With the Hands of Many: An Interview with Joseph Rossano
The Salmon School at Museum of Glass, Tacoma, Washington. Photo by C.B. Bell.
Wild salmon serve as the keystone species driving ecosystem function across hundreds of millions of hectares of forests and wetlands in Asia, Europe, North America, and the Arctic. These salmon watersheds are hugely important in the drive for a net zero global carbon balance. The 18 most important salmon watersheds in the North Pacific stores an estimated 6 billion tons of carbon and counting – more than three times the annual emissions of the United States. By accelerating the locally-led protection and restoration of these rivers, The Salmon School hopes to mitigate climate change and boost the salmon runs that are so important to communities around the world. Museum of Glass recently spoke with artist Joseph Rossano about the exhibition.
Museum of Glass: How did you arrive at the concept for The Salmon School?
Joseph Rossano: For much of my career, especially when working for others, I felt that my goal (and responsibility) was to make things that were beautiful. While beauty remains a very important component of what I do, it is no longer my end goal. Beauty has instead become the lead-in to a much larger message – a component that lures the viewer into a discussion of larger issues. I want my work to actually do something for those unable to speak for themselves, be they animal populations or the human disenfranchised.
With my long history in glass, and my passion as an outdoorsperson, I felt that I could merge these communities in a way that would support the things I love – among them salmon, steelhead, and the wild places on which they depend. As a result, I conceived to create a community around wild salmon and art, informed and validated by modern science. In 2018, Museum of Glass, in partnership with the Bellevue Arts Museum, was fantastic in supporting this endeavor, in essence helping will it into being.
MOG: What do you think the medium of glass lends to this project that other materials could not?
JR: Glass is a strong, uniquely durable, infinitely recyclable material. Buildings are built from and sheathed in it, it has tremendous insulating qualities, and much more. Yet its strengths are not what draw me to the material. I'm more interested in its weaknesses. Glass is by nature fragile, transparent, and reflective. These qualities are ideal metaphors for the environments on which wild salmon – and we ourselves – depend.
MOG: How was Museum of Glass involved in the creation of The Salmon School, and how has it supported the project over its lifetime?
JR: Museum of Glass was involved from the very beginning and has facilitated my career in ways for which I will be forever grateful. In the case of The Salmon School, MOG agreed to support a larger venture around wild salmon, their environment, and the creation of an artistic statement that would show the world the reality of a once seemingly endless, yet now rapidly dwindling, natural resource. The goal was to make something beautiful with the hands of many – an artwork that would draw people into this difficult dialogue.
Museum of Glass has been instrumental in facilitating much of the fish making. The Museum team’s expertise, skill, and commitment is without parallel, and we could not have developed or realized The Salmon School concept without Ben, Nick, Sarah, and Gabe [Museum of Glass Hot Shop Team Artists] – who are, by the way, also lovers of the outdoors. Many thanks to them. They're extremely talented.
MOG: The Salmon School has been exhibited at influential locations around the world, perhaps most significantly at the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26). What has been the impact of these engagements and was it always the goal to be in front of these audiences?
JR: My intention with my work has always been to make meaningful statements that combine material and location, offering a relatable context for the viewer. The idea of exhibiting [at COP26] 0.1% of all the wild Atlantic salmon left in the North Atlantic over the heads of 100% of the individuals who could make a difference for wild salmon and humans was a massive undertaking. Now that it has happened, another level of importance has been added to the project, along with the potential to make real change in the world.
The fact that a collective breath and many skilled hands worked together to craft these fragile symbols – symbols echoing wild creatures and the ecosystems on which they depend – has made this artistic statement that much more powerful for me.
MOG: What has been the most significant or memorable moment for you in The Salmon School’s travels so far?
JR: The most significant moment for me was the lead-up to COP26 in November 2021. With the partnership of so many key international organizations – The Atlantic Salmon Trust, The Wild Salmon Center, The World Salmon Forum, Trout Unlimited, Salmon Nation, Atlantic Salmon Federation, Museum of Glass, Starworks, Urban Glass, South Australia University, Devereux & Huskie, Osaka University of Arts, Benefield Spencer Glass, TrueBlue, Glass Art Society, the Upper Skagit Indian Tribe, Eva’s Wild, North Fork Studios, Hilltop Artists, Schack Art Center – and a truly incredible number of individuals (all to be found on our website, thesalmonschool.com), we organized an extensive creation phase, where we made the glass fish forms in studios around the globe.
From that collaboration, I saw people of all expertise trusting in my concept. I witnessed the selflessness of so many people, all willing to give what they could for something far greater than themselves. It was truly moving. When visiting The Salmon School, please also take the opportunity to appreciate the artworks from these talented partner artists, placed throughout the museum.
MOG: What do you want Museum visitors to take away from this exhibition and the experience you are creating?
JR: I hope the show offers a glimpse of the finality of a seemingly endless natural resource – not only for people in this country, but around the globe. I want visitors to know that The Salmon School does not end with this exhibit at Museum of Glass. I wish for them to understand that The Salmon School would not have been possible without the team at MOG and the community that we all have created together. Without MOG’s belief in this project, the coming together of these disparate communities would not have been possible. I'd also like them to know that this project has already seen real lasting impacts: it has already helped change the law in Scotland for the benefit of wild salmon.
MOG: What impact do you hope that The Salmon School will have on our larger community, in Tacoma and in Western Washington? What impact do you hope that this community will have on the exhibition?
JR: I hope the larger community and Tacoma can gain a sense of pride in the achievement of The Salmon School. While the project may have been initiated by me as a single artist, it took shape at Museum of Glass and Hilltop Artists – both Tacoma-based institutions. The hands of the young people of Tacoma and artists from across the Seattle-Tacoma area are all over this work. This is not to mention the community of northwest regional scientists and science and ecological organizations that have played a significant part in developing The Salmon School. We have also been honored with the presence of Upper Skagit tribal members, whose support helped make this project real. The Salmon School really is a community. Tacoma, Western Washington, and MOG have helped inspire a movement that we will carry on into the future.
MOG: What do you envision the exhibition’s trajectory to be from here?
JR: There are so many exciting things in the works for The Salmon School. Currently, we are looking forward to working with Foss Waterway Seaport, Hilltop Artists, Tacoma Public Schools, and The eDNA Collaborative at the University of Washington to contextualize The Salmon School through projects that directly link both art and science, as well as wild fish and climate change. We'll have more to say on the subject later in the year. I look forward to another interview!