“A scholarly, thoughtful, and serious compendium of thinking about contemporary jewelry, from uncovering its origins to considering its definition among the do-it-yourself trend … A tome for the eclectic reader and fan of today’s artistry in jewelry.” Booklist
Mill Valley, California, USA—Art Jewelry Forum (AJF) announces an expanded schedule of special events organized in support of their book Contemporary Jewelry in Perspective, the organization’s most ambitious project to date. A series of speaking engagements, book signings, and receptions has been planned in collaboration with major cultural and academic institutions in New York, NY, San Diego, CA, Portland, OR, Eugene, OR, Oakland, CA, Bloomfield Hills, MI, Savannah, GA, and Chicago, IL. Most events are free and open to the public.
Contemporary Jewelry in Perspective is essential reading for passionate art, craft, design, and fashion enthusiasts as well as anyone curious about jewelry. Ben Lignel, editor of Art Jewelry Forum, is the featured speaker for the west coast dates. Distinguished craft curators and book contributors Namita Wiggers, Liesbeth den Besten, Monica Gaspar, and Suzanne Ramljak will also be presenting.
Contemporary jewelry has been an international practice for the better part of 70 years, yet few publications have examined the field with scholastic rigor. Contemporary Jewelry in Perspective is the authoritative text the worldwide community has been eagerly awaiting, and consensus is that the book exceeds all expectations. Art Jewelry Forum’s reputation as the pacesetter for academic writing on contemporary jewelry attracted the most profound and original thinkers on the subject. Their contributions reflect well-informed and unique points of view that endorse and intensify contemporary jewelry’s seat in the academic arena.
THE ITINERARY
Elyse Zorn Karlin, Speaker
92nd Street Y Lexington and 92nd Street, New York, NY
Ben Lignel, Speaker, Texts and Pretexts: On a Pen Pusher’s Jewelry Practice
San Diego State University, Room 412, Art Building North, San Diego, CA
Ben Lignel and Namita Wiggers, Speakers, This Is Not a Book: A Test Drive through Contemporary Jewelry in Perspective (Part 1) Book signing to follow
Museum of Contemporary Craft and Pacific Northwest College of Art
The Lab at MoCC, 724 NW David Street, Portland, OR
Ben Lignel and Namita Wiggers, Workshop
Occupy This! Agency and Jewelry Thinking: A Maker’s Guide
Museum of Contemporary Craft and Pacific Northwest College of Art
The Lab at MoCC, 724 NW David Street, Portland, OR
Ben Lignel and Namita Wiggers, Speakers, “This Is Not a Book: A Test Drive through Contemporary Jewelry in Perspective (Part 2)”
University of Oregon, Eugene Campus, Lawrence Hall, Room 177, Eugene, OR
Liesbeth den Besten and Ben Lignel, Speakers
California College of the Arts, 5212 Broadway, Classroom B-4, Oakland, CA
Monica Gaspar, Speaker, An Evening with Monica Gaspar
Cranbrook Art Museum, deSalle Auditorium, 39221 Woodward Ave, Bloomfield Hills, MI
Suzanne Ramljak, Speaker, For Love and Money: On Contemporary and Commercial Jewelry
SCAD Student Center, 120 Montgomery St, Savannah, GA
Monica Gaspar, Speaker, Jewelry in the Expanded Field
SOFA Chicago, Navy Pier, Room 327
Book signing to follow, Art Jewelry Forum Booth, Nonprofit section, SOFA Chicago
THE BOOK
Hardcover, 9 x 11 inches, 264 pages, 350+ photos, Lark Books, $40
Editor: Damian Skinner
Contributing Writers: Helen Carnac, Liesbeth den Besten, Chang Dong-kwang, Julie Ewington, Elizabeth Fischer, Monica Gaspar, Elyse Zorn Karlin, Kelly L’Ecuyer, Benjamin Lignel, Philippe Liotard, Kevin Murray, Marcia Pointon, Suzanne Ramjlak, Sarah Rhodes, Valeria Siemelink, Barbara Smith, Barbara Stafford, Namita Wiggers
THE ORGANIZATION
Art Jewelry Forum is a nonprofit organization spreading awareness and increasing appreciation of art jewelry worldwide since 1997. It is a diverse community of artists, collectors, critics, educators, galleries, historians, makers, and writers united by a passion for art jewelry. AJF advocates for art jewelry through an ambitious agenda of education, conversation, and financial support.
Art Jewelry Forum commissions critical writing that sets the standard for excellence in the field. It publishes artjewelryforum.org, an Internet resource for original content on art jewelry, as well as catalogues, blogs, articles, and a monthly newsletter. Contemporary Jewelry in Perspective is Art Jewelry Forum’s first book.
Learn more about Art Jewelry Forum on the website www.artjewelryforum.org.
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