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Photographing Glass: Highly Reflective Black Objects, Part 2

This article is Part 2 of a series on photographing highly reflective black objects, often referred to as “mirror black”. Part 1 can be found here.

In May 2019, the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam hosted 2+3D: Practice and Prophecies, a biennial international conference on 2D and 3D digital photography for museum and cultural heritage professionals. I was invited to lead workshops on lighting techniques for highly reflective black objects. Frans Pegt, a photographer at the Rijksmuseum, and I originally planned to jointly lead these workshops, but Frans was later asked to give workshops on the 360° capture of a masterwork in silver (another very difficult subject). However, The Rijksmuseum generously funded Frans to come to Corning in March of this year for an intensive week in The Corning Museum of Glass photography studios where together we documented lighting solutions for the objects that appear in this post.

Frans Pegt, Rijksmuseum photographer, documenting a setup in the CMoG studio.

Part 1 demonstrated techniques using a photo table with a translucent white acrylic surface that allows for both backlighting and surface lighting.

Part 2 of this series demonstrates similar techniques adapted for an opaque background, as well as more traditional object lighting techniques modified for mirror black glass, and finally some hybrid approaches.

Photographing Glass: Highly Reflective Black Objects, Part 1

A note about this series of articles:

Since 2015, the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam has hosted 2+3D: Practice and Prophecies, a biennial international conference on 2D and 3D digital photography for museum and cultural heritage professionals. In 2017, I was invited to lead workshops, in collaboration with Rijksmuseum photographer Frans Pegt, on photographic lighting techniques for transparent glass. During the workshops, someone asked about photographing highly reflective black objects, often called mirror black. Both Frans and I said: “That’s a whole different workshop!” Photographing mirror black objects is one of the most difficult and humbling challenges photographers face, but Frans and I decided we should attempt to document successful approaches.

So, in May 2019, I led workshops at the 2+3D conference on lighting techniques for highly reflective black objects. Frans was already committed to giving workshops on the 360° capture of a masterwork in silver (another very difficult subject), so I was on my own this time. However, The Rijksmuseum had generously funded Frans to come to Corning in March of this year for an intensive week in The Corning Museum of Glass photography studios where together we documented lighting solutions for several objects that will appear in Part 2 of this series.

Revisiting ’79: a New Glass story

“Do you know Thomas Buechner?” we were asked after a day of interviews with lampworkers in Lauscha, Germany. Eric Goldschmidt and I were relaxing over dinner at the local glassblower’s hangout, The Gollo. News had spread in this small community of black slate buildings nestled in the Thuringian mountains, that staff members from The Corning Museum of Glass were videotaping their stories.

Gunter Knye’s work in New Glass: a Worldwide Survey (1979), p. 123

The bartender, James, approached us and asked if we would speak with his father, Gunter Knye, who was sitting at the next table. Knye immediately asked about his friend Tom Buechner, former director of The Corning Museum of Glass (CMoG) and mastermind of the 1979 New Glass: a Worldwide Survey exhibit. Buechner had visited Knye in the German Democratic Republic (East Germany) during the Communist period and hosted the artist when he was given special permission to come to Corning and New York City after Knye’s work, “Bowl with White Thread Decoration” was selected for the 1979 exhibit. I replied that Mr. Buechner died a few years ago (2010) and we were both in tears remembering our friend.

Knye invited us to his home the next day to see his artwork and agreed to answer our questions about his prolific career.

Expanding Horizons: Class of 2019

For the fifth year in a row, The Corning Museum of Glass (CMoG) is proud to have once again hosted the Expanding Horizons program. Each year, The Studio selects six students in at-risk glass art programs across the country to come to Corning with their mentors and participate in an intensive week-long experience that includes lectures, tours of the Rakow Research Library and amazing CMoG collections, demonstrations by museum staff and visiting artists, and of course, lots of glassblowing here at The Studio.

Many of the students participating in the program come from under-served socioeconomic backgrounds. With the support of the Robert M. Minkoff Foundation, The Studio provides airfare, lodging, and meals for the students and their mentors during their visit.

2019 students, left to right: Jack Spitzer, Candy Wilkins, Autiana Fain, Deaunata Holman, Lynquell Biggs, and Antwon Johnson

This year, we hosted Autiana, Lynquell, Deaunata, and Candy from four different glass programs in Chicago, Illinois, Antwon from a program in Benton Harbor, Michigan, and Jack from a program in Tacoma, Washington.

New Glass Review 43: An Outside Perspective on the Best of Contemporary Glass

Get excited and check the mail, because New Glass Review returns this month for its 43rd issue.

An annual exhibition-in-print, New Glass Review features 100 of the most timely, innovative projects in glass produced during the year. Artworks include sculptures, vessels, installations, and other works in glass by emerging and established artists.

A flagship publication of The Corning Museum of Glass since 1980, New Glass Review is a cyclical reintroduction into the world of contemporary glass and the artists who inhabit it; artists who continually push the boundaries of the material and the limits of their expression.

Following an open call for submissions that receives hundreds of entries every year from countries across the world, New Glass Review is curated by the Museum’s curator of postwar and contemporary glass and a changing panel of guest curators. While the search for the Museum’s next contemporary curator was underway this past summer, Samantha De Tillio was invited to lead the selection process. De Tillo was joined by Davin K. Ebanks, Kim Harty, and Kimberly Thomas.

Amy Schwartz & William Gudenrath Honored with 2023 James Renwick Alliance for Craft Award

The Studio’s Amy Schwartz and William (Bill) Gudenrath were honored on Saturday, May 6 in Washington DC with the James Renwick Alliance for Craft (JRA) Distinguished Craft Educator Award for excellence and innovation in education. The biennial award was celebrated at the JRA Spring Craft Weekend with a Symposium, Gala, and Awards Brunch. Recognized for their influence on future artists and significant contributions to American education in the craft field, Amy and Bill’s selection as honorees was the first time in the ceremony’s 20-year history that both makers and educators were honored at the same time.

William (Bill) Gudenrath and Amy Schwartz with their award at the Smithsonian Museum, Washington DC, May 6, 2023. Photo courtesy of the James Renwick Alliance.

Amy and Bill are the latest on a long list of distinguished honorees—the JRA Award has recognized some of the most influential craft artists in American history. This year, the other nominees included ceramic artist, social activist, and spoken word poet Roberto Lugo (the youngest artist to ever receive the Master of the Medium award); furniture maker Kristina Madsen; and curator, quilter, author, art historian, and aerospace engineer Carolyn Mazloomi.

CMoG Named One of the “7 Glass Wonders of the World”

Capping a truly momentous year for glass, The Corning Museum of Glass has achieved a new distinction: being named one of the “7 Glass Wonders of the World.”

The announcement was made during the closing festivities of the United Nations International Year of Glass (IYOG) 2022. The year officially concluded with a Conference and Ceremony at the University of Tokyo, Japan, on December 8-9, which was attended by our very own President and Executive Director Karol Wight. This event was followed by an official debriefing held at the United Nations headquarters in New York City on December 14.

Lino Tagliapietra in the Museum’s Amphitheater Hot Shop, May 13, 2022.

Lino Tagliapietra may be retiring, but not before one final visit to The Corning Museum of Glass. Last weekend was a monumental one for Lino, the glassblowers and staff at the Museum, and all the guests who filled the Amphitheater Hot Shop to see the Maestro at work during what will be his final performance in Corning.

To celebrate Lino’s enduring legacy, we asked those lucky enough to know and work with him, to describe the impact he has made on the glass world. To no surprise, the response was fervent and unanimous: Lino’s impact is, and will always be, extraordinary!