Dear Contemporary Jewellery …

Zoe Brand writes a regular column ‘Brandlandia’ for a NZ jewellers newsletter ‘Overview’.

In this issue she wrote a love letter to Contemporary Jewellery (CJ):

“I’ve been thinking lately, what is this thing that has become my life. I wanted to write it a quick note just to let it know how much it means to me. I though a love letter would be a lovely vehicle in which to express freely and informally my relationship with it, or what I more affectionately call it: CJ (aka contemporary jewellery).

Dearest CJ
Thanks for being the reason I jump out of bed in the morning!
Thanks for being the reason that I look for the edge and want to push past it.
Thanks for being the reason that I have so many BFF’s!
Thanks for being the reason I am I hardly content by just ‘pretty’ things.
Thanks for being the reason I am, who I am.
So much love, now and forever
ZB“

As she writes, she also “asked some of my good friends to drop a line to their lovers.“

This was my love letter … it took less than a minute to write and I was genuinely surprised by the content.

Dearest Contemporary Jewellery
You know of the deep admiration I hold for you.
In your rare quieter guise, I adore and relate to you.
I want to hold you close, be near you, be reflected in you.
But your wilder side is bewildering to me.
I wish I could like it more.
I wish I could be like it more.
I have tried. I am yet to succeed.
Can I not be brought into the fold until I am more like you?
Your uncertain lover
MelbourneJeweller

For more love letters see the latest ‘Overview’ newsletter #12.

Thoughts on ‘contemporary jewellery’

‘What is contemporary jewellery?’. It’s a question that’s been bothering me for years and years. Many writers have considered the same topic, though I’m more interested in why I would use the term ‘contemporary jewellery’ and how I would consider defining it for my own use.

Using my recent visit to ‘Unexpected Pleasures‘ at the NGV, I’ve been giving it more thought.

Unfortunately I don’t have a cogent theory to offer, just a few thoughts. I have done no reading on the topic – as I find that in reading other people’s thoughts my own thoughts can easily get lost. I wanted to find my own expression and ideas before engaging with the thoughts of others on this topic.

So, I’ve been thinking that makers may use the term ‘contemporary jewellery‘ to:

• differentiate from ‘high street’ jewellery – the mass-produced kind; and of course to differentiate from jewellery made in previous eras (vintage or antique etc), as the root of the word ‘contemporary‘ means of ‘the present time’
• indicate a degree of critical engagement in the ideation and making process;
• (often) suggest that there is a complex conceptual context for the work that may be sensed but not always fully understood upon superficial view;
• identify as an individual maker, not a ‘brand’; perhaps even to identify as more of an ‘artist’ than jewellers are usually perceived as
• permit a kind of freedom in, or perhaps justify, the use of all manner of materials;
• separate from the … erm, how to delicately put this … jewellery made with minimal skill-sets;
• separate from traditional, perhaps ‘conservative’, goldsmithing; though of course the majority of makers acknowledge their place in the historic lineage (and mine that tradition for resources and ideas).

Many makers of ‘contemporary’ jewellery like to challenge established conventions in jewellery – in terms of wearability (consider Lisa Walker), materials (I especially remember a ‘ring’ made of bread and jam) and ugliness (consider Karl Fritsch).

This is where I think my view of what I do differs from the hard-line (if I may use that term?) contemporary world. While I don’t devalue the place of this kind of making, I find I rarely connect or understand those kinds of pieces. Such differences are utterly essential in a vital making community. And I think I’d like to be part of a different stream of contemporary jewellery.

I’ve noticed those in the ‘challenging’ stream sometimes demean makers who choose to work more ‘conservatively’ … I’ve seen many a sneer at some of the less outrageous jewellers’ work. This is a shame – there is more than enough room for all of our approaches!

I feel like I’m at makers anonymous (MakeAnon???) … Hi, my name is Karen. I like to make jewellery. I like to make objects. I like to get crafty with traditional ‘women’s work’ (embroidery, knitting, crochet). While I appreciate crazy pieces, I make contemporary jewellery which is of a more restrained quiet nature. I prefer classic influences. I am not a fan of realistic figurative representation. …. I could go on….

What would you add to the list of ‘contemporary jewellery’ above?

Thoughts for ‘Final Frontier’

Recently I wrote about an opportunity to be part of an upcoming exhibition ‘Final Frontier‘. So many ideas played around in my mind about what I could make for such a show … there were so many science fiction movies to be inspired by…

The first idea, which was immediate upon reading the brief, was to make a piece inspired by movie ‘Code 46‘. This is more a speculative kind of science fiction, not so much with the crazy graphics and special effects etc.

In this future world, most people have no knowledge of their biological parents. To avoid genetically-related individuals creating unhealthy babies together, couples wanting to marry or engage in reproductive sex need to be tested. The text at the start of the film explains it as follows:

“code 46
article 1

any human being who shares the same nuclear gene set as another human being is deemed to be genetically identical.
the relationship of one are the relations of all.

due to IVF, DI embryo splitting and cloning techniques it is necessary to prevent any accidental or deliberate genetically incestuous reproduction.

therefore:

i. all prospective parents should be genetically screened before conception. if they have 100%, 50% or 25% genetic identity, they are not permitted to conceive

ii. if the pregnancy is unplanned, the foetus must be screened, any pregnancy resulting from 100%, 50%, or 25% genetically related parents must be terminated immediately

iii. if the parents were ignorant of their genetic relationship then medical intervention is authorised to prevent any further breach of code 46 “

I thought of making a portable kind of self-identifier containing the specific DNA information that could be compared to another’s to test the degree of genetic relation. The obvious shape is that of the double-helix for the DNA … the below image is taken from the film:

from film 'Code 46'; at 59m50s

Naturally I had ideas of including a thin panel of my woven paper and fine silver … somewhere, somehow … and that it would be ideal as a long pendant.

I had lots of ideas … but they just didn’t want to chrystallise. I think was got in the way was that I really wanted to understand the DNA structure accurately, and in trying to research it online I found the text wasn’t really ‘for dummies’; so I felt I had components of understanding, but found it hard to put it all together into a cohesive picture. Therefore, couldn’t feel I had the design ‘right’.

Other films that also came to mind were: Gattaca, Aeon Flux, Metropolis, the original Tron … and even some of the old-school Star Trek; my friend suggested Blade Runner (which I’m sure I’ve seen but cannot remember, so it’s now on the ‘to-watch’ list).

What is your favourite science fiction film and what would you make to reference it?? It’s cool thought-play for a lazy few hours…

Show me the dates Melbourne Museum!

In putting together the next calendar post (for May 2011) I went looking for the dates of the Tutankhamun exhibition, the ‘blockbuster’ at the Melbourne Museum.

Well, here is a lesson in how NOT to provide the public with information about your exhibition – don’t bother putting the exhibition dates clearly anywhere on your websites/pages.

The opening month of April is relatively clear (some pages even clarify it was the 8th April 2011), but the closing dates were elusive.

• no dates are on the Melbourne Museum home page
• no dates are on the Melbourne Museum current exhibition page
• no dates are on the Melbourne Museum Tutankhamun exhibition page – though helpfully it says ‘now showing’
• no dates are on the home page of the dedicated King Tutankhamun website it sends you to in order to buy tickets
• I couldn’t find any dates on any of the pages on this website

I had to do an internet search to find the dates, and ended up getting the information from the National Geographic site. Update (25th April): ie. 6th November 2011.

Why on earth make it so damn hard!?

I can be generous and agree with my friend’s suggestion that it may be due to organisers keeping the end date reasonably flexible in case more demand requires the exhibition to be open for longer (or make it financially feasible to offer more time).

Though the sceptic in me would perhaps suggest it is to create an uncertainty about the end date, so people feel they need to buy tickets now (ie. more money).

It reminds me of a good article I read in a newspaper a few weeks ago about the ‘blockbuster’: “Big Bucks and the Boy King” – makes for interesting reading and critical thinking and wondering what may be settled for an ‘art exhibition’ in the near future.
——–

Update (19th April, 9pm AEST): I’ve checked all the pages linked to in my story, and there is still no end dates; and unfortunately the comments left on the exhibition page indicate that a proportion of visitors are walking away quite disappointed
——–

Update (25th April, 10pm AEST): the only reference I could see to an end date on the exhibition page were the following replies by museum staff to general public queries:

• “Tickets are being sold in two separate lots. The first one is for tickets from 8 April to July 17. The second one will be for tickets from July 18 to November.“
• “it is anticipated that the exhibition will be at Melbourne Museum until November 2011“

I’ve even checked out their Facebook page and the end-date on the exhibition ‘event’ there is actually 10th July 2011 – not right at all!

The more I think of this, the less I’m convinced the non-disclosure of an end-date is nothing but deliberate to accelerate ticket sales. There is no way an exhibition of this nature and size would, for the sheer matter of logistics and insurance, NOT have an end date already determined. Then why not publicise it?
——-

Update (29th September): now I’m not sure when this happened, but while I was tinkering around I have since found that the exhibition is now open until 4th December 2011. Also, I’ve since found that the National Geographic site I refer to above no longer exists – weird?

——

Lucky Charm: Contemporary Jewellery Fundraiser for Red Cross

Yesterday I received a number of emails from a number of friends of mine in the jewellery community, and thought the information was important to pass on.

Call for artists

Published with permission, and originally written by, Natalia Milosz-Piekarska.

“I am reaching out to the contemporary jewellery community far and wide to take part and help raise much needed funds for the Red Cross Disaster Relief and Rescue services.

I’m hoping to generate quite a bit of interest from the public and press and ultimately raise some much needed funds with this event, but the most important ingredient is YOU!

… I only have a short time frame in which to launch and realise this project, so if you think you’re able and willing to get on board, please get back to me as soon as you can.

Also, please pass this on to any one that you think would be happy and willing to participate … as a community network, this can spread quickly and effectively.“

I have extracted and combined details from Natalia’s letters below. Should you wish any further detailed information (and I encourage you to do so) please contact Natalia by email.

“I am writing to you as I am initiating a Disaster Relief fundraiser in response to the devastating number of natural disasters that have taken place over the last couple of months …..

I have decided to organise a Contemporary Jewellery Online Auction to raise much needed funds for the Red Cross Disaster Relief and Recovery Fund.

The online auction will go under the title: Lucky Charm. Make Good Fortune Happen …..

I’m reaching out to you, the artists, to band together, as a community and become a force of good nature …..

I am calling out to all makers who are willing and able, to donate 1 piece of their work for the auction. The works can be of any format, material, shape or size. It does not have to be a new piece, though feel free to make something specific for this project if you feel inspired to do so.

If you are willing and ready to take part, this is what I need you to do to make good fortune happen:

• Donate 1 piece of your work (but please hold onto it until the auction is finished, your donation also includes your very generous willingness to post the piece to the winning bidder).
• Photograph your piece and email me the image in a JPG format.
• Write a brief description of the work including title (if there is one), materials, size, and anything else you’d like to add (especially a few lines about yourself and website links). Email this to me together with your image.

Dates:

• 28th March 2011: all donated works must be photographed and emailed to me – yes, sorry, I know, tight deadline, but I know you can do it!!
• auction finish date yet to be finalised, but looking at dates between 18th – 22nd April 2011

Email: luckycharmfundraiser[at]gmail.com
“

Get on board – make a difference.
And I love Natalia’s use of the phrase ‘become a force good nature’!

Update (22nd March): Flightless Boyds blog has linked to this post, along with some other craft-driven responses to the Japan disaster – thank you!! I hope this initiative really picks up some fabulous initiative…

On collections

As I wrote in a recent post on the NGV, I have been thinking about the place of collections and museums/galleries. I’ve been thinking of how many places have jewellery (contemporary or otherwise) collections in Melbourne and which of these are available for public viewing (either by physical admission or appointment, or online/virtually). The list I’ve made so far is below, but I’d really appreciate any additions you have so please feel free to leave comments.

> Public collections

• National Gallery Victoria (NGV) International and Ian Potter Centre; government (ie. tax-payer) owned institution; selection from jewellery collections from various curatorial departments on open (free admission) display; selected items sometimes incorporated in special exhibitions (eg. Fashion in time of Jane Austen)
• Melbourne Museum; government (ie. tax-payer) owned institution; while not charged with a remit to collect contemporary jewellery, my reading of their website is that this institution holds a significant collection of indigenous cultures, and it could be expected that this would include artefacts of body adornment
• I thought that the following public museums may have some jewellery, but I couldn’t find any reference to such on their website (and haven’t seen any in my personal visits), so for now assume they do not hold any: Old Treasury Building / Gold Treasury Museum, Australian Centre for Contemporary Art, Heide Museum of Modern Art
• perhaps local councils (eg. City of Melbourne Art and Heritage Collection) and regional/local art galleries – are there any that have a jewellery focus?
• Monash University Museum Gallery; though I cannot tell if this has any from the collection page the extent of any jewellery collection – can anyone tell me?
• Craft Australia (though not strictly Melbourne-based) has a collection of images available online (and are seeking donations to continue this work); my understanding is that the organisation has ownership of the images (not the original objects), and it belongs in this discussion because access to artwork may be extended from the physical access to virtual/online access too.

> Acquisitive Awards

• RMIT: Gold & Silversmithing students are eligible for a number of awards during the undergraduate and postgraduate degrees (2009 listing here; 2007 here), the below ones are acquisitive and therefore the pieces awarded must exist somewhere in a collection… do these collections all form part of the RMIT University Art Collection? Other than the W.E.McMillan collection, has anyone ever seen any exhibitions of these collections?

  > W.E.McMillan Collection, part of the RMIT University Art Collection (the responsibility of the RMIT Gallery); a collection built up from (usually annual) acquisitive awards for current RMIT students, dating back to 1961; there was an exhibition of selected works in 2008 [link]; although when I search the RMIT website for this award, it seems that it is no longer offered/current

  > Don Begbie acquisitive award for excellence in gold and silversmithing

  > Klepners award for limited series jewellery

  > Kathlyn (Kate) Harris fashion jewellery award

  > Ernst Fries silversmithing award in second yea

  > Wolf Wennrich award for gold and silversmithing (he taught at the Gold and Silversmithing Department at RMIT from 1963 until the 1980′s

  > Emily Hope Prize for figurative work

  > further, there are postgraduate prized offered by Diana Morgan and Ronnie Bauer (owner of Klepners) – though I am unsure if these are acquisitive

  > prizes I understand not to be acquisitive are those offered by Koodak and Debbie Sheezel; there is a new prize offered by Maggie Fairweather and I am unsure if it acquires or not

• Other degree acquisitions: I had a look online and couldn’t find that NMIT or Monash or Box Hill have acquisitive awards, but perhaps there are some but just not detailed on the interwebs – please let me know if you know of any.
• Acquisitive Awards: I would include BUDA and Toowoomba Contemporary Wearables (cared for by the Toowoomba Regional Art Gallery) among these types of non-university acquisitive awards, and I am sure there are many. Are there any based in Melbourne? Perhaps Gallery Funaki has commenced a collection based on the 2008 and 2006 International Award; are there any others?

> Private Collections

• Private individuals: there are a handful of Melbourne-based jewellery lovers who I would certainly define as collectors (think Diana Morgan, perhaps Lee Lin Chin) … I have been thinking about interviewing or at least having an informal discussion with some of these lovers of contemporary jewellery, and would welcome suggestions on who may fit this description – please do leave a comment or email me! What happens to their collections, have any considered exhibiting?
• Corporations: while large private corporations have a history of collecting artworks, these do tend to be ‘traditional’ in that they are usually two-dimensional works for hanging in offices and board rooms (paintings, drawings, prints, tapestries) and sculpture; I would be very surprised if any corporate collections extend to jewellery, though perhaps some to have objects created by jewellers/metalsmiths?

> Retail spaces / Galleries: while not strictly ‘collections’, retail spaces and galleries could certainly be considered a place for makers and interested people to see a survey of jewellery tastes and techniques (see my ‘Links’ page for links to retail galleries and spaces), however for the purposes of this kind of discussion, I don’t really consider them ‘collections’.

…

While looking for potential holders of collections, I found the Collections Australia Network, which lists various collecting bodies. It is certainly a very long list, and I have yet to wade my way through it to discover any that may add to the above discussion.

So, what’s the point of all of the above? After researching and writing it, I can see three things I’d like to explore further and seek general opinion on:

• a list of all public institutions with collections of jewellery (contemporary or historic) in Melbourne; with the hope to extend this to a national listing at a future point
• to ask/answer the questions: what can be done to make significant acquisition and private jewellery collections come into the public domain? perhaps even a kind of restricted access, like an online catalogue or an exhibition every few years? [I'd especially like to understand more about the extent, conservation and exhibition of the RMIT collections]
• to connect with a private collector(s) who would like to share their story about collecting works and what they hope will happen with their collection in the future.

What are your thoughts?

Visit to NGV International

The post has been months in the making, as I have been delayed on writing it due to other exhibitions and holidays and other such distractions. In March this year I visited the National Gallery of Victoria (NGV) International stores of contemporary jewellery with curator Amanda Dunsmore.

The store cupboard of contemporary jewellery at the NGV is not large, but as expected tidy and well organised. The cabinet has its own lighting and is usually kept dark as the materials of some pieces are sensitive (eg. paper).

the stores of contemporary jewellery at the NGV International; photograph taken and published with permission

Amanda was very generous with her time, and patient in answering my many questions about collecting and the collection.

In the year I’ve been writing this blog the contemporary jewellery display at the NGV(I) has only changed once (though I admit I haven’t had a chance to go back since March). I have always found the slow turnover disappointing, however I do understand that the NGV has many collections and future exhibitions that require the attention of curators too. After speaking with Amanda I understood this more.

In the lead up to the visit, I had been searching the NGV online catalogue, and while it does not hold the complete collection of contemporary jewellery works, it showed a handful of these (only some included photographs).

What I did find interesting as I went through the online catalogue and looked at the labels of the collection cabinet is that many of the pieces were collected in ‘peaks’ of attention to jewellery (I was going to call them ‘binges’ but that didn’t really sound right!). It looks like 2005 was a busy year for purchasing and presentations through the NGV Foundation (most by John McPhee), and I remember at the time thinking a period during the 70s or 80s was also a good time for the jewellery collection.

Also interesting is that there are not many pieces gifted to the gallery by bequest. What happens to the collections of contemporary jewellery lovers? I’ve given this some thought myself recently as I was updating my will (something I do every five years or so, the responsible grown-up that I am!). My collection is admittedly little and the artists within it are not yet held in such collections – but in time they may be … what could I do with the collection? Other than national galleries (NGV, NG, etc) what other publicly accessible collections exist that could make the pieces available to others to see? Would they want my little group? Questions perhaps for another time…

Anyway, I plan is to visit the NGV(I) again soon (it’s been a long time indeed), and also to hopefully visit the stores of the Australian collection in the near future.