Arny Weinstein's Extraordinary Kaleidoscopes (AR2)

'Up From The Skies'

     Arny Weinstein's hand crafted wood kaleidoscopes are far from ordinary. Most of us are familiar with the simple toy kaleidoscope; a cardboard tube containing two mirrors that reflect colorful plastic beads into bright, two-dimensional, geometric patterns. For the body of Weinstein's kaleidoscopes he shapes exotic hardwoods like Bubinga and Peruvian Walnut into alluring shapes that resemble waves of water or wind. He uses front surface mirrors to create crystal clear images of flame treated glass which float in liquid filled object cells (chambers that contain materials that are viewed through the lens). It's not just his contemporary physical design and use of wood that sets his kaleidoscopes apart from the rest, it is the intensely unique patterns and variation of color among each individual scope he has produced.

Mandala of 'Tall Tail'

'Tall Tail'

Column of 'Up From The Skies'

     In the body of his 'Tall Tail' kaleidoscope, there are two individual mirror systems. One system has two mirrors which shows a beautiful mandala pattern against a black background. The other system has three mirrors which creates a pattern that fills the entire visual field. This scope's mandala pattern greatly resembles Tibetan Buddhist sand mandalas; bight colors and circular design with elements of geometric patterns. The American Craft Council featured a small article on Weinstein's art, displaying a photo of 'Up From The Skies'. The scope creates a three-dimensional image from four mirrors and two object cells. The viewer uses both eyes to see a continuous curved column with rings surrounding it, resembling Saturn-like planets stacked on top of each other.

'Hipster'

     It seems that Arny Weinstein was put on this Earth to create and design. Kaleidoscopes were not always his passion. He originally went to college and graduated with a degree in Computer Science and Business Administration from SUNY Albany. He spent twenty years creating computer software until he walked into a small art gallery containing fine kaleidoscopes. After that he decided he would put his life long hobby of woodworking to use and create scopes. Reading about his work helped me realize that even a simple toy like a kaleidoscope can be crafted into beautiful complex works of art.

   

     Speaking of arts and crafts. In our last class we took a trip to the printing room in the art building to learn how to marble paper. The particular style was Japanese suminagashi marbling. I had never done it before but I really enjoyed using colored india ink to create interesting designs. I really wish we had more time to do it because my only two marbling designs did not come at as well as I wanted to. Much of the ink was sinking to the bottom of the try so it was hard to get the results I wanted, not to mention I was completely new to it. But I will definitely be getting my own india ink set to do it home. It was a lot of fun and I have a lot of color scheme ideas that I want to try in the future.

(Photos of my marbles paper will be posted next week.)

William Morris Glass Work (AR1)

     William Morris creates beautiful pieces of art by blowing glass. His elaborate glass work ranges from vividly colorful urns and pottery, to human skeletons that are astonishingly anatomically correct, as well as animal figurines. Much of the work he has crafted incorporate strong tones of shamanistic and animistic ideology. A most impressive aspect of his glass sculptures are the realistic textures he can create on glass. Many glass vessels and sculptures have an ancient look to them, as if they have been uncovered from ruins of a lost city.

     This was what initially caught my attention. Morris creates glass art that at first glance seems somewhat simplistic until its deeply observed, and then its easy to see how complex and detailed it is. It reminds me of looking at ancient city ruins, Mayan ruins in particular (because of his 'Mazorca' installation); just glancing at the temples is just seeing them exist. But then when you actually look at them you can see how much incredible work was put into creating monuments that have lasted thousands of years. The temples were not just stacked blocks of stone in the eyes of the people building them, it was a place of deep ritual significance. 

     When really looking at Morris's art I don't just see it as glass, I see it as he intended it be whether its a skull of a horned animal or a medicine jar. When I see art I have a tendency to first focus on the medium rather than what it is supposed to be. When looking at William Morris's glass I see what he created, and then become astonished with how he did it.