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Monday January 11, 2010 | by Andrew Page

Stained glass work by Joseph Cavalieri has its network television debut on “The Simpsons” special

FILED UNDER: New Work, News

simpsonsA screen capture from The Simpsons 20th anniversary special that briefly showcased a stained glass work by Joseph Cavalieri. photo: joseph kaminsky

Blink and you may have missed it, but during the “The Simpsons” 20th anniversary special show that aired last night on the Fox network, titled “The Simpsons 20th Anniversary Special—In 3D! On Ice!“ there was a brief glimpse of Il Momento Della Morte (2009), a stained glass work by New York-based artist Joseph Cavalieri. Directed by Academy Award-winning documentary filmmaker Morgan Spurlock (of Super Size Me fame), the episode tracked “The Simpsons” cult following around the world. Cavalieri’s stained glass work was not only included in the documentary, Spurlock went on to buy one of Cavalieri’s panels, as did Simpsons writer John Frink.

It all started last fall when Spurlock’s researchers found out about Cavalieri’s work. Never mind that Cavalieri’s panels featuring characters from “The Simpsons” had been in group exhibitions at the Boston Society for Arts & Crafts or at the Robert Lehman Gallery at Urban Glass, it was mention of the stained glass works on a Simpson’s fan Website that brought the documentary team to the artist’s New York City studio.

Joseph Cavalieri in front of his stained glass panel featuring characters from The Simpsons television program featured in the 20th anniversary special.

“There was a photo of my work [on the website], so the assistant gave me a call and arranged a studio visit that very same day,” Cavalieri told the Hot Sheet in an email exchange. “She absolutely loved the work and after a short interview she snapped some photos and left. A week later she arranged an interview and filming of my work. I now have a very high regard for blogs! They filmed over 2 hours of footage at my studio, all resulting in a cameo shot of my work. I am very excited to have my stained glass work flashed around the US, and globally!”

Asked how he felt a popular television program related to the long and apparently unconnected history of leaded glass in architecture, Cavalieri focused on the many parallels.

“The Simpsons fit perfectly into the stained glass medium,” he wrote. “TV and stained glass are both back-lit, and both ‘The Simpons’ and church windows tell a story. Sadly the general public only sees stained glass when in church, and less and less people are attending mass. My challenge is to bring this awesome medieval technique out of the church and into people’s homes, for a new glass renaissance that everyone can relate to.”

For more information on Cavalieri’s work, visit his website.

Glass: The UrbanGlass Quarterly, a glossy art magazine published four times a year by UrbanGlass has provided a critical context to the most important artwork being done in the medium of glass for more than 40 years.