Horst Schulte
The European Museum of Modern Glass
On October 11th, the European Museum of Modern Glass was opened in Rödental, not far from Coburg. The collection was previously located in the Schloss Rosenau orangery, which was, at times, somewhat cramped. As lovely as this well-proportioned building which was built in 1820 in the classicistic style appeared, the new building, with its 1260 sq.m. of exhibition space, represents an enormous improvement for housing the high calibre collection of contemporary glass. It was built just 100 m opposite the orangery. Using modern building materials, it incorporates the proportions and character of the old museum building.
The new building owes its existence to the perseverance and commitment of the Coburg entrepreneur and patron Otto Waldrich. He succeeded after years of insistence, with the help of the Glass Museum Foundation which he himself founded, to wring a new building out of the former Bavarian Finance Minister Dr. Kurt Faltlhauser – head of the administrative body responsible for castles in Bavaria.
A further stroke of good fortune is Otto Waldrich’s choice of architect. Alfred Wagner from Coburg’s great expertise is a result of intensive collaboration with trade and industry, and he has used this expertise resolutely for the building of the museum. Functional and without frills, perfect in its detail, discretely elegant and serving the needs of the art it houses, the building is a well-balanced counterpart to the Orangery situated opposite. It goes without saying that Wagner kept within the planned building schedule as well as the estimated costs of around 4.5 million euros, when we do not take into consideration the difficulties arising from unexpected problems with the building plot.
The attribute ‘European’ is intended to be an indicator of the uniqueness, quality and size of the Coburg collection, which comprises 1100 pieces, rather than an exclusive limitation of its sphere of interest to European artists. The museum’s top position in Europe is to be upheld with the new building. Thus Dr. Weschenfelder has said, albeit carefully, that the 4th Coburg glass prize is planned for 8 to 10 years time. There will be discussions about a new concept as too many established artists did not participate in the competition in 2006.
In archiving the continent’s glass art bit by bit and making it accessible, the European Glass Art Databank, a work in progress, should also contribute (www.kunstsammlungen-coburg.de).
Frau Dr. Clementine Schack von Wittenau, the curator of the Glass Museum, has put together a very convincing presentation of the exhibits. She has placed the large objects in thematic groups in the light, open hall on the ground floor, irrespective of chronology. Jens Gussek’s floor piece Pearl Harbour is the eye catcher on entering the building. The artist kindly enlarged the piece for the new dimensions of the exhibition. The visitor is led towards the end wall of the hall to Josepha Gasch-Muche’s shimmering pieces with which she won the 3rd Coburg Prize in 2006, through groups of pieces such as Busts and Faces 1970-1990s; Stele and Busts in Transition, the 1970s to the present, Sculpture and Geometric Objects, 1970s to the present day; and the groups Black, White, Luminous, Sculpture and Installation Today. The works of art are not labelled individually but are itemized on a sheet in groups with a short description and historical context. In addition, empty spaces can be found throughout the exhibition area in which individual pieces or installations can be presented and highlighted. Glass show cases are used by the museum to display a great number of smaller works of art enabling the collector to get a wide overview. They are positioned in reversed chronological order, starting with contemporary pieces and going back in time.
The hall is crowned in the truest sense of the word by a chandelier made by the Japanese artist Masayo Oda. It dominates the exhibition space by day and by night and has the potential to distract from the other pieces on show. There will surely be lively discussions regarding its positioning as well as the idea of subdividing the space with light partitions, at least for the individual groups of work. This would give the viewer the chance to enjoy his or her favourite pieces unimpaired.
The large hall has an open north-facing glass façade. This is very beneficial for the presentation of the glass in changing light conditions. In an adjacent dark room, pieces are shown which either produce their own light or use electrical light sources. This is clearly a response to a tendency which came to the fore in the 3rd Coburg Glass Prize exhibition. The tendencies which manifested themselves there and which give us an indication of the direction glass art is heading show us that glass has become established as a material for making art and is of equal rank to more traditional ‘fine art’ materials. It is no longer glass’s beauty which is upheld above all else, however, but also its ugly and sharp side with its potential to hurt. Glass as a material has become de-mythologized and the viewer experiences that its aesthetic can be unsettling. New fields of tension grow out of the juxtaposition of beauty and ugliness. Thus the artist’s message takes precedence over the material used.
Information about the technical challenges posed by working with glass is, however, also to be found in the museum. There is a stand with single panels which present the different glass-working techniques. These panels can be swivelled to find a short explanation on the reverse sides. Likewise, a media station can be found with videos which you can select yourself about glass artists such as Harvey Littleton, Erwin Eisch, Jack Ink, Livio Seguso, Stephen Procter and Isgard Moje-Wohlgemut, amongst others. There are also videos about special glass-working techniques. A lamp-working studio with five professionally equipped work spaces is also available for courses, demonstrations and master-classes. The studio is to be activated by glass-makers from neighbouring Lauscha. This rounds off the museum and its magnificent didactic and educational concept. No wonder that the 85 year old patron Otto Waldrich’s answer to the question, ‘Are you pleased with the new museum?’ was, ‘It’s just as we wanted it to be.’
