Glass Masters at Work: William Gudenrath
The Corning Museum of Glass
2-Disc Set, $19.95
William Gudenrath inhabits and moves between his roles as an artist, scholar, teacher, and glassblower with a flawless choreography that filmmaker Robin Lehman, a two-time Academy-Award winner, has skillfully captured in his latest film in the “Glass Masters at Work” series from The Corning Museum of Glass. Brimming with amusing and educational anecdotes, analysis, and studio sessions, the film exposes viewers to Gudenrath’s relaxed, but often clinical, approach to glass. His interest in accurately reproducing historical glass forms (it took him a decade to unravel the process behind a piece of Dutch bit work from the 17th century) allows him to inhabit other roles as a dissector and forensic scientist of glass.
Among the three works is a Venetian dragon goblet made by Gudenrath. courtesy: the corning museum of glass
Gudenrath approaches some pieces much like a mathematician bent on proving a theorem, and Lehman lets us watch every move. He captures asides from Gudenrath—Lino Tagliapietra criticized his reticello technique, and Gianni Toso his marvering—as he expertly demonstrates each step in the creation of pieces like Venetian dragon goblets and a bold experiment in reticello that melds red, orange, and yellow glass in a delicate, yet visually aggressive weave. He takes the hundreds of Roman bottles he makes for the museum every year just as seriously, and sees each successive repetition of a freehand quatrefoil edge as an important way to improve his skill.
Still amazed and humbled by the same transformation of glass he first encountered at 11 with his toy chemistry set, Gudenrath shares his infectious passion for glass through teaching, the only connective tissue in the film. He teaches the viewer in scenes where he works with adult students, fellow artists, and even Lehman’s two young children who delight in blowing glass and exploring the museum with an expert, perhaps slightly overqualified, guide. Their voices close the film as they thank “Mr. Gudenrath,” who has just finished up in the studio with Paul Stankard, his collaborator at the end of the film.
—Grace Duggan