

These are the numbers! "The truth about Dale C.", we could call this
photo-E'say.
The first post (from the top) was opened 66 times, the seventh one only 19 times. Interest was dramatically decreasing! Easy to see more and more "onlookers" leaving, once they realized how bead-nudzz "July" really was.

Still,...no big deal! Worth a reminder that this is a beadsite, though!

~J~

March 2019

Well, after all the unpleasant and repeated complaints about the above dialogue, I think it would be a good idea to understand: 1) I asked in-advance whether anyone would like to see this non-bead-related series of photos—and the response was YES; and 2) I posted this on Thanksgiving day—with the intent that it would be a fun distraction from whatever else was going on.

Little did I know how distracting it would turn out to be....

JDA.