70 different glass objects featured at BUAM

The exhibition is cocurated by Marvin Bolt, curator emeritus at the Corning Museum of Glass and research fellow at Technische Universität Berlin, Gökhan Ersan, associate professor of art and design and Pam Smart, associate professor of art history. The BU Art Museum also received support from IBM Endicott, the Corning Museum of Glass, the Material and Visual Worlds Transdisciplinary Area of Excellence, the Binghamton Fund for the Museum and a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Bolt spoke about the inspiration for the exhibition as an interdisciplinary project.

“The inspiration for it is really to look at materiality in a different way,” Bolt said. “So looking at the science, the chemistry, physics of it, but also the humanities of it. And what kind of interesting stories can we tell. As a unifying theme, we chose this pyramidal tetrahedral structure — which is the building block of glass — and then we’ve also morphed objects onto it so that we use the same icon to talk about how people are connected to each other.”

Ersan elaborated on the materiality of the exhibition and its personal resonance.

“The ‘Bonds… Glass Bonds’ exhibition, first and foremost, is a manifestation of my personal desire to deepen my knowledge in a particular area of material culture and the very fulfilling collaborations with material scientists and historians,” Ersan wrote. “Simultaneously, it was an opportunity to rethink how objects could tell stories in an exhibition space. I was able to explore how graphic design might help audiences peel back the historic, scientific and design intellectual layers of objects in the least intrusive way possible to explore the subject in a deeper manner.”

The exhibition originally arose from a collaboration between Bolt, Smart and Ersan, involving Ersan’s graphic design class and Smart’s “Materials Matter” course.

“So as part of the collaboration that [Ersan] and I did for his graphic design class, we actually had a student exhibition at the downstairs of the [BU Art Museum],” Bolt said. “And that went over so well that Diane Butler, who’s the director of the museum, said, ‘Well, maybe we should do one in the upstairs.’ So that’s sort of the genesis of why I got involved in this.”

“Bonds…Glass Bonds” not only highlights the collaborations between students and faculty, but the BU Art Museum’s connection with the Binghamton area. The exhibition is part of the Greater Binghamton Area Glass Blowout — a partnership between the BU Art Museum, Roberson Museum and Science Center and the Vestal Museum. Museumgoers can obtain a glass item if they visit all three glassoriented exhibitions.

Jessica Petrylak, communications assistant and art preparatory at the BU Art Museum, spoke about the exhibition’s connection to the community.

“I think it’s just cool that the whole [exhibition] is kind of embodying connection through glass, and then at a larger scale, we’re connecting with the community, with other museums in this kind of bond-esque way,” Petrylak said.

Ramona Gore, a videography intern at the Art Museum and a junior double-majoring in cinema and history, conveyed the dedication and energy of those who created “Bonds…Glass Bonds.”

“I think what interests me most about this [exhibition] is how enthusiastic the workers are,” Gore said. “They’re putting their whole being into this [exhibition].”

“Bonds…Glass Bonds” captures the intersection of science and art, urging viewers to interpret these glass objects in ways that resonate with them. Bolt described the purpose of the exhibition as an opportunity for people to interact with the art.

“One of the underlying motivations [for this exhibition] is that objects have stories that they can tell, but they can’t tell them on their own,” Bolt said. “You really need a reader, an interpreter.”

Bolt went on to explain how the exhibition encourages audiences to act as interpreters.

“So what we’ve done is we’ve grouped objects together in a certain way, but we’re encouraging people to try to group them in new ways,” Bolt said. “In ways that they would find interesting and powerful, or something from their experience.”

Visitors can see “Bonds…Glass Bonds” on display in the Main Gallery of the BU Art Museum from Feb. 2 to May 13.