Course Description

This course is meant to be a space for you to examine and deepen your relationship to the field and your own practice through readings, discussions, and presentations.  The readings are meant to expand your perspective on the field of jewelry and metalsmithing, to define its particularities and concerns in relation to the discourses of the contemporary art world.

Together we will explore a series of seminal theoretical texts, seeking ways to relate them to our own practice.  Through these texts we will encounter a series of themes and historical perspectives that are crucial to the field of jewelry, while also delving into fields and areas of inquiry, that have not commonly been related to our field, but perhaps should or could be.  Our aim is to get a historical and interdisciplinary perspective on where we are as artists/makers today, how we got here and where we could go from here. The course aims to bring up critical questions on why we make, whom we make for and the meaning of our practice beyond the studio and the jewelry and metals world.

This is a chance to practice your skills in connecting theory, reading and writing to your work and to build a vocabulary and ground of reference around your ideas, interests and intentions. It’s a chance to take part in an intense discourse around your field, which you might be asked to do many times in the future of your career.

The Wednesday meetings will adopt the form of a reading/talking circle. Your role in the group is important and the success of our conversations will be based on your participation and engagement. We will all take turns in presenting and leading the discussion and also examine what “research through practice” might mean for us, by exploring some ways of connecting theory and making. 

Nov 15, 2009

I thought it might be nice to see some of these artist's and their work in action, so here are some videos from YouTube that helped me to get more insight.

You Tube video of Carsten Holler's Adventures at the Tate Modern
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ydqa-gYMSLs

Wind Chime(After Dream) by Pierre Huyghe
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rhc0K-n2GlA

Dominique Gonzalez-Foerster, installation at Tate Modern's Turbine Hall
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V3EHCB3vy9Q&feature=related


The interesting thing about the Holler and Gonzalez-Foerster videos is that they are quite large installations/environments, but they still are under the thumb/wing of an art institution. They are literally in London's contemporary it gallery. How does this affect the full experience of these installations? Does it matter where they are installed? Does the location legitimize the action or make it mainstream? Does being in a place like a gallery or museum mean that you have more control over the outcome? Or are they merely pushing the boundaries of pre-existing institutions rather than trying to rebel from the establishments like site-specific artists did? Is art really made in the gallery?

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