People just can't stop talking about Dale Chihuly this week! First he's all mad because he's not going to be the exclusive glass artist at Seattle Center, then they give him a museum as a consolation prize, then people think he's the Starbucks of glass, then there's debate over whether the museum's even legit, then an angry mob protests the closing of the Fun Forest (that last one might be slightly embellished). Is your head spinning yet?
Don't worry, we did all the hard work for you and collected all the choice quotes from Chihuly-fest '11.
Media Bistro's UnBeige says designers and artists aren't really down because Chihuly's, well, a little safe:
"Post-grunge and the novelty of the expensive cup of coffee having long since worn thin, the city has been suffering from something of an image problem of late, like when the AIA said how dull its design-focus is."
Crosscut's Knute Berger wrote an admitedly scathing review of the situation, but his knee-jerk reaction is pretty telling:
"My first reaction to the Chihuly proposal, the vision of the Howard Wright family (owners of the Needle), was to feel even sorrier for cursed Tacoma, home of Chihuly's glass museum. They must be pissed."
Don't worry, Knute. RR Anderson's Feed Tacomic is also looking out for the little guys here.
Nobody's really got a plan for addressing the fact that they're knocking down the Fun Forest... But Slog sort of mentions it:
"He also points out that the Fun Forest Pavilion was constructed shortly after the 1990 master plan was published—and it went against that plan, too."
· Despite a Year of Protests, Seattle Okays Dale Chihuly Museum Next to the Space Needle [UnBeige]
· Throwing Stones at Chihuly's Glass House [Crosscut]
· Dale Chihuly Museum at the Seattle Fun Forest [Tacomic]
· Large Chihuly Museum Being Planned for Seattle Center [Slog]
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