Here’s the crux of the matter for me. In this case, Adamson’s a guy who knows only enough to say something slightly controversial for no damn reason other than to get attention for his professional career and his own very personal agenda at the expense of those he’s saying the stuff about. No matter that to earn your living as an artist is difficult enough. He has absolutely no first hand knowledge of the medium and by his own admission he’s not that interested in the medium. The ass backward thing is that now he’ll be speaking at GAS, paid by the very people he looks down his nose at, using the experience to further his career, AND he’s got another published article in a magazine that many folks bow to. What a waste of human resources. I absolutely hate that stuff. Always have.

I looked up his “credentials” — a theorist interested in the history of design. Big whoop. No idea what it takes to HAVE TO make stuff and how that affects one’s life beyond what can be seen from the outside. Dude, it has nothing to do with money. The stuff he says about Chihuly? A half-truth toe-in-the-door. I might agree with some of that partially, but what’s the real point? I certainly do not agree with his premise for the whole article — that because of Chihuly’s skill at marketing to the artistically ignorant the studio glass movement has floated with some financial success until now, when finally, the art is catching up with the price.

Again, what an ass. He insults everyone’s intelligence and intention, from those who buy the work to those who make it. And that gets him the reward of speakership at GAS and an article in the magazine. Bleh.

Consider my eyes rolled in disgust! I now retreat back into my anonymity to create in relative peace.

Oh! And what’s so ironic is that he is doing exactly the same thing as Chihuly — marketing himself well, except that when you buy something from Chihuly, you get a beautiful piece of glass art. When you buy something from Adamson, you get smoke and mirrors. This is why I stopped subscribing to magazines in general — they give a podium to these types of people and build an empire on the backs of the working, “studio movement” artist/craftsperson.