Master of Glass

Master of Glass is a documentary about an exceptional craftsman - Per Steen Hebsgaard, the dynamic force behind an amazing development in modern Danish glass. For centuries glass pieces have been joined together with lead alone, and this could only be done in one dimension. Medieval methods are still widely used in works of art made from glass, but Hebsgaard - who, incidentally, began his working life installing double-glazing before moving on to a firm that specialized in stained glass - invented new techniques that avoid the use of lead. Then he began to invite the best Danish and foreign artists to explore all the possibilities inherent in glass, using new or old techniques to create paintings, collages and even sculptures; one of his aims, he says, was to liberate stained glass from being used in churches alone. Hebsgaard's success lies in his ability to inspire and collaborate with other artists, although he himself says `at a very early stage I realized that I could be number thirty-five as an artist, and I wanted to be number one as a craftsman.' The film concentrates on two projects in particular. One is a large sculpture in glass created by Jan Sivertsen. Together Hebsgaard and Sivertsen use silicone to assemble and erect the fragile material at the FIAC art exhibition in Paris. The second project, with Bjørn Nørgaard, is a 23-foot-high glass pavilion for a Danish brewery, made of more than five thousand pieces of colored and painted glass which are then fired and leaded - a fitting challenge for the `master of glass.'

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