TOMMY CHONG ROLLS INTO 1PERCENT NYC FOR "HIGH" CLASS

1percent is not your average art gallery! They are currently hosting an event titled The Nor’Easter, a collection of hand blown glass water pipes by artists from Virginia to Vermont.

On Wednesday they held an invitation only event with Tommy Chong. Yes, Tommy Chong of Cheech & Chong. He started the day with a joint rolling class where he personally taught you how to roll a Futurola King size joint. He later held an interview about his collaboration with the Dutch rolling company, Futurola. I overheard one of the blowers in attendance that meeting Chong was like meeting Jesus. “He went to jail so I could blow glass.”

In the gallery, Brandon from 1percent gave me an educational tour of all the beautiful pieces. However, beauty comes with a price. Pieces range from just under $1,000 to over $10,000. Most of the artists in the exhibit have at least ten years of glass blowing experience. The techniques they use to achieve such detail, from enclosing humanlike figures within a ball to sandblasting detailed images onto the glass, are sometimes kept quiet. One of the pieces even contained a molecular model of the origin of creativity. Another piece was inspired by the South Park episode titled “Major Boobage,” where Kenny becomes addicted to a hallucinogenic craze called “Cheesing.” Despite the price tag, Brandon tells me that most customers actually use their pipes.

The exhibit is located at 1percent NYC, 143 Ludlow St and runs until January 31^st. For more information see their website.

Article by Michael DiGiovanni