Edith Sitwell had a dissonant, resonant, voice that she employed to recite her avant-garde poetry—most notoriously Façade (1923), performed to Sir William Walton’s modernist music via Sengerphone (a megaphone made of papier-mâché) jutting through the open mouth of a primitivist mask, painted by sculptor Frank Dobson, on a curtain, which concealed her six-foot body. The […]
The “World’s First Rapper” Shows Off Her Bling Read More »
What’s the best way of disseminating a political slogan today? Where once the badge was a common medium for rallying calls, it now seems to have been eclipsed by the hashtag. The political messages of the day are less often worn on the body and more frequently disseminated through social media with the use of
Shaking hands to say hello or to thank, waving good-bye, clapping hands to approve, holding hands to express affection, moving fingers to mock or insult or mimic, joining hands to pray, raising hands up to indicate surrender, kissing hands to pay homage to a superior authority or person, or just to please somebody in a
Kiss the Rings, Bitch Read More »
Ernestine Mills, Angel of Hope Pendant, 1909, enamel on silver shield, semiprecious stones, height 35 mm, courtesy of V. Irene Cockroft / Museum of London, photo: David Cockroft Morris died in 1896, concerned that the joy in craftsmanship he advocated had culminated in no more than “ministering to the swinish luxury of the rich.” Women
Ernestine Mills, Angel of Hope Read More »
On May 15, the Jewellery Department of the Rietveld Academie in Amsterdam hosted a one-day AJF event. Monica Gaspar and Suska Mackert were invited to give lectures. Afterward, both guests joined forces with the students in a collective brainstorm. The initial question, “What is the attitude that lies at the base of jewelry?” functioned as
When Attitude Becomes Form Read More »
Seulgi Kwon, Deep in the Night 1, 2014, brooch, silicone, pigment, thread, glass, 180 x 170 x 60 cm, photo: artist Seulgi Kwon, The Evolution of Defense 1 (worn), 2014, silicone, pigment, thread, paper, plastic, 180 x 105 x 70 mm, photo: artist The goal of the AJF Artist Award is to acknowledge promise, innovation,
SEULGI KWON WINS ART JEWELRY FORUM ARTIST AWARD Read More »
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE AJF 2015 limited edition pin by emiko oye, photo: artist Mill Valley, California, USA—Art Jewelry Forum (AJF), a global nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting the creation, study, and appreciation of art jewelry, is pleased to announce that it has commissioned American jeweler emiko oye to create a limited-edition pin for the organization.
ART JEWELRY FORUM COMMISIONS LIMITED-EDITION PIN FROM EMIKO OYE Read More »
Sara Visbeek, the author’s partner, wearing the python for the first time, Galerie Rob Koudijs, February 5, 2012, photo: Miecke Oosterman At first glance, this python doesn’t look like a piece of jewelry at all. It is one big object, or rather, it’s a full-grown, life-size snake, dozing in a corner of the room. But
David Bielander, Snake Read More »
Portrait of Margaret West Died Blackheath, New South Wales, Australia, 2014 Margaret West, jeweler and poet, lived a life rich beyond most imaginations. And it was on her own terms, through intellectual energy, fierce love of beauty, and compassion. From what was originally a wide-ranging creative project, Margaret came to value compression, reduction, the exquisite
In Memory of Margaret West Read More »
It was jewelry from dawn to dark for a week in September, as 23 members of Art Jewelry Forum toured Estonia and Sweden, part of the “coolest corner” of the jewelry world. The trip took us to Tallinn, Stockholm, and Gothenburg. We visited artist studios, galleries, and museums, with the occasional free moment for
2014: AJF Visits Estonia and Sweden Read More »
Art Jewelry Forum and Klimt02 partnership Hence my excitement when Pravu Mazumdar agreed to develop his own thoughts on the role of the critique, in a two-part essay titled Against Criticism. This is the second part of Pravu’s essay, in which he focuses on the critical writing of Bruce Metcalf. 6. In the following
Against Criticism: Seven Variations on an Unpleasant Theme, part 2 Read More »
Over the month of August (as part of our lighter summer reads!) we published a five-part series on criticality, as part of a partnership with Klimt02, under the label “the AJF feed.” The five essays, although diverse, all embraced the idea that criticality is a good thing, and that criticism is a necessary compost for
Against Criticism: Seven Variations on an Unpleasant Theme, part 1 Read More »
