Museum of Glass Presents “The True History of Glass?” with William Warmus
On Saturday, May 18 at 1 p.m. Museum of Glass hosts internationally acclaimed curator and author William Warmus for a lecture entitled “The True History of Glass?”. This lecture is part of the Museum’s ongoing educational programming in support of the mission to provide a dynamic learning environment to appreciate the medium of glass through creative experiences, collections and exhibitions. Admission to the lecture is included in Museum admission.
Lecture Description
Warmus was in the right place at the right time, just as studio glass was coming together as an art movement in the United States in the late 1970s. But was the era he and his American colleagues lived through the true history of glass in the late 20th century? Warmus explores alternate histories of, and futures for, glass as an art form, concluding that we may sometimes need to forget the truth if we want to advance the art.
William Warmus Biographical Information
William Warmus explores how techniques, aesthetics, and narratives emerge and then struggle to find a balance in art and nature. The University of Chicago Magazine described him as a classical modernist; The New York Times called him a stylemaker. Son of a Corning Incorporated glassblower, he studied with art critic Harold Rosenberg and philosopher Paul Ricoeur while at the University of Chicago. At the Corning Museum of Glass (1978-1984) he curated three landmark exhibitions: New Glass, Tiffany’s Tiffany, and Émile Gallé: Dreams Into Glass, while pursuing an
encyclopedic approach that increased the modern glass collection by 1,200 artworks, from Tiffany to Wilmarth.
He was the editor of Glass, faculty member and visiting artist at the Pilchuck Glass School, and executive secretary of the Glass Art Society. Warmus is the author of more than a dozen books including biographies of Louis Comfort Tiffany, René Lalique, and Dale Chihuly. Recent books are about Tom Patti, Dan Dailey and Frantisek Vizner. The True History of Glass, his book about the art, history and sociology of contemporary glass, will be published in 2013-14. He is
a Contributing Editor to Glass Quarterly. He lectures widely: in 2012 at the Corning Museum of Glass, the Smithsonian, the GAS conference, SOFA Chicago, etc. In 2013, he will deliver the Mendel Lecture at the Museum of Fine Arts in Montreal. As advisor to the estate of the art critic Clement Greenberg, Warmus engineered the acquisition by the Portland Art Museum (Oregon) of Greenberg’s collection of Abstract Expressionism, including important artworks by Pollock, Frankenthaler, Caro, Noland and Olitski. Warmus currently helps guide acquisitions as a member of the Collections Committee of the Museum of Glass (Tacoma) and is an advisory board member of the Art Alliance for Contemporary Glass (AACG) as well as the Board of Urban Glass. He is the recipient of the AACG award for outstanding contributions to contemporary glass, and as contributing editor to Glass, he was a member of a nine person jury of art critics, curators and educators in 2012 that selected the fifty leading artists who have used glass as a medium for art.
Museum of Glass is sponsored in part by Alaska Airlines, Forest Foundation, The Ben B. Cheney Foundation, City of Tacoma Arts Commission, ArtsFund, The Dimmer Family Foundation, and The Greater Tacoma Community Foundation.
Hours and Admission
Open Wednesday through Saturday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Third Thursdays 10 a.m.
to 8 p.m., Sunday 12 p.m. to 5 p.m.
Store is also open Tuesdays 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Summer hours (Memorial Day through Labor Day): also open Monday and Tuesday from
10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Closed Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s Day. Admission is free for members, $12 general, $10 seniors, military and students (13+ with ID), $10 groups of 10 or more, $5 children (6-12) years old. Children under 6 are admitted free. Admission is free
every third Thursday of the month from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Info Line 253-284-4750/ 1-866-4MUSEUM
Museum of Glass, 1801 Dock Street Tacoma, WA 98402, USA
www.museumofglass.org
