Customer Reviews

Chihuly Over Venice

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

"Chihuly Over Venice" is a fabulous video that allows the viewer a glimpse into the interesting and exciting world of America's most colorful and talented glass artisan, Dale Chihuly. This video takes the viewer on a whirlwind tour through five different countries while following Chihuly and his merry band of glass-blowers on their quest to create the perfect "chandelier." This film is educational, entertaining, and oh-so beautifully made. It took my breath away.

That's the feeling you get viewing this.

This tape seems to go by so quickly, you can't believe it...

It's just that fasinating! What an artist! You can almost feel and taste the pieces that you see.

This was good enough to get me up and out of the house heading for the closest city that had a Chihuly exibit !

In person, these works are overpowering. I can only imagine what they must look like in person, out of doors, where they were made to be.

Also just watching the methods used even if they did not turn out to be so fantastic to look at is a real treat.

I have never been this taken with any type of art before. I was flipping through channels when I saw one of these chandeliers on PBS, and sat in stunned amazement! This was the most beautiful glass making I had ever seen. Such an incredible mind this man has! All I can say is, I would like to travel to all these cities and see them up close, or I wish he would do them in Chicago!

An artist at work...a performer..the conductor, a maestro who creates the idea, selects the musicians and conducts a symphony in glass ...Chihuly. When I saw a brief excerpt of this video, I knew it needed a "look see." A director in glass. Dale Chihuly is the Master. His spontanity generates an electricity which enlivens his group of glass artists. His sense of perfection is relentless. His "Vision" (albeit from one eye) creates sparkling miracles. His intensity orchestrates the creators of his pieces and explains how the beauty is attained.

Dale Chihuly creates 15 chandeliers to be hung in Venice. This video follows the trek of collaboration between Chihuly's gifted artists and the international glass blowers on THEIR turf. The pieces are created in 5 countries: the US, Finland, Ireland, Mexico and Venice. You're invited to experience the spontaneous creation of the glassworks in their countries, the exhibition in their native land, and finally the installation of the chandeliers in the Venice canals. Adventurous? The logistics alone were incredible. But the cast Dale Chihuly assembled created works of art to be appreciated in the land of their creation and the home of glass...Venice.

And in a moment blown glass is gone, broken. I suspect he likes it that way. The speed with which the work is created and the possibility it could break and evaporate in an instant, generates an urgency in the creative process. When the glass survives it is truly remarkable.

You can see the REAL thing. In the early stages of the video, pieces which will be installed as Bellagio's ceiling in Las Vegas are created. When you view this, prepare to stand back and gasp. You will understand why this video is an expression of the creative process to create glass perfection...it's Chihuly.

In the meantime, buy "Chihully Over Venice."

"Chihuly Over Venice" originally aired on PBS in January, 1999. Shot on High Definition video, it is a beautifully photographed, insightful look into the creative process of a great American artist. The film follows Seattle glass artisan Dale Chihuly (and crew) during a two-year project to create installations for Venice, Italy. The videographers do an excellent job of capturing the mercurial and spontaneous nature of creative genius, and the results are truly magnificent. Chihuly's work is organic and mimics elements of nature found at the site, in this case either the site of creation or the site of installation. He works with crews in Monterrey, Mexico, the Waterford Crystal works in Ireland, and Murano, Italy to create some of the most astonishingly beautiful glass creations one could imagine. Without Chihuly, though, it would be difficult to imagine glass done to this level and on this scale. This film does a wonderful job capturing the luminous beauty of a fragile art form, and gives one true respect for the collaborative genius at work during its' creation. Highly recommended!

This is the most interesting show I've ever seen on PBS. The artist's imagination is beyond belief and the finished products are the most fantastic creations. Watching the process unfold is truly amazing, not to mention the beautiful scenic areas where these occur. This video is a real gem.

Chihuly does it again. This installation shows true creative genius. Who else would put their work over a canal in Venice and then have lighting inside?

Why is criterion delivering a High Definition originated (read that 16x9 aspect ratio) presentation in a 4:3 aspect ratio?