Re-imagining 35 Centuries of Glass

FAIN: GE-269695-20

Corning Museum of Glass (Corning, NY 14830-2253)
Carole Ann Fabian (Project Director: August 2019 to present)

Planning for the reinterpretation of an encyclopedic glass exhibition. 

The Corning Museum of Glass – the world’s preeminent institution devoted to one material: glass -- is embarking on a journey of organizational self-discovery. Re-imaging 35 Centuries of Glass is undertaking not just a re-fresh and re-arrangement of our permanent collection galleries, but rather a Museum-wide strategic initiative aimed at examining and presenting our collections in entirely new ways. Our intent is to probe other ways of knowing through interdisciplinary investigation, and other ways of representing by engaging and revealing the stories of humanity across time and the world. We aim to explore the social dynamics of glass – what’s included and what’s not – in order to reveal to our audiences the diversity of peoples who created, used, and/or exploited glass in their times and places, and whose work continues to resonate and explain our world today.

Associated Products

Past/Present: Expanding the Stories of Glass (Exhibition)
Title: Past/Present: Expanding the Stories of Glass
Curator: Susie J. Silbert
Curator: Carole Ann Fabian
Curator: Alexandra Ruggiero
Curator: Katherine Larson
Abstract: Past | Present: Expanding the Stories of Glass, organized by The Corning Museum of Glass, presents selections from the Museum’s renowned permanent collection, and explores their richly nuanced stories and themes. The objects span four thousand years of history and are from Asia, Africa, Europe, and the Americas. Their display and interpretation connect the past to the present, providing ways to consider human experiences then and now. The exhibition is a prototype of new interpretive approaches that reflect a wider, globally broadened lens and that use story-telling and community collaborations as a method of work. The exhibition reveals themes and stories about people across time and place, providing connections to the past, and meaning in the present.
Year: 2022
Primary URL: https://whatson.cmog.org/exhibitions-galleries/past-present-expanding-stories-glass
Primary URL Description: Exhibit website for Past/Present: Expanding the Stories of Glass at the Corning Museum of Glass, Corning, New York

60th Annual Seminar on Glass: Expanding the Stories of Glass (Conference/Institute/Seminar)
Title: 60th Annual Seminar on Glass: Expanding the Stories of Glass
Author: Katherine Larson
Author: Carole Ann Fabian
Abstract: The 60th Annual Seminar on Glass investigated themes presented in the Corning Museum of Glass exhibit, Past/Present: expanding the stories of glass, including panel presentations in area specializations within glass studies, cultural crosscurrents between western and eastern world cultures, community engagement in the development of museum collection interpretation, and conservation of glass in museum environments. The Seminar was a fully-online two-day convening of scholars, students, artists, museum professionals, and the interested public -- registering more than 700 people from 44 countries, and subsequently 4,756 views of Seminar sessions via our YouTube channel.
Date Range: October 7-8, 2022
Location: Online via Zoom
Primary URL: https://whatson.cmog.org/lecture-seminars/60th-annual-seminar-glass
Primary URL Description: 60th Annual Seminar on Glass: expanding the stories of glass website at the Corning Museum of Glass
Secondary URL: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLx9b2TiEudYf9AyBEiGNnsUT77E7NPsXq
Secondary URL Description: Video playlist of each session from the Corning Museum of Glass 60th Annual Seminar on Glass: expanding the stories of glass is available on YouTube.

A Closer Look (Film/TV/Video Broadcast or Recording)
Title: A Closer Look
Writer: Carole Ann Fabian
Director: Carole Ann Fabian
Producer: Brad Patoka
Abstract: The reverse-painted portrait of George Washington was damaged in the catastrophic Corning flood of 1972. As a result of this damage, the object has been off view for 50 years, but the special construction of the wooden frame, fitted in China with ‘spacers’ to protect the glass from movements in the wood caused by atmospheric humidity, probably saved it from shattering during its 19th century oceanic journeys and during the flood more than 200 years after its making.   This short video provides ‘A Closer Look’ at the residue of mud from the flood waters, the deteriorated surface and loss of paint on the painting. Displaying this work in its damaged condition demonstrates the arc of a long-life and its ravages, and underscores the threat and consequences of climate events on our collections.
Year: 2022
Primary URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U61rqTv1JCk
Primary URL Description: Public access to 'A Closer Look' on YouTube
Access Model: open access
Format: Video

In Conversation | Haudenosaunee Beaded Match Safe (Film/TV/Video Broadcast or Recording)
Title: In Conversation | Haudenosaunee Beaded Match Safe
Writer: Samantha Jacobs
Writer: Mary Jacobs
Director: Troy Smythe
Director: Alexandra Ruggiero
Producer: Brad Patoka
Abstract: In 2022, The Corning Museum of Glass (CMoG) worked with Seneca artists Mary Jacobs and Samantha Jacobs to create interpretive content for the Museum’s special exhibition “Past | Present: expanding the stories of glass.” Mary and Samantha visited the Museum and studied this Beaded Match Safe in the Museum’s collection. This match safe was made to hang on a wall in someone’s home, probably near a kerosene lamp. One pocket safely stored unused matches, while the other held used matches. The bead colors used on this match safe indicate it was probably made by a Kanienʼkehá꞉ka (Mohawk) family. Birds, like the one at the top of this match safe, are a common image, but each family would have had their own beaded bird pattern. The Museum extends our thanks to Mary and Samantha, whose perspectives and generosity with their knowledge were integral to creating the exhibition display and enhancing the Museum’s understanding of this object. Beaded Match Safe Made by members of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy, probably Kanienʼkehá꞉ka (Mohawk) Nation Made in Haudenosaunee Confederacy territory, in about 1917 Acquired in Chautauqua, New York, United States 96.4.67, gift of the Stillman Family
Year: 2022
Primary URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mo9MqCE63Ow&t=1s
Primary URL Description: In Conversation | Haudenosaunee Beaded Match Safe is available for viewing on the Corning Museum of Glass YouTube channel.
Access Model: open access
Format: Video

NEH Beads Study Day and Colloquium (Conference/Institute/Seminar)
Title: NEH Beads Study Day and Colloquium
Author: Kristin Landau
Author: Katherine Larson
Author: Alok Kanungo
Author: Vincent Delmas
Abstract: The NEH Public Humanities Fellows’ preliminary findings were shared with curatorial, conservation and education staff at a one-day Beads Study Day and Colloquium in July 2022. Vincent Delmas and Kristin Landau shared results of their survey of the Museum’s collection of indigenous beads from world cultures were shared to understand their origins and significance in global cultural, social and economic contexts. Collaborating consultant Alok Kanungo delivered the paper "Indian Glass: Invention and Innovations."
Date Range: July 26, 2022
Location: The Corning Museum of Glass

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