ON MY MIND...

August 6, 2018

Staring is Caring

I’ll never forget when I first saw Rembrandt’s “Night Watch” at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam. I had seen this piece many times in books, but never in person. The experience for me was visceral, and I still to this day remember everything about it. It was in the summer of 1997 while I was an art student at The Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, Ca. I was on a Europe backpacking trip with my best friends, and I insisted we take a break from our binge consumption to go see the work of my favorite painter.

Once in the museum, I got my bearings and ran upstairs to where I knew the piece was hanging.I turned the corner and saw the massive painting from 40 feet or so away. I was afraid to approach it, as I knew I’d only get one chance to experience this piece in person for the first time. It’s that universal feeling we all have of sadness in a moment of joy, because you know it’s going to end at some point. So you do everything you can to prolong the moment. My first instinct was to look around me, almost feeling guilty, incredibly exposed and self aware. There was a lot of rapid blinking and a smile that I somehow awkwardly contained with my mouth out of fear of not looking cool.  I walked slowly toward the piece, at certain points blurring my eyes, or looking away, anything I could to delay the initial explosion of visual pleasure I was about to experience.  Then I got up close and there it was. The Night Watch. So tactile, even sculptural in the paint application in certain passages. You could feel Rembrandt’s physical experience in the surface of the canvas. What a crazy mysterious story in it’s crowded composition of figures. A story that I’d never bothered to learn about. I didn’t particularly care about the narrative (and still don’t). What I cared about was that looking at, more importantly staring at it made me feel inspired and alive.

 I got extremely close, then stepped back, then got close again. I kept doing this for what seemed like hours, constantly asking myself “how did he do that?” I knew my friends were getting frustrated with me,  longing for our next “coffee shop” visit. So I  tore myself away from the painting, and went to stare at other Rembrandt classics like “The Jewish Bride” and “Syndics of the Drapers’ Guild.”

This is what I think about when I ask myself why I am an artist, and now specifically a glass artist. What am I doing? Why am I doing this? It’s very simple to me. I want to create work that gives people an experience like the one I had in Amsterdam. There is nothing as satisfying as an artist as when your work has a real effect on people who look at it.  I was incredibly lucky in my 14 years at Judson Studios making stained glass to witness this on a consistent basis. Whether it was a small residential craftsman window or the massive Resurrection Window, I got to see how meaningful and personal people’s responses could be.

I think glass art, and fused glass imagery in particular, has the potential to make people feel something. To make them stop and stare. To come close, back up, and come close again. Like Rembrandt paintings  its about light, surface, and transparency. But unlike in the 17th century, today we have the technology of glass fusing, and we can do things to manipulate light and marry it with imagery like we’ve never seen before. The magic of melting glass into images has completely captured me. I look forward to taking on artistic projects and collaborations that will challenge me and allow me to grow as an artist and hopefully capture some of you along the way.

Please stay tuned!

 
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This Post Has 8 Comments

  1. admin

    14 Aug 2018

    Thanks all!

  2. Sally Cutting

    7 Aug 2018

    Tim, The first time I saw your paintings in your show at Balboa, I was awed by your ” play of light”. No wonder you find Rembrandt a favorite.

  3. Stella Terhune

    7 Aug 2018

    Keep writing and wowing is with your fused glass creations

  4. Paul

    7 Aug 2018

    Loved reading this. I can relate to your experience in seeing Rembrandt’s “Night Watch” for the first time in person. That is, it was a similar experience for me from a live music standpoint when I first saw my muse in concert… and, ironically, you captured the essence of what you’ve described in your blog post whenever I look at the painting of Dave which you graciously made for me in ’98. Super stoked for you and all your successes, Tim. Looking forward to keeping up with what’s happening in your next chapter. Best, paul

    1. admin

      14 Aug 2018

      Thanks buddy. Long time no see, will come watch a show soon!

  5. Meg Melligan

    7 Aug 2018

    Keep writing! This is enjoyable and enLIGHTening~

  6. Marilyn

    6 Aug 2018

    Your writing doesn’t suck!

    1. admin

      14 Aug 2018

      Thanks Marylin!

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