childrens (and more specifically jewellery-orientated childrens), does this make any sense???
Overview
Despite the attempts of numerous contemporary jewellery artists who utilise the medium to convey serious artistic statements, the general impression of the function of jewellery in the public domain remains as that of pure decorative adornment.
This project is guided by the need to honour jewellery’s origins as an object of spiritual power, and reinvigorate its role as an object of magic- an idea that has waned in recent times.
This project explores the ways in which amuletic jewellery can be freed from the constraints of dated, culture-specific symbolism, to produce a series of timeless charms and amulets whose powers are universally understood.
It also serves as a vehicle to broaden my vocabulary of visual symbolism, and will culminate in the production of a series of talismans which defy the conventions of this particular kind of jewel.
Artistic Background
As an artist addicted to collecting objects I believe that everything that was ever designed possesses a soul. Even objects without sentimental value can touch me profoundly. I am tantalised by their endless permutations of textures, colours, finishes, sounds and movements (among many more) and many of these speak to me on a level which is beyond rational.
My most recent work has touched on the therapeutic physical properties that are found in objects, and culminated in a series of “Comfort Pods”- a series of small-scale hand-held jewellery objects in which I felt these qualities best articulated.
The objects were manufactured using both traditional and non-traditional jewellery-making techniques, and each was displayed in a fur-lined housing intended to reflect their pacifying effects.
Prior to this, my work “Colour and the Amulet” for SAHT2215: Theories of Colour explored the use of common colours in amulets, in an attempt to better comprehend why many colours are perceived identically across such contrasting cultures.
This project culminated in the production of three contemporary amulets that use elements of texture, movement, shape and the inherent resonance of their assigned colours to tell the story of their intent.
Thus, in such a way, in my practice I explore these qualities in various artistic contexts in order to extract their hidden spiritual messages, as well as to gain insight into my spiritual self by decoding why I am draw to certain characteristics of an object.
Theoretical Background
Though viewed by the mainstream public as simply a tool of decorative adornment, the jewel plays a vital function of articulating the messages we project into the world about our innermost selves. It is a tool of subjective self-expression, a status marker, a functional object, a statement of ethnicity, a memento of things and people past, as well as an object of religious and magical power (Untracht). This investigation deals with talismanic jewellery specifically.
“An amulet is a device, the purpose of which is to protect, but by magical and not physical means- a lump of meteorite worn against gunfire is an amulet, a bullet-proof vest is not. A charm is something believed to bring good luck, health and happiness. In doing so, it might also be expected to protect from bad luck; sickness and misery, but protection is not its primary function. A talisman is thought to be imbued with some magical property. It can both protect, and radiate power, and is often used in ritual.” (Paine, pg 10)
Today, many people wear many forms of jewellery whose amuletic/talismanic origins are acknowledged by the wearer, but oftentimes their symbolism is not fully understood (Untracht), wether because its origins have been forgotten, suppressed, or simply never discovered by the wearer because the symbol’s “lore” belongs to a cultural group from which the wearer feels distanced.
Perhaps because this knowledge is so liable to be lost or diffused over time, a new and more intuitive, rather than cultural/historical approach to reading the language of amulets is necessary.
The primary principles upon which amulets operate are those of absorption, reflection and the diversion of some negative metaphysical force from the amulet’s wearer. Good examples of reflection in amulets include shiny objects or mirrors in Indian amulets pertaining to the evil eye (Paine). The element of diversion is typified in the masses of noisy bangles worn by Indian women (Paine), or earrings in the case of Tibetan(?) women to drive evil spirits away.
Some amulets/talismans function by the transference of physical strength or skill from one living creature to another- such as when the remains of animals (bones, claws, feathers, and pelts, among others) which have been killed by the wearer in question are fashioned into jewellery or clothing.
Other amulets, still, present the concerned evil with a stylised representation of itself in order to confound it (as in the blue glass evil-eye beads encountered commonly in the Middle East) and make it frightened of itself to drive it away (Paine). This is the device I will examine most closely.
The research paper will examine contemporary approaches to magical jewellery, and given that amulets, and charms evoke a sense of repulsion and attraction respectively, pay specific attention to the design devices by which the artist creates a sense of intense imbalance and contrast (evocative of repulsion), and of harmony among the individual elements of the jewels (evocative of attraction).
The studio practice aims to develop a series of jewellery- both charms and amulets- which remedy the want of the knowledge of the lore behind the symbolism in amuletic jewellery via the creation of pieces which speak of the desire for attraction and repulsion in a much more open, intuitive and subliminal way.
The project will culminate in a series of ten pieces of jewellery in which the appropriate manipulation of colour, shape, line and texture within each piece will effect a sense of repulsion as the various components “fight” each other, and of attraction as they come together in perfect harmony. As a result, the magical jewellery created will be timeless- free of the folkloric and religious symbolism that binds it to any specific culture or time.
My objectives for both the Honours Paper and Studio Practice are to:
• Develop my vocabulary of visual symbolism and incorporate it into wearable works of art.
• Create a series of jewellery and body-related objects which revive jewellery’s life as an object of magical and spiritual power.
• Investigate the way in which visual elements that clash and elements that converge into a seamless whole affect the meaning inherent in the jewel.
• Investigate techniques of colouring metals and textiles and utilising these processes to create a sense of harmony or tension in the pieces.
• Create pieces in which there is unison between traditional and non-traditional jewellery materials, or to utilise their contrast to emphasise symbolism.
• Research and analyse the use of colour and symbol in contemporary jewellery.
• To create a series of charms and amulets whose symbolism is timeless and universal.
Despite the attempts of numerous contemporary jewellery artists who utilise the medium to convey serious artistic statements, the general impression of the function of jewellery in the public domain remains as that of pure decorative adornment.
This project is guided by the need to honour jewellery’s origins as an object of spiritual power, and reinvigorate its role as an object of magic- an idea that has waned in recent times.
This project explores the ways in which amuletic jewellery can be freed from the constraints of dated, culture-specific symbolism, to produce a series of timeless charms and amulets whose powers are universally understood.
It also serves as a vehicle to broaden my vocabulary of visual symbolism, and will culminate in the production of a series of talismans which defy the conventions of this particular kind of jewel.
Artistic Background
As an artist addicted to collecting objects I believe that everything that was ever designed possesses a soul. Even objects without sentimental value can touch me profoundly. I am tantalised by their endless permutations of textures, colours, finishes, sounds and movements (among many more) and many of these speak to me on a level which is beyond rational.
My most recent work has touched on the therapeutic physical properties that are found in objects, and culminated in a series of “Comfort Pods”- a series of small-scale hand-held jewellery objects in which I felt these qualities best articulated.
The objects were manufactured using both traditional and non-traditional jewellery-making techniques, and each was displayed in a fur-lined housing intended to reflect their pacifying effects.
Prior to this, my work “Colour and the Amulet” for SAHT2215: Theories of Colour explored the use of common colours in amulets, in an attempt to better comprehend why many colours are perceived identically across such contrasting cultures.
This project culminated in the production of three contemporary amulets that use elements of texture, movement, shape and the inherent resonance of their assigned colours to tell the story of their intent.
Thus, in such a way, in my practice I explore these qualities in various artistic contexts in order to extract their hidden spiritual messages, as well as to gain insight into my spiritual self by decoding why I am draw to certain characteristics of an object.
Theoretical Background
Though viewed by the mainstream public as simply a tool of decorative adornment, the jewel plays a vital function of articulating the messages we project into the world about our innermost selves. It is a tool of subjective self-expression, a status marker, a functional object, a statement of ethnicity, a memento of things and people past, as well as an object of religious and magical power (Untracht). This investigation deals with talismanic jewellery specifically.
“An amulet is a device, the purpose of which is to protect, but by magical and not physical means- a lump of meteorite worn against gunfire is an amulet, a bullet-proof vest is not. A charm is something believed to bring good luck, health and happiness. In doing so, it might also be expected to protect from bad luck; sickness and misery, but protection is not its primary function. A talisman is thought to be imbued with some magical property. It can both protect, and radiate power, and is often used in ritual.” (Paine, pg 10)
Today, many people wear many forms of jewellery whose amuletic/talismanic origins are acknowledged by the wearer, but oftentimes their symbolism is not fully understood (Untracht), wether because its origins have been forgotten, suppressed, or simply never discovered by the wearer because the symbol’s “lore” belongs to a cultural group from which the wearer feels distanced.
Perhaps because this knowledge is so liable to be lost or diffused over time, a new and more intuitive, rather than cultural/historical approach to reading the language of amulets is necessary.
The primary principles upon which amulets operate are those of absorption, reflection and the diversion of some negative metaphysical force from the amulet’s wearer. Good examples of reflection in amulets include shiny objects or mirrors in Indian amulets pertaining to the evil eye (Paine). The element of diversion is typified in the masses of noisy bangles worn by Indian women (Paine), or earrings in the case of Tibetan(?) women to drive evil spirits away.
Some amulets/talismans function by the transference of physical strength or skill from one living creature to another- such as when the remains of animals (bones, claws, feathers, and pelts, among others) which have been killed by the wearer in question are fashioned into jewellery or clothing.
Other amulets, still, present the concerned evil with a stylised representation of itself in order to confound it (as in the blue glass evil-eye beads encountered commonly in the Middle East) and make it frightened of itself to drive it away (Paine). This is the device I will examine most closely.
The research paper will examine contemporary approaches to magical jewellery, and given that amulets, and charms evoke a sense of repulsion and attraction respectively, pay specific attention to the design devices by which the artist creates a sense of intense imbalance and contrast (evocative of repulsion), and of harmony among the individual elements of the jewels (evocative of attraction).
The studio practice aims to develop a series of jewellery- both charms and amulets- which remedy the want of the knowledge of the lore behind the symbolism in amuletic jewellery via the creation of pieces which speak of the desire for attraction and repulsion in a much more open, intuitive and subliminal way.
The project will culminate in a series of ten pieces of jewellery in which the appropriate manipulation of colour, shape, line and texture within each piece will effect a sense of repulsion as the various components “fight” each other, and of attraction as they come together in perfect harmony. As a result, the magical jewellery created will be timeless- free of the folkloric and religious symbolism that binds it to any specific culture or time.
My objectives for both the Honours Paper and Studio Practice are to:
• Develop my vocabulary of visual symbolism and incorporate it into wearable works of art.
• Create a series of jewellery and body-related objects which revive jewellery’s life as an object of magical and spiritual power.
• Investigate the way in which visual elements that clash and elements that converge into a seamless whole affect the meaning inherent in the jewel.
• Investigate techniques of colouring metals and textiles and utilising these processes to create a sense of harmony or tension in the pieces.
• Create pieces in which there is unison between traditional and non-traditional jewellery materials, or to utilise their contrast to emphasise symbolism.
• Research and analyse the use of colour and symbol in contemporary jewellery.
• To create a series of charms and amulets whose symbolism is timeless and universal.