The Universe Chandelier 

What do you get when you mix one of the many fantastic modern chandeliers (Lüster) at the Metropolitan Opera House and a cosmological model of the universe? Give up? Nobody was quite sure. Nobody was even thinking about this. Well, that's not entirely true. A recent piece of work from famed artist Josiah McElheny is displaying his interpretation of the subject for the rest of the world to see.
Born in 1966, Josaih McElheny developed a passion for art early in his life. It wasn't until 1984, though, that while attending the Rhode Island School of Design that he became interested in blowing glass.

After he had experienced this unique procedure for expressing his artistic talents, he was hooked. After a few years or apprenticing with some of the top glassblowers in Europe, he started to produce artistic works of his own. But none of his previous works has brought him as much fame as one of his most recent piecesAn End to Modernity, or what many refer to as the Universe Chandelier (Kronleuchter). In September 2004, Josaih came up with the idea of fusing a model of the big bang theory with one of the modern designed chandeliers at the Metropolitan Opera House. He believed in his idea, but convincing others was not quite as easy.

After experiencing some resistance and a lot of his drawings being turned down, Josaih eventually came up with a concept that everyone liked. Even though the closest thing it could be compared to was a potato and toothpicks, everyone saw a certain beauty in it.This concept was a glass and metal sculpture. It is roughly 10 feet high by 15 feet wide and is comprised of 1,000 blown glass globes and around 5,000 metal parts. While most of the metal parts were manufactured in California, Josaih made all the glass components at his glass foundry in Queens, New York.To explain all the little pieces of the sculpture and their true meaning to a person without a scientific background would be foolish.

A simpler interpretation is this: The ball in the middle is the earth being formed after the big bang took place. All the rods sticking out of it are there to represent the element of time and the transition the big bang began. The small light bulbs and the glass pieces attached to those rods represent small galaxies and other astrological components. You see what I mean? Without any astrological knowledge, it is hard to truly decipher what this sculpture really means.That's where the real beauty of this piece is. Even if you don't understand what it's true meaning is, or understand what each components relationship to each other is, you can still enjoy it! The huge impact it has on people when seen in it's natural state is incredible. The combination of the monotonous white walls of the room that this piece of art is located in with the shiny and transparent components is really something to see.