 An interview with Daniel Read. Glass Blowing is nothing like anything I have seen before. It was amazing to see how it forms into the final design from start to finish. Such skill is needed to perform this production and I was able to witness it first hand. What a treat! Throughout our conversations, there were many strong points discussed that I felt were important to expand on to help deliver a better idea of what this performance art is all about! RICM: Your statement about “Glass Blowing being comparable to a Performance Art,” could you briefly explain what do you mean to our readers? DANIEL READ: Glass Blowing IS a performance art because of the nature of the process; A. There is a start time and a finish time. B. The PROCESS starts and continues, without stoping, until the PIECE is finished, or crashes on the floor (BUMMER). C. The PROCESS is very complex, much like a Ballet is complex…With a ballet, you have a full symphony orchestra and a Troupe of dancers all working in time with each other to create “Swan Lake”. Once the performance starts , it doesn’t stop (no matter what happens-the show must go on) until the end. The PERFORMANCE might be GREAT, or it may be OK, or it may SUCK!!!. (The CRITIC has his day at this time…).When the PERFORMANCE is over, you are left with your MEMORY on the performance. When I am through with my PERFORMANCE, I am left with THE GLASS. The glass IS the MEMORY of my performance…AND it lasts forever (AS long as the form survives…If you drop it you’re an idiot). RICM: “There is nothing like the process of glass blowing out there - nothing.” Why do you say this? DANIEL READ: There is nothing else like it on Earth like Glass (and the process of glass blowing) because Glass is unique. (I have arguments with scientists about this…) Glass is a form of matter unto itself. Glass is not a solid, Glass is not a liquid, and Glass is not a gas…Glass is a state of matter unto itself… At noon temperature it is a solid. At 2000 deg. F. it is a fluid. As it gets hotter, it gets softer. As it gets colder, it gets stifferIt DOSEN’T change STATE.. Glass doesn’t become a solid (like water BECOMES ice). Glass doesn’t MELT (like ice BECOMES water). Glass is recyclable over and over and over again. Glass is Crystal clear and transparent. Glass is opaque. Glass can be Blown (inflated), Molded, Cast, Pressed, Stretched, Drawn into a thread, cleaved into a blade 1 molecule thick (eye surgeons used glass scalpels), made into windows, slumped (into auto windshields), sculpture (Like the TORSO’s I make)… RICM: What do you love the most about glass blowing? DANIEL READ: I love the process… I love the struggle (each piece is a struggle in it’s own way…some pieces are really physical and some are just VERY precise)…Each time I start a piece, the outcome is uncertain, I hope IT will come out OK (but I never know until it is done)…The pieces I make are my Children…My Breath…My DNA…My Work… To Learn more, visit www.danielreadglass.com or email daniel@danielreadglass.com.
1 Comment
12/21/2015 11:18:57 am
Both your ?'s & Dan's responses conveyed a great/clear sense of Dan's philosophy & also the challenges of this beautiful art medium. Leave a Reply. |
RSS Feed
