Ironically enough, I am actually in the market for a new chandelier. The one in my dining room is, well, outdated. It’s very bronze. Not the brushed metal one I’d prefer to have. Or the blown glass one I can’t afford. It seems that a Chihuly chandelier is a wee bit out of my price range; as in it costs more than my whole house. Go figure.
I noticed today that there is some serious track lighting installed for the CMA’s new chandelier. Unlike my unattractive bronze disaster that has light bulbs inside it, Chihuly’s chandeliers are lit from the surrounding lights. When we visited the Chihuly studios in Seattle this past January, they said that they had tried “inner illumination” (sounds like a Yoga pose, doesn’t it?) before, but the glass just ended up looking sort of muted and the colors were all off. But when they put lights strategically around the chandelier, it glows as if it’s filled with tiny lights. And the glass looks much shinier.
They also said that the lights are all mapped out, just like the pieces of the chandelier, and are essentially all a part of the artwork. (I should note – we did see some pieces made out of neon at the Chihuly studio. They are lit from the inside, but it’s a totally different look!)
Today the chandelier is about two-thirds of the way done! I got brave enough to ask how many pieces they’ve dropped today and they reported only two. Out of over 800 pieces, that seems like a pretty good statistic! These guys are pros, needless to say.
-Mary Douglass, Columbia Contemporaries
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