Ball Drop 1969

Editor: So here we have Ron Cooper’s “Ball Drop” from 1969. These suspended shattered windshields, what do you make of this? They’re quite… haunting, really. What do you see here? Curator: Haunting is a perfect word for it! They capture this brutal elegance. I'm intrigued by the way Cooper reframes what we perceive as wreckage into something contemplative, almost beautiful. Consider the period—1969, a year brimming with societal shifts. Do you think these glass fractures are metaphors, perhaps reflections on cultural breakage? Editor: That’s insightful! I hadn't thought about it that way, focusing instead on the visual aspect. The cracks, of course, so suggestive… what's the meaning of their arrangement? Curator: They’re mesmerizing, aren't they? To me, they evoke maps, celestial charts even – accidental patterns bearing deeper, unspoken narratives. They remind me of the Japanese art of Kintsugi—where broken pottery is mended with gold, celebrating imperfection. In these windshields, there's an echo of that philosophy. Do these works feel dangerous, or ultimately… vulnerable? Editor: Vulnerable is such a perfect reading! Because although glass seems hard, its transparency feels so, well, breakable. I'd walked by them initially, taking them for something almost accidental! Thank you. Curator: Accident, intent, doesn't it all become blurry when something is framed as art?