Different Tempers Catalog Preview
Transcription
Different Tempers Catalog Preview
DIFFERENT TEMPERS Jewelry Blacksmithing & DIFFERENT TEMPERS Jewelry Blacksmithing & Guest Curator Suzanne Ramljak Jewelers Melanie Bilenker Lola Brooks Pat Flynn Sergey Jivetin Mary Preston Sondra Sherman Natasha Wozniak Blacksmiths David Clemons Maegan Crowley Lu Heintz Tom Joyce Brent Kington Marc Maiorana Albert Paley A N E X H I B I T I O N O F T H E C E N T E R F O R C R A F T, C R E A T I V I T Y & D E S I G N DIFFERENT TEMPERS Jewelry Blacksmithing & The Art of Controlling One’s Temper 4 Suzanne Ramljak EXHIBITION Dates & Locations Sept. 1–Dec. 11, 2009 Center for Craft, Creativity & Design 1181 Broyles Road Henderosnville, NC 28791 www.craftcreativitydesign.org Jan. 15–March 31, 2010 National Ornamental Metal Museum 374 Metal Museum Drive Memphis, TN 38106 www.metalmuseum.org Front: Albert Paley, Forged Andiron, 2004 forged steel, 28 x 36 x 24" Natasha Wozniak, Baroque Wrought Cuff 1, 2008 blackened silver, 3 x 2 1/2 x 2 1/4" border detail: Pat Flynn Corrugated Bracelet, 2009 iron, 22k, 18k gold 2 Different Tempers Artist Portfolio 10 Jewelers Melanie Bilenker Lola Brooks Pat Flynn Sergey Jivetin Mary Preston Sondra Sherman Natasha Wozniak Blacksmiths David Clemons Maegan Crowley Lu Heintz Tom Joyce Brent Kington Marc Maiorana Albert Paley Exhibition Checklist 38 Jewelry & Blacksmithing 3 The Art of Controlling One’s Temper by Suzanne Ramljak T Just as George Bernard Shaw quipped that England and America “are two countries separated by the same language,” jewelers and blacksmiths can seem like distant cousins. he concept of temper is rich in Tempers: Jewelry & Blacksmithing cousins. By comparing these two point; and can be combined with In working hot metal, tools are association, both psychological explores the relationship between metalsmithing realms, we can come other elements to form alloys. Not needed to mediate between hands and physical. Temper understood artistic temperament and material to discern their different dialects to mention its Herculean strength, and molten matter. The taffy-like as an emotional state is expressed qualities; the ways in which one’s within a shared formal language. which allows it to endure for flexibility of warm metal stands in terms such as “temperamental,” passion is articulated through the in contrast to the material’s stiff features has proved irresistible to solidity when cool. Once the metal “quick tempered,” and “temper shaping of metal. This exhibition tantrum.” Temper can also convey a also offers an ode to the creative comparison is the common use of the artists showcased here, and their ceases to smolder and yield to the material condition; clay, chocolate, bounty of this versatile medium, metal. Materials do have a large say works fully indulge metal’s latent artist’s will, it assumes a stubborn glass and metal are all tempered to and the artists’ quotes within this in the creative process, shaping a potential. stance, responding only to brute harden or soften them. In addition, catalogue provide a chorus of praise work’s final outcome. Not all metal the term can mean to qualify, to metal’s glory. is equal, however, and each has its Along with a common material, ton of folded and forged industrial own temperament and demands. these metalsmiths also share an iron—embodies the dense fortitude of a formerly submissive mass. accommodate, govern, or sooth. force. Tom Joyce’s Bloom I—a half Tellingly, the words “temper” and While the fourteen artists featured In addition to these physical traits, essential tool: the hammer. Indeed, “temperament” share the Latin root here all enlist the same material, each metal carries a symbolic charge: the “smith” in blacksmith and tempus, meaning time or season. In they approach it with varied from the preciousness of gold, to goldsmith comes from smite, to hit This dynamic of yield and resist the broadest sense, temper is related traditions and skills. Although the industry of steel. Even before or strike. All smiths are strikers, and is especially pronounced within to various time-based processes or jewelry and blacksmithing are both a hammer is struck, the material while they employ other tools and forging, and has seduced many a to the compositional history of a grounded in metal, there remains begins to speak. procedures, hammering remains a budding blacksmith. Blacksmiths person or substance. a curious gulf between the two central activity. are able to capture metal’s fields. Just as George Bernard Shaw 4 Different Tempers centuries. This winning blend of A natural starting point for such a Within this exhibition, the notion quipped that England and America of temper pertains to both the “are two countries separated by disposition of artists and the the same language,” jewelers and property of metals. Indeed, Different blacksmiths can seem like distant Such variations notwithstanding, all metals share some basic traits. Blacksmithing is the art of shaping As a raw substance, metal can the so-called “black” metals, iron boast remarkable properties: it is and steel. Fire is crucial to the malleable; ductile; conducts heat blacksmith’s practice, allowing metal and electricity; has a high melting to be heated to a pliable softness. metamorphosis from cold to hot to cold again, capturing a gesture in iron or steel. Albert Paley’s forged work derives much drama from freezing the liquidity of hot Jewelry & Blacksmithing 5 metal. “The form vocabulary Unlike blacksmithing’s fiery court- means. In many respects, form Jewelry’s direct physicality gives it trading gold jewelry for iron replicas within blacksmithing is primarily ship of metal, the smithing of gold follows function within these works. a unique ability to combine the to fund the war against Napoleon. in reference to the hot working and silver involves working the Jewelry performs a number of roles: intimate and public domains. Several examples in Different Tempers of metal,” says Paley. “In this material cold. In contrast to iron or it can serve as a marker of social “Jewelry exists in private, personal showcase the potential of steel and context the organic development steel, gold and silver are soft, with status or wealth; a sentimental space, but interacts with public forging for bodily embellishment, of the form is most pronounced.” gold being the most malleable and keepsake; or a form of self- space,” says jeweler Mary Preston, including those by Pat Flynn, Accordingly, his work preserves the ductile of all metals. This more expression. Regardless of personal making it “more complex and Lola Brooks, Lu Heintz, Sondra supple curves of the metal’s warm compliant metal is amenable to value or social import, all jewelry layered in the way it is perceived.” Sherman, and Brent Kington. past, as in the sinuous tendrils of handling without heat, allowing for relates to the human body, which is As such, jewelry can be an emissary his Andirons. This same pleasure in direct manipulation. Jeweler Lola its real or implicit theater of action. of personal content into social Black metal’s prime virtue, its heated metal’s cursive line is found Brooks remarks: “Stainless steel is a Jeweler Sondra Sherman clearly sectors. This public intimacy endurance and fortitude, lends in Marc Maiorana’s Settle, a looping thick-skinned and willful participant. states this case: “The key distinctive is found in Melanie Bilenker’s itself best to other purposes. More steel strand poised despite gravity’s Gold on the other hand, is a far characteristic of jewelry is the actual brooches, like Button, which commonly, blacksmithing results in pull. Likewise, Megan Crowley’s more obedient partner.” Gold also or implied context of the body or render the artist’s memories in her architectural enhancements—gates, steel Tacitocypriose highlights the has the advantage of being resistant wearer.” Sherman’s bracelet Skin: own hair. railings, knockers, and locks— medium’s soft-hard nature and to tarnish and rust. This softness, Arm, which sports a magnifying lens the tension between botany and radiance, and relative purity make instead of gems, literally foregrounds The main function of the black- As blacksmith Marc Maiorana geometry. “Metal allows me to gold well suited for the role of bodily the body’s surface as the prime site smith’s art is rarely to adorn the relays, “Used for its strength, and preserve something ephemeral, adornment. of jewelry. As a resident on the human form, although there are formed extensively because of its human form, jewelry must adjust its exceptions, both historical and malleability, steel serves communally something understood as soft or rather than human adornment. delicate and translate it into a It is important to acknowledge weight and contours to fit its living current. Iron used for jewelry has a as it has for ages in the field, rigid, lasting example of botanical the function of objects produced host. precedent in Berlin Iron Work of kitchen, and in architecture.” gesture,” Crowley states. by these two practices; we must the nineteenth century, when the consider the ends as well as the German government sponsored 6 Different Tempers Blacksmiths are able to capture metal’s metamorphosis from cold to hot to cold again, stilling a gesture in iron or steel. Jewelry & Blacksmithing 7 Regardless of personal value or social import, all jewelry relates to the human body, which is its real or implicit theater of action. All of the blacksmiths exhibited Metalsmith Brent Kington, who Taken together, blacksmithing Natasha Wozniak’s massive Wrought metalsmiths have learned to here, while showing smaller pieces has produced jewelry along with and jewelry embody a number of Cuff, and Sergey Jivetin’s Forged empathize with their material’s for practical reasons, have also his celebrated large-scale work, cites dichotomies: hot/cold, dark/bright, Graph Necklace. temperament. They have discerned created architectural-scale projects. metallurgist Cyril Stanley Smith hard/soft, heavy/light; strong/ And blacksmithing’s role in the on the unrivaled importance of the pliant. While some works on view culinary sphere is eloquently steel worker’s craft. “It is steel that clearly revel in properties from one about expression. The metaphor achieve their aims. And regardless of differences, they are joined in a Different Tempers along with the tools that can best represented by David Clemmons’ releases the sculptor’s vision from side of the divide, a number of of language, introduced earlier by Chitlin Service tools. imprisonment in marble and wood,” artists enjoy playing against script, George Bernard Shaw, proves apt. common goal: to create engaging writes Smith. “It is steel that shapes mixing and matching traits from Like any language, metalsmithing objects that temper our lives with silver and gold. Indeed, as the Italian across the continuum. Indeed, entails vocabulary, dialect, and meaning and delight. When these seven blacksmiths were 8 its capacity and expressive range, Ultimately this work, like all art, is asked to name the defining feature metallurgist Vannoccio Biringuccio many of these objects were chosen inflection. While each artist brings of their discipline, they repeatedly remarked in his famous 16th-century to reveal the crossover between the a different vocabulary to the named tool making as primary. treatise on metalworking: ‘Were two practices. “What attracts me to communicative act—whether that “Blacksmithing is an art form that it not for the lesser nobility of the my work is the dichotomy that exists of forging, goldsmithing, sculpture, has a unique relationship between material, I would say that the smith between materials and processes,” architecture, or ornament—all of the product and the tooling,” working in iron should rightly take says jeweler Pat Flynn; “the wildness the artists within Different Tempers affirms blacksmith Lu Heintz. “The precedence over the goldsmith of forging juxtaposed with elegant reveal themselves to be highly medium allows you to make the because of the great benefits that he goldsmithing techniques.” Several articulate. tools that manipulate the medium.… brings to mankind.’” Biringuccio’s other artists here enjoy the same beginning a self-generating system.” acclaim for blacksmiths also blending of techniques and formats, This ability to produce tools addresses the historical gap in expanding formal means to better that in turn create other objects status between goldsmiths and relay their vision. This straddling of distinguishes blacksmithing and, for blacksmiths, with the latter usually genres is found in such works as Lu some, even signals its superiority. ranked below. Heintz’s forged Diamond Bracelet, Suzanne Ramljak, a writer, curator and art historian, is currently editor of Metalsmith magazine. The process of articulating metal—of making it speak—requires an understanding of the medium’s behavior. Along with considerable skill and formal vocabulary, these Jewelry & Blacksmithing 9 MELANIE BILENKER Philadelphia, Pennsylvania “The metal I most often use is gold, and the historic and cultural associations with gold and value cannot be ignored. Though a small part of the overall piece, gold seems like an appropriate material to further the idea of preciousness in my work.” Button, 2007 18k gold, silver, ebony, resin, pigment, hair 1 3/4 x 1 1/2 x 3/8" Collection of Gabriella Kiss 10 Different Tempers Telephone, 2007 18k gold, silver, ebony, resin, pigment, hair 2 5/8 x 2 1/8 x 3/8" Jewelry & Blacksmithing 11 LOLA BROOKS New York, New York “Stainless steel is a thick-skinned and willful participant, and I willingly engage in the argument that often occurs between us when I am attempting to make some crazy intricate thing. Gold on the other hand, is a far more obedient partner, a place to which I retreat when I am battered and frustrated and in need of respite.” Brooch, 2005 Brooch, 2004 stainless steel, 18k gold 1 1/4 x 1 1/2 x 1 1/2" 12 Different Tempers stainless steel, 18k gold 2 3/4 x 2 3/4 x 1/4" Jewelry & Blacksmithing 13 PAT FLYNN High Falls, New York “One property that metal has, especially iron and steel, is how malleable it is when hot, and I can explore various texture opportunities. Often I will start a piece borrowing blacksmithing techniques, working the metal hot, and then transitioning to jewelry techniques, working the metal cold.” Corrugated Bracelet, 2009 iron, 22k and 18k gold 1 1/2 x 2 3/4 x 2 3/4" Photo: Hap Sakwa Neckpiece, 2008 iron, 18k gold, diamond diameter 6 1/2" 14 Different Tempers Jewelry & Blacksmithing 15 SERGEY JIVETIN New Paltz, New York “I still love the fact that pretty much anything can be skillfully and artistically made out of precious metals, but realized that there was a certain type of baggage that would always be there.… So I decided to work with found metals, or metal objects that have already been made for a purpose in our society, be that syringe needles, saw-blades, or watch hands.” Forged Graph Necklace, 2007 Retrofitted (Russian filigree brooch), 2007 jewelers saw blades, vintage brooch 2 x 3 1/4" 16 Different Tempers jewelers saw blades 16 x 8 x 1/32" Jewelry & Blacksmithing 17 MARY PRESTON Mamaroneck, New York “Although metal is not necessarily forgiving like clay or fabric, metal can be worked with so many ways that it is possible to approach it both methodically, following a plan from start to finish, or more reactively…The methodical aspects help my work progress, and the reactive aspects lead me toward invention.” Crowned Picot Brooch, 2006 18k gold, early plastic 3 1/2 x 2 1/4 x 1/4" Iridescent Lace Brooch, 2005 18k gold, shells 2 1/4 x 2 1/4 x 1/4" 18 Different Tempers Jewelry & Blacksmithing 19 SONDRA SHERMAN San Diego, California “The versatility and durability of forms created in metal are the properties that interest me. Through various processes the form language available in metal is eloquent and extensive. It can attain hard-edged geometric forms, fluid organic volumes, and complex linear structures, which may even appear delicate but endure over time.” Skin: Arm (bracelet), 2000 sterling silver, optical lens 2 1/4 x 3 x 1 1/2" Corsage: Skullcap, 2009 steel, nail polish 3 3/4 x 3 3/4 x 1 1/4" 20 Different Tempers Jewelry & Blacksmithing 21 NATASHA WOZNIAK Brooklyn, New York “A certain amount of physical strength is needed for some of the processes, such as the bending and forging, while at the same time, an assured delicacy is needed to keep the metal from being overworked. There is a satisfaction that comes from the weight of the material in the hands, and in the way that it holds shape while having flexibility.” Brocade Panel Pendant, 2007 blackened silver and 18k gold 1 3/4 x 1 3/8 x 1/4" Baroque Wrought Cuff 1, 2008 blackened silver 3 x 2 1/2 x 2 1/4" 22 Different Tempers Jewelry & Blacksmithing 23 DAVID CLEMONS Little Rock, Arkansas “When I first began working with metal I was immediately seduced by the physicality of the processes used in its manipulation. Smithing, ferrous or nonferrous, is truly a process of metamorphosis….Frustrating at times, but more often incredibly accommodating, the material is supple, responsive and simultaneously rigid and permanent.” Chitlin Service (tools), 2005 sterling silver, mild steel, pewter, hickory, wood length 13" 24 Different Tempers The Trees We Construct to Conceal our Strange Fruit, 2007 mild steel, sterling silver, fine silver 13 x 8" Arkansas Art Center Foundation Collection Jewelry & Blacksmithing 25 MEAGAN CROWLEY Dolores, Colorado “Metal has fascinating qualities, it can be soft and pliable yet in a different state rigid and strong. The inspiration for my sculpture comes from examining plant growth. Metal allows me to preserve something ephemeral, something understood as soft or delicate and translate it into a rigid, lasting example of botanical gesture.” Bi-Sect, 2009 forged and fabricated steel 12 x 12 x 12" Photo: Dale Anderson Tacitocypriose, 2009 forged and fabricated steel 40 x 28 x 8" 26 Different Tempers Jewelry & Blacksmithing 27 LU HEINTZ Germantown, New York “Metal stays in a constant state until change is forced upon it… I use scrap metal in a way that transforms it entirely, extricating it from its industrial past. The material experiences a transcendence, becoming fine art, entering the world conjured and braced by the imagination.” Diamond Bracelet, 2006 forged mild steel 3 1/2 x 4 x 1 1/2" 28 Different Tempers Cloud, 2006 forged mild steel 20 x 20 x 15" Jewelry & Blacksmithing 29 TOM JOYCE Santa Fe, New Mexico “As makers who use iron in our work, we owe our lives to iron in more ways than we may have first imagined. Whether we work iron on a small or industrial scale let us remember the debt owed and honor the life sustaining inheritance this humble material has bestowed upon us.” September 11, 2001: Memorial Sculpture, 2002 iron, ash, sand, soil left: 6 x 6 x 6"; right: 8 x 8 x 8" 30 Different Tempers Bloom I, 2005 forged iron 17 x 18 1/4 w x 18 1/4 " Jewelry & Blacksmithing 31 BRENT KINGTON Makanda, Illinois “The double character of steel, easily shaped yet capable of enormous hardness and strength, has made it the preferred material for tools since its discovery. Steel lies behind almost everything. It gives strength to shed and skyscraper. It shapes itself into machines. ….The magnetism of iron generates electric power and aids in its distribution.” —Cyril Stanley Smith, 1966 Spire Brooch, 2005 18k and 10k gold, pattern steel 5 1/2 x 2 1/8" Collection of Diane Kington Spire, 2009 steel, oak 27 1/2 x 9 x 6" 32 Different Tempers Jewelry & Blacksmithing 33 MARK MAIORANA Cedar Bluff, Virginia “Steel’s malleability fosters transformation, beginning with mass and drawing down and down and down into endless line is one of reverence…. Accessible, widely known and used for its strength, and formed extensively because of its malleability, steel serves communally as it has for ages in the field, kitchen, and in architecture.” Draw, 2007 forged steel height 24" 34 Different Tempers Settle 3, 2009 forged steel 22 x 21 x 13" Jewelry & Blacksmithing 35 ALBERT PALEY Rochester, New York “Because of the great diversity of the properties of metal and the associated techniques for its manipulation, I find it an inexhaustible vocabulary for artistic investigation. One is not limited in scale— small, delicate, refined work can be achieved as well as large-scale, structural monumental work.” Forged Andirons, 2004 forged steel 28 x 36 x 24" Sylvan, 2009 formed and fabricated steel 46 1/2 x 19 x 15" 36 Different Tempers Jewelry & Blacksmithing 37 DIFFERENT TEMPERS: Jewelry & Blacksmithing Exhibition Checklist Melanie Bilenker Button, 2007 18k gold, silver, ebony, resin, pigment, hair 1 3/4 x 1 1/2 x 3/8” Collection of Gabriella Kiss Pat Flynn Corrugated Bracelet, 2009 iron, 22k and 18k gold 1 1/2 x 2 3/4 x 2 3/4” Photo: Hap Sakwa Tom Joyce September 11, 2001: Memorial Sculpture, 2002 iron, ash, sand, soil l. 6 x 6 x 6” r. 8 x 8 x 8” Telephone, 2007 18k gold, silver, ebony, resin, pigment, hair 2 5/8 x 2 1/8 x 3/8” Neckpiece, 2008 iron, 18k gold, diamond diameter 6 1/2” Bloom I, 2005 forged iron 17 x 18 1/4 w x 18 1/4” Lola Brooks Brooch, 2005 stainless steel, 18k gold 2 3/4 x 2 3/4 x 1/4” Mosaic Brooch, 2006 iron, 22k and 18k yellow gold 3 1/2 x 1 1/2 x 1/4” Brent Kington Spire, 2009 steel, oak 27 1/2 x 9 x 6” Ivory Bouquet (brooch), 2009 stainless steel, vintage rhinestones, vintage ivory roses, 14k gold 4 1/2 x 4 1/2 x 2 3/4” Lu Heintz Cloud, 2006 forged mild steel 20 x 20 x 15” Brooch, 2004 stainless steel, 18k gold 1 1/4 x 1 1/2 x 1 1/2” Layered Vessel, 2009 forged mild steel 5 x 6 1/2 x 7 1/2” David Clemons The Trees We Construct to Conceal our Strange Fruit, 2007 mild steel, sterling silver, fine silver 13 x 8” Arkansas Art Center Foundation Collection Diamond Bracelet, 2006 forged mild steel 3 1/2 x 4 x 1 1/2” Chitlin Service, 2005 sterling silver, mild steel, pewter, hickory, wood length 13” Maegan Crowley Tacitocypriose, 2009 forged and fabricated steel 40 x 28 x 8” Bi-Sect, 2009 forged and fabricated steel 12 x 12 x 12” Photo: Dale Anderson 38 Different Tempers Sergey Jivetin Retrofitted (Russian filigree brooch), 2007 jewelers saw blades, vintage brooch 2 x 3 1/4” Cupola (brooch), 2006 watch hands 4 1/2 x 1 1/2 x 1/4” Forged Graph Necklace, 2007 jewelers saw blades 16 x 8 x 1/32” Spire Brooch, 2005 18k and 10k gold, pattern steel 5 1/2 x 2 1/8” Collection of Diane Kington Brooch, 1988 pattern steel, 24k, 18k and 14k gold diameter 3 1/2” Collection of Diane Kington Marc Maiorana Draw, 2007 forged steel height 24” Settle 3, 2008 forged steel 22 x 21 x 13” Albert Paley Sylvan, 2009 formed and fabricated steel 46 1/2 x 19 x 15” Mary Preston Crowned Picot Brooch, 2006 18k gold, early plastic 3 1/2 x 2 1/4 x 1/4” Iridescent Lace Brooch, 2005 18k gold, shells 2 1/4 x 2 1/4 x 1/4” Pink and Black Tangle (brooch), 2006 oxidized silver, coral 4 x 3 x 1” Sondra Sherman Skin: Arm (bracelet), 2000 sterling silver, optical lens 2 1/4 x 3 x 1 1/2” Corsage: Skullcap, 2009 steel, nail polish 3 3/4 x 3 3/4 x 1 1/4” Eye of the Storm (necklace), 2005 14k palladium white gold, champagne diamonds, glass beads framed: 26 x 4 x 2” pendant 4 x 1 1/2” Natasha Wozniak Massive Wrought Cuff 1, 2008 blackened silver 3 x 2 1/2 x 2 1/4” Brocade Panel Pendant, 2007 blackened silver and 18k gold 1 3/4 x 1 3/8 x 1/4” Wrought Scattered Flowers (necklace), 2007 blackened silver, 18k gold 3 1/4 x 2 1/4 x 1/4” Forged Andirons, 2004 forged steel 28 x 36 x 24” Jewelry & Blacksmithing 39 The Center for Craft, Creativity & Design (CCCD), is a regional inter-institutional center of the University of North Carolina established by the UNC Board of Governors in 1996. The mission of the University of North Carolina regional inter-institutional center is to advance the understanding of craft by encouraging and supporting research, scholarship, and professional development. The mission of the nonprofit foundation is to support the regional inter-institutional center through funding, programs, and outreach to artists, craft organizations and schools, regionally and nationally. RESEARCH PROJECTS For more on each of the following: www.craftcreativitydesign.org/Research/ Craft History Book—The first history of 20th century American Craft by authors Janet Koplos and Bruce Metcalf, researched and written under the auspices of CCCD and published by the University of North Carolina Press (2010). The history is written to also serve as an undergraduate text, with corresponding curriculum materials and Web site. Craft Research Fund—CCCD administers a national grant program awarding over $95,000 annually for research and critical writing on U.S. craft through Project Awards to curators, academics and scholars, and Graduate Research Awards for thesis or dissertation research relating to craft in the U.S. Guidelines available in January for a July 1 application deadline. Windgate Fellowship Awards—$15,000 Windgate Fellowships are awarded to ten graduating seniors, whose work is in some way related to, or informed by, the process, material, or idea of craft. CCCD administers the program with over 60 colleges and universities invited to nominate two applicants each for the online panel selection process. Windgate Museum Internships—CCCD partners with four museums who receive $5,000 each for an internship providing future curators with the opportunity to work with craft collections and exhibitions. Craft Think Tank Beginning in 2002, CCCD convenes, each spring, national and international craft leaders in a two-day think tank to discuss intitiatives that will advance craft. STAFF Dian Magie, Executive Director Katie Lee, Assistant Director Terri Gibson, Office Administrator 40 Different Tempers PRINTER Daniels Graphics Inc. Asheville, NC DESIGN Martha Smith Design Asheville, NC