Another Kind of Jewelry

Jewelry is a form of art associated with human body. Some people even refer to jewelry  as wearable art. It exists at different levels of commerce, design and fine art. People buy jewelry sometimes for pure enjoyment, other times for the compliments and attention it may bring to the wearer, or even for its intrinsic value.

Historically, jewelry has been used to designate classes in society—as a status symbol.  For example, rare gems and elaborately designed jewelry was used for the rulers while slaves were not allowed to wear precious metal as jewelry.  To this day, jewelry is still being used in the same sense, even though the class separation is no longer obvious.  Anyone with money can now purchase, own and wear jewelry as they desired.  Today, people own and wear certain types of jewelry to be recognized as a part of certain social groups. 

When talking about jewelry in Thailand, people normally think of either Fine Jewelry made of gold or platinum with lots of diamonds and gemstones or of Costume Jewelry with trendy designs made of various materials. Both types of jewelry are considered to be commercial jewelry, where many pieces are made with designs that enable them to be saleable. 

Aside from Fine Jewelry and Costume Jewelry that we are accustomed to, there is yet another kind of jewelry that has been gaining popularity in Europe and the Americas.  Contemporary Art Jewelry is created with a variety of materials—from 22K gold to paper, from platinum to plastic—with a purpose to communicate a particular belief, story and meaning of the piece to others just like art in other media. 

Let’s familiraize ourselves with Contemporary Art Jewelry!

Contemporary Art Jewelry most often refers to a one-of-a-kind body adornment piece made in a studio by an artist—also a jeweler in this case—who wants to express an idea through original design.  It is far different from jewelry made for production, often by the hundreds or thousands, for a large commercial market by many workers and machines. 

People who create Contemporary Art Jewelry are referred to as studio jewelers, jewelry designers/makers or jewelry artists.  Art Jewelry is often made in limited edition, if not as a one-of-a-kind piece.  Marketability is often not a priority in creating a piece of Contemporary Art Jewelry.  Instead, it has a conceptual, narrative or purely formal agenda as its driving force.  One cannot normally acquire Contemporary Art Jewelry at regular jewelry stores or at department stores.  It can be found at fine art and crafts stores, jewelry galleries, high-end craft fairs or from direct commissions to the artist.

Contemporary Art Jewelry has long rid itself of the assumption of wealth, luxury and privilege to concentrate instead on investigations into material, form, value, color and movement.  The word jewelry is in a way inaccurate when talking about Contemporary Art Jewelry since many contemporary jewelers do not include jewels in their works.  It might be more appropriate to call such pieces body decorations or body adornments instead.  When there are gems in Contemporary Art Jewelry, they are being used in a different way and in diverse combinations than those made by and for commercial market.

Another important point when discussing Contemporary Art Jewelry is the strong relationship between artist and his/her works.  Each artist has his/her own style, way of expressing his/her ideas and way of making a statement.  When purchasing a piece of Contemporary Art Jewelry, one also acquires a part of the artist—unlike Commercial Jewelry where buyers don’t normally know or care to know who designed the pieces they are buying.  This is why, in many cases, artists use their names as their established brands so that people recognize the works and the strong relationship between the creators and their pieces.

People who buy or collect Contemporary Art Jewelry appreciate the meaning behind each piece.  They may have personal connections with pieces that they wear or may want to differentiate themselves from others.  Contemporary Art Jewelry costs more than commercial jewelry made of the same materials.  But when one collects or buys Contemporary Art Jewelry, one will have a deeper appreciation of an object and will wear it with a confidence and pride.  One will look beyond its existence and understand that there is so much more involved in its creation than that which meets the eye. 

The Art Jewelry movement started in 1960s in Europe as a niche market where pieces are bought by collectors and museums.    Things have changed considerably since then especially in Germany, where Art Jewelry is no longer a niche and many designers are sold in regular jewelry stores. Pieces of Contemporary Art Jewelry can be seen in museums and galleries.   In the US, many art galleries carry Contemporary Art Jewelry along with other art and craft works in other media.   There are, however, a few galleries that are known to exhibit only jewelry.

A sizeable collection of Contemporary Art Jewelry can be found at the Schmuck Museum in Pforzheim, Germany.  Several artists only make pieces for museum collections—David Watkins, Ruudt Peters, Arline Fisch,  Heikki Seppa, Wendy Ramshaw, Gijs Bakker, Giovanni Corvaja, etc.  Others, with the like of Michael Zobel, Todd Reed, Antonio Bernardo and George Spreng, make pieces for both Contemporary Art and Commercial Jewelry market.  There are also websites dedicated solely to the art of contemporary jewelry such as klimt02 Community (www.klimt02.net), The Art Jewelry Forum (www.artjewelryforum.org) and Metalcyberspace® (www.metalcyberspace.com). 

The Contemporary Art Jewelry movement in Thailand at this point has mainly been in academia where students are taught to create works from personal inspirations with meanings to be expressed.  However, there is not yet a supporting platform for such talents to blossom here in Thailand.  Many graduates tried to sell their works unsuccessfully and eventually turned to commercial jewelry instead to make ends meet. As a result of that, a handful of studio jewelers that are true to themselves and their arts are currently forming an alliance under the name the Tanim (www.tanimpimpaporn.com).  One of its main purposes is to raise public awareness with the hope that Contemporary Art Jewelry will receive higher appreciation and its own market position in Thai and international jewelry market. 

Whether you are an avid art lover or not, if you long for being different and expressing yourself, maybe Contemporary Art Jewelry is for you.  It will bring joy to you as a wearer and bring impression and curiosity upon others.  It can indicate a personal history, declare a relationship to others, and raise issues of identity.  And since Contemporary Art Jewelry is not created based on fashion trends, it will never be out of style.  You are sure to have a smile on your face every time you put on a piece of Contemporary Art Jewelry.  Just give it a chance.

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