Planet Genesis

Object NameDisk

Artist / Maker Josh Simpson ((American, b. 1949))

Date2009

MediumGlass

Dimensions21 in. (53.3 cm) 7 lbs.

ClassificationsDecorative Arts, Glass

Credit LineCommissioned by University Museums with funding provided by Art Klein. In the permanent collection, Brunnier Art Museum, University Museums, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa.

Object numberUM2024.160

Status

Not on view

Collections

CultureAmerican

Label TextFrom the University Museums Collections Handbook, vol. 2, 2025: For over fifty years, Josh Simpson has been making functional and extraordinary aesthetic glass works of art. Simpson’s interests in art, the natural world, technology, space and sea combine to create objects that invite contemplation by the viewer, exploring his visions of this earth-bound world as well as other worldly places. To commemorate the University Museums’ 25th Anniversary in 2000, Simpson was commissioned to create Megaplanet which became an iconic work of art for all of Iowa State and expressed the University Museums’ desire to be at the crossroads of art, science and technology. For the University Museums’ 50th Anniversary, Simpson once again was commissioned to create a signature object to add to the permanent collection, resulting in a suite of eleven Interstellar Disks. Simpson’s continued interest in the night sky and space are exhibited in the collection of eleven disks made between 2004 and 2024. Each disk explores a different astronomical phenomenon and exemplifies Simpson’s amazing ability to transform glass into expressions of the sky and space that so inspire him.

Published References"Stellar Disks" (Salmon Falls Press, 2019, p. 21-22) "Josh Simpson: 50 Years of Visionary Glass" (Schiffer, 2022, p. 242)

Locations