The Seven Pillars of Humanity—an intricate and detailed work of stained glass art—will be on display during the Confluence Conference from June 27th - July 1st, 2022 at the One SeaGate Building in Toledo, Ohio. This is a unique opportunity to view this unprecedented work of spectacular, touring stained glass art—on display for just a few days before it travels to its next location.
THE SEVEN PILLARS OF HUMANITY
On display at:
Fifth Third Center at One SeaGate
One SeaGate, Toledo, OH 43604
Tuesday, June 28, 2022, 9 am - 7 pm
Wednesday, June 29, 2022, 9 am - 7 pm
Thursday, June 30, 2022, 9 am - 7 pm
The Pillars will be on display to celebrate the coming together of two major art organizations as they come together in Toledo: the City of Glass, to celebrate and explore their partnership and the International Year of Glass 2022. As we move into the Age of Glass, Toledo is the perfect place to celebrate the future collaboration between industry and art.
The Confluence 2022: The Glass City is the Stained Glass Association of America's (SGAA) one hundred and eleventh annual summer conference. For the first time ever, the conference is co-hosted by SGAA and the Society of American Mosaic Artists (SAMA). This national conference provides an educational and creative hub for glass artists, historians, manufacturers, and architects, bringing together artists and studios of all sizes.
“The seven pillar windows (opens new window) are a wonderful presentation to some of the greatest stained glass art imaginable,” said artist and creator Tom Holdman, and founding board member of the Roots of Humanity Foundation (opens new window). “More importantly, they depict the characteristics found in the best of humanity throughout the world. The pillars inspire and uplift as people see the tenets of these characteristics through different scenes from the history of the world. The pillars are inspiring, but also full of fun and educational origins of discovery such as an actual piece of the moon found in the Knowledge pillar window.”
The pillars are original pieces of art glass created as a thesis for the Sphere of Light (opens new window), which is a momentous artistic project to be created and placed in Lehi, Utah. It will be home to the largest stained glass art creation in the world and will serve as a place of personal inspiration, reflection, healing, and growth, with a purpose to educate, unite, and connect individuals by expressing all the commonalities of humanity.
“Our on-going desire is to educate and move people through stained glass art,” said Holdman. “We are encouraging people throughout the world to love and appreciate the greatest characteristics of humanity through art. Additionally, we are encouraging artists, scholars, and historians to join us in creating the Sphere of Light. It is only through togetherness, common faith, and human values from all parts of the world that we can truly create a work of humanity this significant.”
Each of the seven panels are 3.5 feet wide by 7 feet tall, and each panel has landscapes of one of the seven continents. For example, the Faith panel has scenes from Asia and North America. In the upper left is an enso, the Japanese word for circle. In Japanese calligraphy, the enso is made with a single brushstroke. A disciplined practice of spiritual expression, it embraces creating in the moment and is seen often in Zen Buddhism. Within the enso is Brahma, the four-headed Hindu god of creation. Michelangelo’s “Creation of Adam,” speaks to the Biblical origins of man and woman next to the scientific postulation of creation, the Big Bang Theory.
“Since the Seven Pillars of Humanity represent the best characteristics of humanity throughout the world,” said Holdman. “It is altogether fitting; we honor those expressing these characteristics."
The United Nations declared 2022 to be the Year of Glass as glass is the main conduit of knowledge in our society, from cell phones to computers and the Internet, as well as its fabrication methods, beauty, and "ability to capture and display nature’s full spectrum of color". The Seven Pillars of Humanity is the prefect example of encapsulating all of the wonder and purposes of glass.
Tom Holdman and his wife, artist and designer Gayle Holdman, will be speaking at One SeaGate on June 27th, 2022 to celebrate the Pillars and their message. Almost all stained glass requires its visitors to come to it—while the Pillars tour both nationally and internationally, from Europe and South America, and most recently to Washington, DC.
Tom and Gayle are also giving their presentation Speaking with Light during Confluence. Confluence 2022: The Glass City, hosted by the Stained Glass Association of America and the Society for American Mosaic Artists, will take place from June 27th - July 1st, 2022.
