End of semester zaniness...

Another semester down, still need to put some finishing touches on my last project but hopefully soon there will be pictures up. Even though this semester was frustrating and a bit crazy, I learned a ton. My favorite project was the silver eyebrows that I made. There was something really satisfying about making some smaller pieces that were quite whimsical in their function and somewhat impractical. It also gave me a chance to really explore adding texture to sheet metal and creating a work that while fabricated feels a bit more like a wax cast piece.

Here is another very low-res image of the eyebrow:

Some exciting things coming down the pipeline. I was awarded an Undergraduate Summer Research Fellowship to explore the link between propaganda and enameling from late may through mid-august. Whether it was for religious propaganda in the Middle Ages to die stamped Soviet pins and medals in the 20th century, the ability to add bold color to metal provides an interesting way to disseminate ideas via jewelry and other precious objects.

While I may need to set up a separate blog to document the work I'll be doing over the summer I thought I would take some time to post some references here. The references run the gamut from actual enamel examples to outsider artists that influence me.

Considering that the term Propaganda stems from the Catholic Church it should be no surprise that enamels were frequently applied to religious relics. Enamels used this way functioned similarly to the stained glass windows found in churches throughout Europe, on one level helping to teach biblical stories to illiterate masses and on  another level to provide a sense of mystical awe.

Also here are some great examples of how bold color with emotionally loaded imagery can present propaganda in a insidious, oddly subtle way. By wearing a medals such as these the wearer is not just indicating an achievement but is transmitting notions of the greatness of the state.

15th century religious triptych. 

St. Gregory the Great. Enamel plaque, Jacques I Laudin.

Order of Victory, Soviet Union.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Order_of_Victory

The only Soviet Medal to be made by a jeweler and not manufactured in a factory.  

Order of the Badge of Honour, Soviet Union.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Order_of_the_Badge_of_Honor

Let's Fulfill the Plan of Great Works, Gustav Klutsis.

Postcard for the All Union Spartikiada Sporting Event, Gustav Klutsis.

Pamiati Pogibshikh Vozhdei, Gustav Klutsis.

Work in progress for kinetic project.

Current work in progress, 2013. There is some great texture going on here, but the picture is pretty low res so it's hard to see right now. Of course I'll put up better pictures once it's finished!

Further references for body modification theme...

Glass Eye, German, circa 1872-1930.

Hard (Haptic or Scleral) Contacts, circa 1940's.  These early contacts were meant to rest on the white portion (sclera) of the eye. While these were not intended to modify the body, certainly wearing hard contacts would have had some effect on how the eyelid looked opened or closed.

Kasey McMahon, Bird Cage Dress.

Antique Partial Dentures, date unknown. 

Erhardt's Mouth Speculum, circa 1884.

Advertisement for Erhardt's Mouth Speculum. 

Wooden  Elbow Splint, circa Civil War.

Spermatorrhea Ring, circa late Victorian to Early Edwardian Era. Back when masturbation was not only considered a sin but believed to be the cause of a number of illnesses people would place these devices around the genitals to prevent self stimulation. Often times these were used voluntarily.  

Body modification and you!

Lately I've been thinking about jewelry based body modification, specifically body modification that is non-invasive. Items such as corsets, splints and quack medicine items like the Victorian nasal rectificateur have been used to mold the human shape for either recuperative purposes or to obtain a fashionable (if unnatural) shape. I'm currently designing a few pieces meant to contort the body, in the mean time here are some of the current references I've been looking at.

Una Burke.

Una Burke, Retreat, 2012.

French Nasal Rectificateur. A quack medical device from around the turn of the last century. It was meant to be worn to change the shape of the nose, making it more pleasing visually. Needless to say, it didn't work.

Victorian to Edwardian Wrist Splint. 

Victorian Summer Corset, circa 1890-1900.

Victorian Neck Brace.

Victorian Corset, drawing, circa 1878.

Ring, first cast project, fall 2012.

Ring, sterling silver, 2012.

Ring, tube setting project, fall 2012.

Ring, sterling silver and cz stone, 2012.