EVENT: Michael Glancy at the Met to lecture on electrometallurgy

Michael Glancy, Painted Radiation, 2008. Deeply engraved (radiation cut) blown glass with uranium veil, plate glass, copper, and silver. H 6, W 18, D 18 in. courtesy: barry friedman, ltd., new york

For those with a fascination in the fusion of science and art, the Metropolitan Museum of Art is hosting a series of lectures and panels this Sunday in honor of their current exhibition of “Victorian Electrotypes: Old Treasures, New Technology.” Of particular interest to GLASS Quarterly Hot Sheet readers will be the lecture entitled “Electroforming in the Contemporary Studio: A Conversation with Michael Glancy,” a renowned glass artist and critic.

Electrometallurgy was a technique created in the mid-19^th century to replicate silver and goldsmith masterpieces of Mannerist and Baroque artists. In the electroforming process, an electrical charge surges through a solution to deposit metal into a mold, forging an incredibly accurate rendition of the original art piece. The Metropolitan is currently displaying approximately 110 of such Victorian achievements in Gallery 521. This special exhibit will be on display until April 22^nd.

Michael Glancy’s conversation will be held from 3:30PM-4:00PM. The other presentations are “Art and Science: The Role of Electrometallurgy in the Nineteenth-Century Goldsmith’s Workshop,” “The Perfect Marriage of Art and Industry: Elkington’s and the South Kensington Museum’s Electrotyping Program,” and “The Elkington & Co. Visitors’ Books at Philadelphia, 1876.”

The event will take place at the Metropolitan this Sunday, March 25^th, from 2:00PM-4:00PM. The curator of the “Victorian Electrotypes” exhibition, Ellenor M. Alcorn, will introduce Sunday’s line-up. The event is free and open to the public with museum admission.

— Anna Tatelman