Photo – Peter Swanson
Grapes
1986 – The State Capitol, Albany, NY
Rowan has created a design here that celebrates this “fruit of the vine.” As is true for the four other windows in this set, the intricate design makes for a rich and colorful visual experience and blends well with the Victorian Classical/Romanesque revival architecture of the building.
These windows are modest in size, yet they contain thousands of pieces of glass. A description of them from the Greenland Studios says, “The five windows are made of more than seven thousand (7,000) bits of hand-blown colored glass set in lead. This is the medieval technique in a modern adaptation. Glass surfaces faceted to refract light combine with tiny lens-like pieces to animate the shadows cast by nearby buildings. The new windows will project beams of colored sunlight, liveliness and delight into their spectacular new home for centuries to come.”
Indeed, one can imagine the purple drops in the border as the juice pressed from the grapes, with Rowan’s trademark of tiny beads of white light adding sparkle to the room.
Photo – Peter Swanson
Iconography
It is quite fitting that grapes should adorn the New York State House. After all, a 2020 report commissioned by the New York Wine & Grape Foundation estimated that the grape industry generated 2.4 billion dollars in local, state and federal tax revenue. The report said that the state produced 57,000 tons of wine grapes and 128,000 tons of juice grapes, and the industry supported 62,000 jobs. The state is also home to the Brotherhood Winery, the oldest continuously functioning winery in the United States. This Hudson Valley producer has been making wines for 175 years.
Window Details
Click on an image to see it full size.
Governor’s Office
Grapes
Photo – Peter Swanson
Grapes, Detail 1
Photo – Peter Swanson
Grapes, Detail 2
Photo – Peter Swanson
Grapes, Detail 3
Photo – Peter Swanson
Grapes, Detail 4
Photo – Peter Swanson
Window Details
Year Completed
1986
Artists
Rowan LeCompte
Assisted by Richard Avidon
Fabricator
Melville Greenland Studios
Location In Building
Governor’s Office
To learn more about Rowan and stained glass vist our DVD store.
Dimensions
4 feet x 2 feet
Address
New York State Capitol
Albany, NY
Produced By:
Global Visions & Associates, Inc.
www.globalviz.com
More Information
More information will be forthcoming as the site develops.