Aesthetic Nutrition

How does nutrition, on a socio-economic level and in its’ most basic form, relate to the aesthetic values of today’s society? This question can only come from Ana Cardim, who has a passion to make interactive, sociable jewelry-art. This takes shape in her recent project “Aesthetic Nutrition”.

The project consists of a video, projected on a wall, three heaps of rice, chopsticks and three bowls containing one, two and three hand-made rice grains. Each grain is made from pure gold, weighs half a gram, and has the economic value of about 15 kilos of eatable dry rice. (How many grains would that be?) In total, the project exists of three grams of gold, enough for a beautiful gold ring, and 90 kilo’s of rice, which can provide a meal for 1800 people! In the video you’ll see a girl trying to eat it all… Everyone that visited ‘Aesthetic Nutrition’ was given a cup filled with delicious rice-pudding.

With her project ‘Aesthetic Nutrition’, Ana Cardim seeks attention for the idea of the difference in quantity, and levels of value, between the esthetic value of gold and the value given to the basic human need for food.
I am glad this project touches the subject of discrepancy in value and quantity from an aesthetic point of view. The rice-colored, ceramic bowls that contain the golden grains, are shaped like up-side-down rice heaps and make a good visual contrast with the actual heaps of rice. The chopsticks both separate and connect the two, underlining the visual link. The video shown on the wall, completes the display. The action of handing out cups of rice-pudding causes the viewer to connect to the exhibit. How can you resist thinking about the subject, when looking at the serene beauty of the whole set-up, whilst eating yummie pudding!

The launch of the ‘Aesthetic Nutrition’ project happened on the 6th of July, and was commissioned by Bypass, an art magazine that invites artists to write about their work. The second magazine is due to be released in October 2010 and will contain an extensive article by Ana Cardim.

‘Aesthetic Nutrition’ was held in Appleton Square, which is a multivalent space geared towards diverse artistic manifestations and towards the sharing of multidisciplinary experiences. It was the first time that they had work on display by a jewelry designer!

Panic

Every once in a while something crosses my path that is interesting, but not strictly jewelry. That‘s the case with this piece ‘Panic’ by Sweden’s Anders Ljungberg. He is a silversmith who is interested is the relationship between a functional object and its’ user and their environment. His motto is: “We are defining objects, objects are defining us.” His particular interest is in handles, as they often are the link between object and user. Their position on the object dictates the way it is used.

Handles play a very important role in the work ‘Panic’ too. It exists of a silver jug and a table that have started living their own lives. This jug did not have handles, so it decided to cut off the legs of the table it is standing on and use them as a handle and a leg for itself. The jug has a solid base and a good chance of being held by its’ handle. But now, it has left the table leaning over to one side, causing danger of the jug sliding off!
I guess this is where Anders Ljungberg pictures the user coming to the rescue. Instead of the jug being there for the use of its’ owner, the owner/user has to be there to save the jug! I really like the way the piece demands interaction. The jug is clearly the starting point of this work, and mixes with the table in a funny way. Quite urgently, the potential user has to become part of the work. Panic all round!

This piece was one of many discussed in a talk held by Anders Ljungberg, which part of the symposium ‘Fine Silver: Lectures on Contemporary Metal’ at the PHL- University College in Hasselt, Belgium on the 29th of May. The lectures were held in context of the honorary doctorate that was awarded to Michael Rowe the day before!

(For the die-hard fans of this blog: What do you get when you have Alert and an Apocalyse: Panic! ☺)

Alert 2010

This neckpiece sends out a warning, so we should have seen this before the previous post ‘What after the apocalypse?’ Its’ title ‘Alert 2010’ kind of gives it away, and the alarming orange color was probably the reason for that title. A great way of getting attention!

Although the individual pendants of the neckpiece may or may not be a recognizable object, it is the combination that bonds them. That is how artist Robin Quigley intended her piece to work. She carefully selected objects that work well together, despite their difference in value, shape or material. By lining them up, she gives them a solid structure. Some pendants got a coat of pigment to match the color, unifying even more. That way it is hard for me to imagine that they were once separate objects.

‘Alert 2010’ has ten pendants, which to me is a very special number right now. My eldest just turned ten, which means we have been a family for ONE whole beautiful decade!

The exhibition ‘Remains’ opens on the 20th of May at Gallery Loupe in Montclair, New Jersey, U.S.A.

What after the apocalypse?

For this post I am staying in Belgium, where artist Willy Van De Velde has been around for quite a while. And, more impressively, without any formal training in the broad artistic field he is working in. His jewellery ranges from big helmets and large neckpieces, to the more recent, smaller sized, rings and bracelets.

Besides the size, there has been no change in the material use, though. As shown in the bracelet above, he is still working with plexiglas (acrylic sheet). Although he has been using this material since the eighties, it still gives the jewel a sense of futurism. Funny how a futuristic looking piece can have a retro feel to it.

The title of the work, “What after the apocalypse?” can be taken quite literally, if you see the round, clear bracelet as a symbol of the world and the descending fire as its’ ending. Your arm can save the world by never taking the bracelet off. The piece has been meticulously made, every scratch is sanded and polished to a smooth, shiny surface. The bracelet has been assembled with neat little screws instead of more messy glue. In this way parts can also be replaced in case of breakage. The result is a graphically strong piece and an apocalypse to my liking, a very clean one!

The exhibition ‘What after the apocalypse?’ is held until the 28th of May at Silke&the Gallery, in Antwerp.

Our vulnerable position

From student work in the last post, to a post about work from someone who has recently graduated. Showing the work from her Masters graduation from Konstfack in Stockholm, Belgian Hannah Joris created an installation with 99 brooches. They are all made from the same material, dried potato and iron! She carved the potatoes and hung them to dry, pierced by the iron brooch-pin. That way the potato shrinks around the iron, and becomes a compact, strong mass. To her, every potato represents a person, which is why she carved them into body-like shapes. Similar to what happens when people age, the shapes shriveled up, looking like they suffered while doing so. This is what Hannah Joris wants to show, although not the actual suffering, aging, shrinking and shriveling. But the vulnerable expression the shapes obtain, and beauty that results from it.

About half of the 99 brooches are on display, enough to come across as one group. Which is the way I saw the work. As I got closer I could separate the individual brooches, their similarities and differences. The different colors came from the different kinds of potato, vaguely resembling wood. The different shapes came from the way they were carved and dried. I could recognize their expressions. I could see the suffering, aging, wrinkling and vulnerability, and, with some, even the beauty of that. Some were quite touching, others daunting, and some possibly cute! The material used looked right, the shapes looked very natural, (because of their color?) I had the feeling I was looking at something very special, not at something as ordinary as a potato. Not one second it crossed my mind that I was looking at food. The familiarity of the shapes to the human shape was well done, and eating them would feel like cannibalism!

The brooches are exhibited specially for the ‘Art Brussels’ fair, at Caroline Van Hoek Gallery, in Brussels, Belgium.