5-04-2025 9:35pm

Shattering Expectations in a GLASSY Way

Beth Callahan Editor

(Photo courtesy of Darren Goodman)

MIDDLETOWN, OH -- Waves of change continue to break at the Middletown Arts Center for Darren Goodman's exhibition GLASS Through the Lens of an Artist ... both figuratively and literally. His exhibition, which has been sponsored in part by America250, a nonpartisan initiative working to engage every American in commemorating the 250th anniversary of our country, Goodman has begun to create a monumental sculpture of blown glass, multi media, and performance art called Tears to Freedom.

On May 10th, from 11am - 2pm, the Middletown Arts Center will be hosting a block party for the celebration of this historical glass exhibition. "Whether you’re an art lover, a history enthusiast, or simply someone who is curious about the world of glassblowing, GLASS Through the Lens of an Artist by Darren Goodman at the Middletown Arts Center promises to be a transformative experience where fire, glass, and imagination collide” reads the Dayton Daily News.

Goodman, a Cincinnati based artist who works primarily with glass, incorporates many forms of creativity into his exhibit from poetry to painting to photography ... bridging the gap between the arts and sciences through the medium of glass.

As Goodman’s exhibition continues to expand and grow, hundreds of new works have been added since the opening. For the past decade Goodman has exhibited his Tears of Joy sculptures across the world, starting at the Cincinnati Art Museum.

For his floor to ceiling installation at the Middletown Arts Center, he has not only filled the gallery with a rainbow of glass tears – he has begun to shatter the tears with the help of others. The unorthodox transformation of creating art through breaking it has several deep and profound metaphors that Goodman conveys through his work.

As the rainbow of colors are beginning to break into shards, he is replacing the broken tears with black and white tears, colors which reach back in time and in history.

“We have all been broken in life, and it all comes down to how we pick up the pieces when things fall apart, that will make up the beautiful mosaic that we all are.” Goodman explained.

Goodman has recently added two mosaics to the installation of Tears to Freedom, both representing broken moments in American history. Rights, is a mosaic that represents a narrative of Native Americans, women of the suffrage movement, as well as African-Americans from the civil rights movement – with a glass rainbow in the center symbolizing hope for the future of our country.

Another mosaic he has titled Color, which is comprised of a rainbow of broken shards of glass along with a black-and-white photo from the 1960’s of a mother and child next to a water fountain that says "colored only."

"These colorful mixed media mosaics have broken mirror scattered throughout the image, allowing the viewer to see themself in the art," Goodman said, adding “Tears to Freedom is an important sculpture to me for many reasons, and perhaps most importantly... because I feel that it raises the question, how do we want to perceive the future in the United States of America?"

He raises many questions through a variety of symbols and historical American imagery within the installation. Starting with a pile of sand on the ground at the base of his sculpture, Goodman has hung trees from the ceiling above the sand in which his glass tears are hanging from. Goodman explained, “Trees not only give us humans life on earth, but they have made it possible for humans to transform the sand into glass for nearly all of glass history.”

On one end of his glass installation hangs an antique two-handed saw, similar to the ones our nations settlers and pioneers would have used to build, grow, and expand our nation. The saw is covered in red glass, which is very reminiscent of blood – the life source of us all.

As you work your way through the color spectrum of Tears, on the opposite side from the saw display, are crystal clear cinerary urns in the shape of bullets containing ashes inside of them.
The ashes came from trees in which the artist has burnt in his home to stay warm during winter.

Goodman explained that the ashes represent life itself – from dust to dust. His glass bullets remind us of the necessary element for our nation’s growth, as well as the delicate and fragile nature of life. From the broken Tears of Joy, he has begun to fill the voids with black and clear glass butterflies transforming the space into a world of creativity and contemplation.

"I wanted to use black and white as the colors for this final transformation to reach back into history prior to the iPhone, color TV, or even radio” Goodman said. “The technology of melting and creating glass has virtually remained unchanged for thousands of years and has greatly enriched human civilization. However, it also all comes at a cost. The cost is sometimes easy to see. For example, if you cut down a tree that you've watched grow your whole life or perhaps cutting down a forest of trees that are thousands of years old like our great redwood national forests, we see that cost. But sometimes, the cost is not so apparent or easy for us to see... like the iPhone in your pocket, or the pocket of the garment you were wearing to hold the iPhone. The cost to produce these products reverberates across the world.’’

Another element Goodman has added to his exhibit is what he is calling Buffalo Chips. Throughout the installation and scattered across the floor, he has placed round patties of glass, which may first be considered distasteful or unrelated, however... "the buffalo chip has been a very important element to the ecosystem of our natural world, as well as to the westward expansion of the United States of America," Goodman noted.

Goodman went on to explain. “The Sahara Desert exists in part because of the dung beetle, and the ancient Egyptians not only knew of the beetle’s importance, they worshipped them. To bring it back home to us here in America, it is in part the Buffalo Chip that made it possible for our growth as a nation. When the pioneers and settlers were moving west, along the great plains, for stretches of hundreds of miles, there were not any trees. In these vast grassy plains at one time, millions upon millions of buffalo roamed our landscape, and it was the excrement of the Buffalo that settlers used as fuel to sustain life. Burning these chips helped the pioneers keep warm from the cold, to cook their food, and to have light through the darkness. Without the buffalo chips, the pioneers would not have been able to make the long and hard journey west.”

At the very beginning of Goodman's GLASS Through the Lens of an Artist, he illustrates how optical fiber is an extension of the first glassmaking techniques, which date back all the way to 2500 BCE to when the Egyptian pyramids were originally being built. He points out that both techniques are based on pulling a string of glass and that we are still building upon the shoulders of the ancient founders of this medium.

"Every day scientists continue to learn more about glass unlocking new ways for using the potential of glass, especially with optical fiber. Today we consume information and technology at an incredible pace and part of that is due to the ability to transfer information through glass (optical fiber)– at the speed of light," Goodman explained.

Goodman uses his glass as symbols and metaphors to ask important questions. Whether it is the sand, trees, saw, bullets, butterflies or buffalo chips – his artistic masterpiece weaves together technology, history, and creativity in a thought provoking installation, surely to leave an impression on everyone who sees it.

Goodman added, “The question I keep coming back to with this exhibit is, 'how will we perceive the future in America, will it be like the Buffalo or optical fiber... Nearly Gone or Nearly limitless?'”

The exhibition runs through May 15, 2025 and "you don't want to miss this exhibition, because once it's gone, it's gone!" Goodman explained.

It is not very often that you can witness history being made through the creation of art and the and in Goodman’s case, the art glass sculpture being smashed to make new history. The broken shards from this project will be the starting point for Goodman's future exhibit.

Partnering with BMW, the City of Middletown Fire Departments, as well as several other local businesses – the Middletown Arts Center will be hosting a family- friendly block party on May 10th from 11-2pm to celebrate the final days of Goodman’s monumental exhibit. For more details about the exhibition and future events, please visit middletownartscenter.com and www.glassexperience.com

Highlights to the block party Include:

Big trucks & emergency vehicles from the City of Middletown
a BCRTA Commuter Bus
The MidPointe Library Bookmobile
Touch a Motorcycle with the BMW Dealership
The Middletown Historical Society
Live performances by Mystical Motion Belly Dancing Troupe (12PM & 1PM)
Live glassblowing with expert glass artist Darren Goodman
Hands-on art activities at the MAC - and even make Mom a present for Mothers Day!
Yummy food: BL BBQ & Karaoke DJ, Squeaky Wheels Cups & Cones, and mobile charcuterie from Lolli and Pops Snack Shack
Our featured exhibit: Darren Goodman's "GLASS Through the Lens of an Artist", part of the OhioReflections250 Project, funded in part by the America 250-Ohio Commission
Other local organizations sharing info for our community, including Big Brothers Big Sisters of Butler County, Downtown Middletown, Inc., and Red Riding Hood Rescue Project

Block Party will be held at Middletown Arts Center. located at 130 N Verity Parkway, Middletown.(Touch a Truck accessible from MAC & city parking lots)