Wednesday, June 10, 2009

"Myth, Object and the Animal"


William Morris’ exhibition "Myth, Object and the Animal" at the Dayton Art Institute  illustrates his ongoing interest in addressing man’s relationship to nature and his mastery of the medium of glass.  
Janice Driesbach, Director and CEO of The Dayton Art Institute says that, "Visitors who walk through the Morris exhibition, will be able to see references to ancient civilizations represented in our collections, including those from South America, Asia, and Egypt, and will marvel at the artist’s ability to mimic diverse surfaces – stone, clay, leather, or metal – in glass."
William Morris opened his studio in 1980 in Seattle and distinguished himself initially as Dale Chihuly’s chief “gaffer,” or master glassblower.  Morris, has recently retired from working in glass.
Guess he's up to something, he was never one to just sit and watch others.   Notice this that is said about Billy Morris on the Dayton Institute site:  "Mr. Morris has an interest in early civilizations; he is an inveterate traveler.  He has spent extended time exposed to indigenous cultures in Central and South America. And, while his work is informed by his understanding of non-western traditions."
Morris avoids replicating past forms in favor of developing a personal response attuned to his sources. Mazorca references the role of corn in sustaining native American cultures and the process of regeneration through harvest and reseeding. His cobs, suspended alongside rings, animal forms, skulls, and small figures that function as talismans, appear to have emerged from an archaeological site. 
Billy describes his works as works as “objects of offering and abundance.”
He also is noted as saying that abundance is countered by famine in the cycles that define our experience.
Perhaps the current famine in the craft arts has caused his current detente with the glass arts?

The Dayton Art Institute’s will have William Morris: Myth, Object and the Animal exhibit until August 2, 2009.

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