42 • Glass Art TM • May/June 2016 http://www.GlassArtMagazine.comby the Staff of the Corning Museum of GlassO
n January 15, 2016, artist Marvin Lipofsky passed
away. Born in 1938, Lipofsky was known as one of
the pioneers on the American Studio Glass movement.
After graduating with a BFA in Industrial Design from
the University of Illinois, he went on to study clay and
metal at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. His first
ceramics class was with Harvey Littleton, ceramicist
turned glassmaker, who invited him and the other
students to blow glass. Lipofsky went on to accept
a job as an instructor at the University of California,
Berkeley, and started the glass program there. During
that time, he trained students who went on to become
studio artists themselves, including Richard Marquis
and Jay Musler.Preserving the Archive
of Marvin Lipofsky
Archiving a Life’s Work
Lipofsky taught classes at many art and craft
schools, from Pilchuck Glass School to Bezalel
Academy of Arts and Design in Israel. He trav-
eled a great deal throughout the United States and
internationally, documenting his travels and teach-
ing through photos and video, which the Rakow
Research Library has been working to digitize.
Lori Fuller, associate librarian, collections
management, talks about her experience digitizing
Lipofsky’s vast archive: “The Rakow Research
Library has had the honor and privilege to work
with Marvin Lipofsky and his assistant, Jeanette
Bokhour, to digitize Marvin’s vast collection of
slides, which document Marvin’s career from begin-
ning to end through his art, teaching, and travels.
The Rakow Library furthers the Museum’s overall
mission to tell the world about glass by building
collections that document the history of glass. Work-
ing with artists like Marvin is central to fulfilling
that mission.”Marvin Lipofsky, Tacoma Series 2007-9 #1
(Berkeley to Tacoma I-5), 14-1/2" x 20" x 16",
semi-moldblown glass; cut, ground by hand,
sandblasted, and acid-polished, 2007-09. Col-
lection of Museum of Glass, gift of the artist.
Photo by M. Lee Fatherree.Marvin Lipofsky, SF - Tacoma Group, 2006‑7 #5, 14‑1/2" x 18" x 18"