I finally got in to see the great glass master Lutz Haufschild's new window in the Holy Spirit Chapel of St. Ignatius Church, San Francisco. this sprawling Romanesque basilica church is the home of the Jesuit order that run/teach at San Francisco State University.
The windows in the main church are all Gothic revival windows, made by Cummings studios, in the 13th century style. I've always felt that those windows, while quite symphonicly colored, were architecturally inappropriate for the Rennaissance style of the building. I've posted several pics in the "Stained Glass in San Francisco" photo album here, so you may see what I mean.
Haufschild's window is the only contemporary window in the church. I've heard tell that he received the commission after another artists work was rejected by the priests after its completion and installation.
Haufschild's design is very minimal, and seeks to truly harmonize with the building, while retaining its contemporary aesthetic. Its as if the artist were quite self aware of his awkward presence in a historically stylized church, and so decided to interact in the most minimally invasive way by focussing on simple bold forms, geometry, and the quality of light itself passing through a beveled lens.
Since this is the focus, the window works really well, even in this rather opulant church. His glass work consists of this dove roundel (pictured above) and a rounded arch window below it, consisting of beveled glass prisms laminated into a geometric pattern on a large sheet of float glass. (This did not photograph well for me, so hence is not shown) He also created interior panels in the same way for the doors of the chapel.
Lutz used very minimal color, and in fact the dove seems to have a sprayed on blue enamel on to its edges, and the dove form seems sandblasted into the glass. There appears to be some stray tracings of silverstain on the dove as well. Then there is a geometric pattern behind the dove that I cant see how exactly he accomplished. It might be a stencil sandwiched between two layers of float, but even my keen eye cannot exactly tell how he dun it!! What I liked was the simplicity, and the easiness on the eyes, creating a contemplative space, while also being technically challenging and focused on the material of light as its main focus. His work here seemed light, and free of heavy symbolism. I found it quite free of self-indulgant displays of intense color or heavy line work. This German seems to really understand the Bay Area light, a light that is majestic and colored itself and not at all in need of embellishment from a glass artist to be appreciated. He filters our raw and subtle light, a light transforming from all the Bay Areas atmospheric offshore developments, and he allows that light to break and filter into the chapel, while upstairs where the priests and deacons and altar servers prepare for baptisms, the cool soft light of the dove roundel allows an even measured illumination to the room.
It is a simple window, and a simple design, but truly a beautiful solution. This window shows Haufschild's mastery of the medium and focus on light itself as the main substance for his artwork.
Here is what he has to say about it, from his website:
"The two windows are experienced in very different ways. To allude to the Baptismal Chapel below a white dove, symbol of the Holy Spirit, appears to be hovering in the round window. The treatment of the image is subtle and its effect, serene. At night, the window is a focal point at a busy intersection, thus emphasizing that this building is a House of God
The Baptismal window located in the chapel proper has a strong and edifying impact on the people who use the space. The window design is respectful of the expertly detailed space and responds with a design relating to the geometries present. There is an almost overwhelming simplicity to the design. This is to empower the ultimate creative source, namely light, to transform the material, to de-materialize glass. The result is not an opaque window nor a transparent one, but rather a magically suspended veil of light alluding to different passages of light- prismatic, colored, restrained- that corresponds metaphorically to the soul’s journey towards God.
Truly illuminating light created by the new window not only enhances and completes this sacred space, but it also embraces the viewer. Sitting quietly in the chapel and letting the light pour through the window upon oneself is to undergo a spiritual education as well as an aesthetic one."
Haufschild is also a painter, and much of his work is similar in concern to his glassworks, with geometry and shifting colors as if from a prism working within the ordered forms. He seems to enjoy finding the play of light and form narrowly fit into an ordered and tight geometry. I would say that he has a sort of Constructivist aesthetic, with Abstract Expressionist influence, and a German post-war stained-glass education all operating in his designs. He is truly one of the mediums greatest artists and designers, with a vocabulary all his own. He pushes and plays with the potential of the medium itself, and understands color in a restrained and mature way. From his great architectural works to smaller intimate windows like this one, he manages to really get the sense of proportion correct, and with an open feeling that comes with simplifying his concerns to line, light refraction, and minimal color.
He has a good website I recommend: http://www.glassfocus.com
His page on this window shows several more photos at different times, and is worth a browse...