Glass gardens
Gardens of Glass : Chihuly at Kew
A Garden of Glass, Lisa C. Roberts
“It was not until the nineteenth century that glasshouses, as they were known, came to play a large role in social and cultural life. By this time, they were common in botanical gardens and universities, where they were primarily used for cultivating, studying, and experimenting with newly discovered plants. They had also become an accessory of the landed gentry, built on private estates for the purpose of growing the exotic and sometimes tender plants that some aristocrat had brought back from foreign travels. Often extensions of the home itself, it was only a matter of time before private glasshouses were used by family residents for reading, strolling, and entertaining. This was a social function that was markedly non-horticultural. It changed the way plants were treated forever, as they took on a much wider universe of meaning and significance…
Their power now comes not so much from their presentation of the strange as from their embodiment of the real. In a culture that has perfected the art of simulation, where people can experience pyramids in Las Vegas and safari at Disney, and where nature has been re-created everywhere from restaurants to theme parks to museum exhibits, conservatories stand apart in their preservation of the real thing. Living plants grow and die. Banana trees fruit, flowers bloom and fade, leaves curl. Pests fight for a stronghold as they munch their way through their own culinary nirvana. The whole thing is alive, imperfect, and real…
Now, into all this reality, Dale Chihuly has introduced his arresting and lustrous forms. And suddenly the point is not reality but enchantment. Magic. Pure, heart-stopping beauty. And not just the artwork, which is dazzling unto itself. The plants themselves are transformed by their new neighbors so that viewers see nature in a whole new light. It is a remarkable achievement, a throwback to former days when conservatories presented people with a sight that was utterly new.”
