[Image above] A flawed window or a beautiful portrait? Perspective can change how you view cracks. Credit: Art Insider, YouTube
Since its accidental discovery in 1903, laminated glass has greatly shaped our standards for safety.
Laminated glass holds together when shattered because of its plastic-glass sandwich structure. This ability makes it ideal for applications in which impact could occur, such as windows in hurricane-prone areas and automobile windshields (though maybe not car side windows).
While laminated glass is invaluable in safety and security applications, artist Simon Berger realized its unique characteristics make it invaluable in art as well.
Berger is a carpenter by trade and started his artistic journey using wood. However, he branched out into other materials, and three years ago he began experimenting with laminated glass.
Berger found the unique way laminated glass shatters allowed him to control cracks made in the glass.
“Once the glass is weakened, you can work relatively controlled,” he explains in an Art Insider video.
Through trial and error, Berger learned how to crack laminated glass so the cracks create images when viewed from afar.
Berger’s glass portraits are showcased in the Artstübli gallery in Basel, Switzerland. And this February, his work graced the front of the Loeb department store in Bern, Switzerland.
In the video below, you can see the process Berger goes through to create his portraits—and see for yourself the beauty in the cracks.
Credit: Art Insider, YouTube