A Heath glass artist has joined forces with a Cape Cod multimedia artist for an exhibit that highlights their shared appreciation for Afro-Caribbean culture, and music in particular.
Heath resident Robert Dane has been glassblowing since 1973, when he was a student at the Massachusetts College of Art and Design. His latest collection, “Heartbeats and Harmony,” is a joint exhibit with Carl Lopes at the Sandwich Glass Museum.
Dane said his love of Afro-Cuban music dates back 15 years, when his nephew was visiting and was taking guitar lessons with his wife, who was a music teacher at The Academy at Charlemont. Dane said he felt left out of their musical activities, so his wife encouraged him to take percussion lessons as he has always been interested in drumming.
“I was just totally engaged and got really into it,” Dane recalled.
He continued to take percussion lessons for years, learning the techniques, history and politics behind the music. This new collaborative exhibit highlights Dane’s appreciation of music and draws on the colors, patterns and designs found in traditional regalia for ceremonies, rituals and performances.
“They depict the people, gods and heroes of that region and when they put on those masks they become those heroes,” Dane said of the traditional masks he drew inspiration from. “The whole community participates in this tradition, so to me the mask is representative of the full community.”
The use of the masks and celebrations of African culture also touch on and parallel Sandwich’s own history. The glass museum, located at a former glass factory at 129 Main St. in Sandwich, tells the history of the glass industry on Cape Cod. Sandwich Glass Museum Executive Director Mary Childs said the success of the glass industry in Sandwich relied heavily on the labor and skills of immigrant artisans, many of whom came from the Cape Verde islands.
‘“Heartbeats and Harmony’ by Carl Lopes and Robert Dane unites these narratives through two contemporary visions and voices using the symbolism of the mask as a universal means of processing and showcasing cultural heritage,” Childs wrote in her introduction to the exhibit catalog. “Though initially we may employ masks to either reveal or conceal, these artists use the vehicle of the mask to expand the possibilities of searching inward and outward simultaneously, on both a personal and collective level.”
The collection is also a first for Dane, who said he’s never collaborated on a project like this. He said the Sandwich Glass Museum suggested he partner with Lopes, a Cape Cod-based multimedia artist whose great-grandparents immigrated to America in the 1890s from the Cape Verde islands, and the pair became fast friends.
In addition to their individual pieces for the exhibit, they created six collaborative pieces. Dane said he would blow the glass and create a sculpture, and Lopes would take it, sand it down and add paint and other details.
“It was really fun and something I’ve never done before,” Dane said.
Dane and Lopes worked together to create a fully immersive experience. In addition to the artwork, Dane said they added a soundtrack of Afro-Cuban percussion to create a complete sensory experience for exhibit attendees.
For more information about “Heartbeats and Harmony,” including related events such as a mask-making workshop on Oct. 14, visit sandwichglassmuseum.org/pages/heartbeats-and-harmony. More information about Dane and his work can be found on his website, robertdane.com “Heartbeats and Harmony” will be on display through Nov. 2.
Reach Madison Schofield at 413-930-4579 or mschofield@recorder.com.