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Arts The Museum of Glass Formerly Known as the Museum of Glass: International Center for Contemporary Art

Posted by on April 13 at 15:40 PM

Sometime around the turn of this century, what was then just a glimmer in the eyes of its founders—chiefly George and Jane Russell of the Russell Co. in Tacoma—came to be called the Museum of Glass: International Center for Contemporary Art.

And a great groan spread throughout the land.

The museums would be the Henry, the Frye, SAM, BAM, TAM, and MOG: ICCA.

And after the first wave of dread passed, and shoulders had shrugged themselves tired over whether MoG or MOG was correct, why, people started wondering just what was the epistemology of that little old colon. Was this a “Museum of Glass” or an “International Center for Contemporary Art”?

Considering the split between the world of studio glass and mainstream contemporary art, this division took on meaning inside and outside the museum, and ultimately confused the hell out of just about everybody who wondered where, anyway, was the Chihuly? (Dale Chihuly visited the museum to work in its hotshop approximately once a year, but there was no permanent display of his work—that display was over at the Tacoma Art Museum, further confusing things. Chihuly, in fact, is not involved in the glass museum. Further complicating matters, the City of Tacoma, not the museum, owns the Chihuly Bridge of Glass leading from downtown to the museum. And yet plenty of people still persist in calling it the Chihuly Museum—maybe because their eyes glazed over at the prospect of deciding between MoG: ICCA and MOG:ICCA?)

In any case, a new day has dawned. A day of nomenclatural clarity, at the very least. I can only imagine that the whole of Tacoma—where the Museum of Glass: International Center for Contemporary Art was and continues to be the largest arts organization hands down—will breathe a sigh of relief to hear it.

The glass museum will now be called the Museum of Glass.

No more colon.

No more “international center” of anything, let alone contemporary art. (Did anyone ever hear of a name so provincial and depressing?)

This, I imagine, does not mean that contemporary art from around the world will not be seen in the museum. But I presume that when it appears, it will have something, at least marginally, to do with glass.

The board also approved a new, streamlined mission: The Museum of Glass provides a dynamic learning environment to appreciate the medium of glass through creative experiences, collections and exhibitions.

I should give the place a visit. Haven’t been there in a while.

In any case, the Unbearable Length of Museum Name is dead, and maybe the Unbearable Confusion of Museum Mission is, too.

To pin things down even more, the museum specifies in its press release that MOG, with all caps, is the preferred acronym.

After five years open, the museum finally has a legible name on its birth certificate. Long live clarity!

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1

Now's a good time to visit; the Jim Campbell exhibit is incredible.

www.jimcampbell.tv

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