[Republicanprofessor]

I have always admired Chihuly's work. It will be interesting to see how this is worked out.

[Republicanprofessor]

Here are a few of Chihuly's works. Sometimes there is a division between fine and decorative arts. But these seem to be fine art to me.

[RKV]

His work is teriffic. I saw a show of his stuff here in Santa Barbara, and then several of his major pieces in the Bahamas at the Atlantis Casino in Nassau. Beautiful fine art (IMO). Thanks for the post.

[Red Badger]

People who work with glass muses shouldn't throw stones......

[Ron in Acreage]

I would tend to believe that a large amount of his work is not of his own making. He turns out that stuff like a mass production assembly line.

[IronJack]

I know he's got a huge studio and a lot of people working for him. I would doubt he puts his hands on very much anymore.

[Ramius]

Hmmm... I've also admired Chihuly's work, and while it is relatively distinctive and easy to spot... it would also be relatively easy for another artist to make glass that looks Chihuly-esque. I can't see how there can be a copyright, unless there is a question of branding and someone using Chihuly's name without permission.

I wonder what the details of the suit are.

[Bahbah]

I think his pieces are beautiful.

[sgtbono2002]

Trademarking thought is tough. How many have looked at a wooden carved duck and then made copies. The value is in the quality of the work not in the design.

[Little Ray]

There was an installation at the Atlanta Botanical Gardens - it was beautiful!!!! My wife and I visited it twice.

[finnman69]

Gorgeous stuff. I would not be surprised if much of 'his' work is actually produced by interns in his studio. By the nature of the medium, unless he physically controls the entire glass blowing process, those works are not by him.

However, it's his studio, and his vision.

this is not a Mark Kostabi

[tdewey10]

Chihuly is a hack. Can't stand his stuff.

[reformedliberal]

Dale's work has been instantly recognizable since the 1990's, when I used to see him several times a year at the ACC and Rosen shows.

However, in fine craft, I do not think anyone can copyright techniques. It is interesting that it is a former contractor who is bringing suit. I know of cases in the past where clothing designers hired independent sewers to construct their designs and sometimes, to create patterns from the designer's sketches and then were sued by the contractor for claiming the work did not belong to the designers.

From the 1980s through the 1990s, my husband and I designed, manufactured and marketed a line of anodized titanium jewelry. We had developed a step resist process over hand chasing that was very detailed and very unique. While other people working w/reactive metals tried to compete with simpler designs suited to assembly line processes, no one tried to reproduce our work,some of which was almost photorealistic tropical fish. Even today, eight years after we discontinued the line, we haven't seen anyone pick up the technique in its entirety.

In the production fine craft business, only a very few can make the jump from limited hand production to limited mass production. It is a matter of money, finding the contractors or factory workers who can be trained to produce work indistinguishable from that of the originator and the uncertainty of the market. The longer someone continues to produce via a particular technique, the greater the risk that the technique will be figured out and appropriated by someone else. Since many artists also teach, many techniques will not remain proprietary simply because the originator must reveal them to the contractors/employees.

Chihuly must realize this. His technical processes have been taught to several cohorts of glass artists over the past 25 years.

Most artists accept these realities and deal with them by innovation, always staying a few steps ahead of the competition. There are so many competent technicians that it is unrealistic to believe any single designer could maintain a monopoly on technique. Ethically, however, it is really considered bad form to simply copy something well-known and popular and call it your own. Back in our time in the markets, this could result in an exhibitor being juried out of a fine craft trade show.

We simply stayed small and used labor-intensive techniques that discouraged those who were looking for a product that could produced overseas or in a factory. We constantly added new lines and only employed people for non-production positions. That approach worked for over a decade.

Today, while my husband is in another field, I hand manufacture an item that I have produced and sold since 1985. I have competitors, but my line dominates its niche mainly because my production processes have constantly been updated and, it is almost impossible to reproduce an exact copy. I have researched patents, copyright and trademark and found that one can only get a design patent on such an item and even then, such a patent must be backed by the ability to defend it in court. The patent process is very expensive, as are the defenses. You can trademark/copyright a name, but, AFAIK, you cannot do that for a design, meaning the appearance of the item. Chihuly, of course, has the deep pockets necessary to take a copier to court. Trademarks and copyrights are easier to defend than a design patent.

I doubt Dale is going to win this suit. It is well past time he takes his work up another level, IMO. I am a great fan of the work, but I have noticed the look-alikes in many galleries over the past few years. It is simply part of the business.

[mcvey]

Finally something I know something about, having been in Chihuly's studio before he was "Chihuly" and having kept up with his work since.

I doubt very much that he does any of his own work in a direct hands-on sense. He has a number of physical limitations and the last time I saw him in a studio--working on an enormous mind-boggling piece--he seemed unable, when upclose on the project, to actually see it.

Some of his stuff IS mass-produced hackwork, useful only for his name. But Shakespeare and Beethoven turned out pot-boilers too. When he is at the top of his form, it is awesome in conception and execution.

McVey

[Cooter]

The best way to demonstrate the capabilities of HDTV is to view the show Chihuly over Venice on PBS HD.