Grzegorz Bibro’s glass sculptures from the Legacy series (2022/23) push the boundaries between abstraction and figuration, exhibiting remarkable aesthetics while simultaneously evoking a sense of obscenity. Each piece is meticulously crafted — quite literally blown — from molten glass by the artist. Their size is comparable to that of a male hand yet reminiscent of genitalia, although according to the sculptor, their proportions exceed the latter. It is common knowledge that genitalia vary in size and shape, and similarly, these sculptures exhibit a diversity in form and dimension.
Male genitalia are the primary association in perception, yet some shapes lean towards abstraction, evoking various bodily organs. However, in most cases, visual inspection reveals forms and textures reminiscent of testicles, penises, glans, coronas, foreskins, and even finer frenulums. Glass phallic objects often terminate with an orifice resembling the urethral meatus; at times, the foreskins are particularly elaborated, and the testicles appear succulent and fleshy. All of these elements are crafted from glass, thus fragile, akin to the sensitive, highly innervated, and stimulus-responsive nature of genitalia. Glass, much like the body of the penis and testicles, is delicate yet capable of inflicting harm, much like an erect penis in acts of sexual violence.
Has Grzegorz Bibro perhaps discovered the perfect material equivalent for the fleshy and instinctual tissue of male genitalia, capturing their complex functionality and symbolism, both within the realm of physicality and culture?
Undoubtedly, his art is meticulously executed in terms of multiple meanings and techniques. On one hand, the artist draws inspiration from contemporary academic literature on masculinity, such as David Friedman’s renowned book A Mind of its Own. A Cultural History of a Penis. On the other hand, his art is influenced by the realities of working in a glassworks and the peculiarities of this material, as it follows the intrinsic characteristics of glass.
Grzegorz Bibro studied Glass Art and Design at the Eugeniusz Geppert Academy of Fine Arts in Wroclaw, the only institution in Poland equipped with glassworks. Currently, he is pursuing doctoral studies there. He is intimately familiar with the entire working environment of such a place, including its implications for masculinity and allusions to male sexuality. Glassblowing, traditionally performed predominantly by men who blow into a metre and a half long pipes, known as blowpipes, to shape glass bubbles, is deeply ingrained in his understanding. In the past, crafting works from glass was therefore a male-dominated domain. Phallic forms were among the first objects the artist managed and desired to create independently as soon as he mastered glassblowing techniques.
All these erotic potentials are significant. Grzegorz Bibro’s sculptures can be interpreted not only as highly sensual but also amusing, in terms of humour associated with a joyful approach to sexuality. In the process of glassmaking, soft and hot glass transforms into a hardened state, much like a penis entering into an erection. Further shaping the glass can even be likened to fondling. During the fluid rotation of the blowpipe, the artist smooths the glass with a wet newspaper, allowing for the desired shape to be achieved – at that moment, only paper and water separate his hand from the glass object. He layers on additional glass, blows it out and bends it, using gravity and temperature. He allows it to droop down along its elongated form, sometimes also fusing elements together, exploiting the viscosity of the hot glass. In some instances, he uses a metal brush to comb the glass, recreating hair texture. In other cases, he applies the crackle effect in the form of cracks on the surface, resulting from immersing hot glass in cold water. All these techniques Bibro employs in his sculptures to achieve their high and refined aesthetic. However, considering how hazardous this work is, how one can get burned, and how much care must be taken, the entirety can be regarded as a broader metaphor for male sexuality, associated not only with pleasure but also with trauma and aggression.
Glass injures, and the process of its creation is perilous, much like the danger inherent in male sexuality associated with violence, self-destruction, and suffering, both one’s own and others. However, there is yet another layer to this artistry – while it may appear beautiful and seductive on the surface, it’s only upon delving into the intricate process of crafting molten glass that the deeper, more nuanced aspects related to sexuality come to light. The artist creates art intertwined with contemporary studies on masculinity, and many references have been embedded in these glass decorative objects, inspired by both the psychosomatic nature of gender and the history of culture.
In anthropological museums, as well as in sex shops, one can find dildos and erotic gadgets of various shapes, including those made of glass, which resemble the most phallic and erect, rounded sculptures from the Legacy series. The mere fact that the artist proposes the Polish translation as Legacy carries an additional erotic connotation, associated not only with the glassblowing process but also with male semen.
In terms of colour, these sculptures are also intriguing – they strive to capture various shades of male genitalia, ranging from bronze, red, and pink to the creamy white of semen. The majority of them feature pink and milky glass tissues, whether straightened, twisted, or contorted. This elasticity, flexibility inherent in both molten glass and the shaft of the penis, is a fascinating aspect of the materiality of masculinity for the artist. The sculptures from the Legacy series are numbered depending on the technique and colour used.
The deliberate embrace of obscenity, even an invitation to it, arises from the opposition to the symbolic heritage of male genitalia, traditionally considered obscene in the Christian tradition, relegated to the backstage as shameful and filthy. In Bibro’s art, such connotations fade in favour of aesthetics and sensuality; genitalia are placed at the forefront of the scene as beautiful, worthy of intricate and laborious artworks. This naturally marks another return in contemporary art to the ancient, pagan tradition where the penis was an object of worship and affirmation. Not only do such inspirations underlie the artist’s lack of shame, but he also draws inspiration from graffiti and the brutal drawings of penises on walls, intended to provoke and offend. In his glass art, Bibro transforms the brutality and vulgarity of street iconography and the disgust of patriarchy into decorative and thoughtful studies of the psychology of male sexuality and embodiment, focused precisely on this most vulnerable area.
I also suggest perceiving these works, which are contemporary queer erotic art, as an affirmation of oral sex. In Polish queer art, there is insufficient celebration of sexual ecstasy and pleasure devoid of the burdens of shame or guilt. The haptic, tantalising, and sweet allure of these sculptures largely stems from their orality. The craft of glassmaking entails the practice of blowing glass, a term in English that alludes to the process of shaping molten glass by blowing air into it through a tube. This terminology unavoidably evokes parallels with the phrase blow job. While creating the initial glass bubble, one not only blows into the tube but also moves it in a circular motion, working with both the mouth and hand, much like during an excellently performed fellatio. It’s no wonder that some of these phallic bubbles are speckled with white droplets.
All of this is highly male-centric in the artistic contemplation of the male, instinctual, bodily epicentre, which is why we must return to Sigmund Freud, who thoroughly explored male sexuality. Freud is the author of the concept of libido, coined in 1894, which in Latin signifies will, desire, and longing. Libido, in a psychological sense, refers to the drive, representing psychoerotic energy circulating within the body and originating from pure unconsciousness, biologically linked to hormones. Since sexual drive resides at the boundary of the physical and the psychological, libido signifies its psychological aspect, serving as a dynamic manifestation of the sexual impulse in the mental realm. Due to the libido’s derivation from the unconscious, it remains challenging to conceptualise, often expressed through metaphors despite its vivid experiences. Attempts to visualise libido frequently resort to depicting warmth, energy, and electricity. Grzegorz Bibro’s sculptures have drawn my attention to molten, fluid, and perilous glass transformed into sexual male organs, where desire emanates. It is literally frozen liquid libido, as this hot glass, after being shaped, requires a specialised annealing process, which allows for the removal of tensions in the glass. This constitutes a literal embodiment of frozen liquid libido, as the heated glass, once formed, undergoes a specialised cooling process to relieve tensions within the material. Libido, as a driving force, draws from various erogenous zones, with the genital area being pivotal, transformed into liquid and heated glass libido within the artist’s creations.
The sculptures function as representations and sublimations of libido, albeit with a reduced level of repression, as desire requires expression and relaxation. In the development of Freudian libido concept, over time, libido came to encompass the entire energy of pleasure, love, survival instinct, and willpower.
In psychoanalysis, libido consistently exhibits masculine traits and revolves around the concept of the penis. One can observe a differentiation between the terms penis and phallus, where the former denotes the male organ in its physical reality, while the latter emphasises its symbolic significance. The emphasis on phallus is a reference to prehistoric and ancient representations of the male organ in the form of an erect penis, which played an important role in initiation rituals and ceremonies. Such an archetypal phallus symbolised power, potency, fertility, supernatural masculinity, rebirth, strength, and the luminous principle. The force of life was concentrated within it.
This magical and aesthetic pagan understanding of male genitalia, fortunately, resurfaces in contemporary culture and finds its legacy in the erotic glass art of Grzegorz Bibro. Particularly noteworthy is the artist’s usage of blown embodiments of masculinity and its metamorphoses, employing forms that evoke both the softness and flexibility of the penis and the hardness of the phallus.
In pagan iconography, the phallus symbolised fertility and the creative, regenerative forces of nature. In Egyptian, Greek, and Roman art, there are numerous phallic objects, figures, and monuments. The phallus served as a protective symbol, warding off evil forces and bringing luck, hence it adorned vessels, furniture, jewellery, and amulets. It was part of the decorative art repertoire just like glass objects. In ancient art, we can refer to the phallus cult. Abstract sculptures depicting testicles and the phallus (penis in erection) were placed in ritualistic locations as objects of worship. An example is the phallic altar of Dionysus in Delos or herms – pillars with male heads and genitals, placed at entrances to homes to bring good fortune.
In his quest for novel and positive depictions of the male body and sexuality, the artist draws inspiration from ancient symbolic forms known for their positive connotations. Through his choice of aesthetics and materials, he endeavours to eliminate the negative associations typically linked with male genitalia. These sculptures exude sensuality and, in their homoeroticism, treat masculinity as pleasure, even ecstasy. However, beneath the surface, there is a deeper layer associated with destructive aspects, particularly considering that these glass sculptures can be easily damaged or shattered into pieces. Therefore, they are highly fragile objects, with a delicate sensuality, almost decoratively feminine. They propose, despite the patriarchal cult of male genitalia, an alternative version of masculinity. I also perceive them as therapeutic libidinal centres of eroticism radiating with a luminous force and energy of positive and creative sexuality, so essential to balance the death drive in the world around us and within us.
Bibliography
Freud, S., Three Essays on the Theory of Sexuality, 1905, in: Freud, Sexuality, Publisher KR, Warsaw 2010
Friedman, D., A Mind of its Own. A Cultural History of the Penis, Publisher Muza, Warsaw 2001.
Laplanche, J., Pontalis, J.B., Dictionary of Psychoanalysis, translated by Modzelewska E., Wojciechowska E., Publisher Szkolne i Pedagogiczne, Warsaw 1996.
Walters M., The Nude Male. A New Perspective, Penguin Books, New York 1978.
Webb P., The Erotic Arts, Farrar Straus Giroux, New York 1983.
