The Revolution in Three Parts: Part 3 - Reflections from the Front Lines of the Revolution

Day 3

Neri Oxman - Ecology by Craft

A truly captivating talk, Neri Oxman presented her practice as a designer, maker and researcher that takes into account the latest technological developments in advanced computer aided material analysis. What Oxman calls Fabricology is the practice looking to nature to offer complex and integrated design solutions for 21st century paradigms. I found this paradigm to be quite similar to biomimicry, though Oxman did not use that label in her lecture. Oxman began by explaining that nature knows no disciplines and therefore is not limited by materials in the same way that a modern skyscrapers (by Mies van der Rohe for example) uses steel exclusively for structural support and glass exclusively environmental effects such as light and climate control. In an van der Rohe building the materials are separated by function, while in nature the materials and functions are integrated. In a tree the material provides structure, nutrient disbursement, energy collection, etc.

With this in mind Oxman started finding forms instead of making them. In traditional design, a designer starts with computer aided design (CAD) to derive the form from their creative imagination, then uses computer aided engineering (CAE) to perform simulated stress tests of the design, and finally uses computer aided manufacture (CAM) to create the pieces or actual components of the design. Oxmans process is a departure, and currently she is exploring 4 alternate work flow systems.

Oxmans four movements of Craft Ecology are:

1. Adaptive Components - where she starts parts derived from examples that occur in the natural world, and uses those parts to determine form. The form then grows organically from it own compositional elements.

2. Adaptive Materials - where Oxman writes computer algorithms and plugs them into CAE to test material properties and forces. Oxman then uses the results to determine the most appropriate form for a given material based on its performance in the CAE tests.

3. Adaptive Systems - where Oxman again uses generative algorithms to consider form and function simultaneously, rather than geometry only.

4. Adaptive Material and Environments - Oxmans most recent practice model where she combines CAE analysis to determine appropriate form for materials, generative algorithms, etc. to create projects that react in real time and real life to conditions presented. For example Oxman showed a chair that provides appropriate support for the weight and form of the sitter by intelligently conforming to pressures exerted on it.

Oxman's Chair

Oxman predicted 4 possible applications she sees for her practice which include: Adaptive Artifacts, Rapid Augmentation (as in the chair), Responsive Materials, and Green Fabrication.

If these descriptions are any indication, the talk was a bit thick with design jargon and advanced concepts that I am not entirely familiar with so I hope I represented it accurately. At times it felt more like watching a TED talk than a speaker at a SNAG conference. Kudos to whoever thought to invite her. My only criticism would be that her relevance to traditional goldsmiths may have tenuous. But even if the application is not relevant, the ideas were interesting. If ecology by craft (aka fabricology, aka materialecology) were to become the dominant design and fabrication means for jewelry, the appropriate form and systematic implementation of precious metal use would put us all out of work. That was the unspoken subtext. Ha! Revolutionary Rating: 5 – Raucous riot with guillotines in tow. Hide your monarchs.

Membership Meeting

The membership meeting saw the executive director's (Dana Singer) report, and a report about Metalsmith magazine which announced that the controversial figure, Garth Clark will be the 2010 Exhibition in Print curator. A motion to return the surplus funds from the Student Exhibition back to students in the form of conference scholarships or an exhibition catalog was defeated 53-25, no doubt because no students were present to vote, and a motion to give the conference organizers the autonomy to determine speaker honorariums provided they stay on budget was passed 62-12. Previously speaker honorariums were set at a mandatory $300, which was embarrassingly low.

Camille Paglia - Art and Sex

True to my prediction for the talk Paglia gave a postmodern, post feminist recitation of her position on objects that spanned the history of art, from central European Venus figures c. 22,000 B.C.E. to Robert Maplethorp c. 1980. She focused on tempering the unabashed militant feminist critique with common sense. As someone who went through art school and art history courses in a post-post feminist climate (or 3rd wave feminist climate), and someone marginally familiar with queer theory (thanks to fiber artists Aaron McIntosh and Lacey Jane Roberts) I found myself saying, "ya...so..." quite a few times. I can't speak for everyone present, but for me the talk rehashed things I deemed to be already settled within contemporary pedagogy. Granted that Paglia contributed to their settlement, but still, nothing revolutionary about saying a fashion photograph of a woman's head protruding from the surface of a pool isn't about decapitation of women. The later part of the talk focused on fashion and Hollywood photography. I kept wondering, "Where was the jewelry? Or at least some objects?" Maybe the $300 honorarium didn't merit doing any actual research so the talk would be relevant to the audience. Overall I enjoyed the talk because Paglia was a dynamic speaker. She talked so fast she was hard to follow at times, but it added to her quirky and dissenting tone. Revolutionary Rating: 3 - A Public Demonstration, but only by virtue of the fact that feminist protest pedagogy is inherently political.


Myra Mimlitsch Gray - anti/icono/clastic

Again I thought this talk varied little from my prediction for it. One of only two artist talks at the conference, it was a great talk from a brilliant, respected, and thoughtful maker. After showing her early work, the bulk of the talk focused on her time spent at the Kohler Arts and Industry residency. Mimlitsch Gray captured the emotive quality of the experience and her work process through words, images, and song. While there she produced two bodies of work: Brat Pans and faceted cast iron and brass sectional pieces. While the Brat pans were humorous and connected to the culture and people of the place she was living, the cast iron pieces are very difficult for me to connect to. What I enjoyed about Mimlitsch Gray's pre-Kohler work was that it attempted to connect to and comment of the canonic discourse of form, technique, and function of metal objects, essentially using tradition as the subject of thematic and conceptual examination. While the Brat Pans (and cornbread pans also) participated in thematic engagement, the cast faceted work, left a gaping hole in her practice (literally and conceptually). And while I do not question the validity of working in a process based mode, Mimlitsch Grey's noticeable absence as a conceptual powerhouse will retard the critical discourse of American Metalsmithing in general. Great talk, though bittersweet (for me at least) when she revealed her new direction. I can't wait to see the work the direction of the work that follows. Revolutionary Rating: 2 – Lively town hall meeting.

Brat Pans


Cast Iron

Gallery Night

Check out the scribd .pdf below. I included an image of my piece William Wintrop Kent no. 4 on the front doors of the gallery at Decorative Resurgence. I didn't have time to see everything, too many galleries, not enough time. Of the shows I saw, my favorites were Neoteric Matter at Wexler Gallery, Stuff: Jewelry for the People at Sub Octo Gallery and Decorative Resurgence at Rowan University.

Decorative Resurgence

Stuff: Jewelry for the People @ Sub Octo

Jimin Park's brooch from Stuff: Jewelry for the People @ Sub Octo

Gallery Tour Pamphlet

Publish at Scribd or explore others: Brochures & Catalogs

Day 4

Helen Drutt's Revolution/ Evolution Panel

Boring. Not a panel discussion at all. Four speakers exceeded their time limits in their charge to contextualize jewelry in their respective geographical areas from c. 1950- 1970. If you missed the panel read this article about Herman Junger, Messengers of Modernism, and any two European jewellery history books of your choice. The poster child of the conference for the notion that titles don't mean anything. Four mediocre talks about late modern jewelry in Finland, the Netherlands, Germany, and America. The artists whose works were in the talks certainly weren't done justice. P.S. Look at the audience, and talk about the images actually on the screen! Revolutionary Rating: 0 - Yawn

Albert Paley - The Albert Paley Lecture

This talk took us along Big Al's journey from sculpture major, to goldsmith, to blacksmith, to monumental public artist. Perhaps the thing I enjoyed the most about the talk was seeing how a jewelry sensibly was translated in scale and implementation to public art. Of particular interest was his comment about our relationship to the work, specifically how we consider the site. For jewelry the body is site, but in ironworking the architecture becomes the body. Simple and profound. I guess I already knew it, but it is always nice to hear an idea put more articulately. Interesting throughout. A standard artist talk. People tried to bate him at the end by asking questions about his departure from the metalsmithing field. He didn't bite. Revolutionary Rating: 2 – Lively town hall meeting.

Final Shebang

The party on the last night saw philly steaks and hogie abound, with SNAG celebrating its 40th anniversary. Not much to speak of, some old timers gave some recollections, necessarily sentimental. I had fun. Cash bar gets expensive!

Final Thoughts

The birthday cake was not delicious, but overall I would say for myself and my partner Amy Weiks, this was the best conference we have been to. I think it has more to do with being around the field and in the public consciousness through this blog. I met many people, and for the first time had people introducing themselves to me, like I am someone people want to know. That is a harsh contrast to the first conference I attended in Cleveland 4 years ago, when no one knew I existed. I guess what I am trying to say is that SNAG conferences get better the more you go. You meet people, you network, and the bigger your network, the more you enjoy the conference. Young people stick with it! The age gap is embarrassing. SNAG offer more programs for students and young people so you don't have that age gap at the conference. Etsy sponsored the conference, but how many people from Etsy metals were there (an honest question)?

Comments Welcome, first time readers I invite to subscribe, and friend my on crafthaus or facebook. See you in Houston!

-Gabriel

Eco-Trip

Good News For all you Netflix subscribers, you can now watch Eco-Trip Season 1 Episode 3 "Gold Ring" on Netflix Watch instantly. This episode actually tracks the production of a gold ring from across the supply chain from mine to market. This is a good illustration that will allow for a greater understanding of the impact of metalsmithing practice.

Here is the description of the show:

"Eco-adventurer," environmentalist and extreme-sports enthusiast David de Rothschild hosts this globetrotting Sundance Channel series that investigates the effects that everyday commodities have on our planet's health. The first season finds de Rothschild examining the life cycle of a T-shirt; the manufacture of cell phones and chocolate; the real cost of turning on a light bulb; and the business of bottling water for human consumption.

Let me know what you think,
I am going to watch now.

-Gabriel

The Revolution in Three Parts: Part 2 - The Revolution Begins

I am using a 1-5 revolutionary rating scale to evaluate the activities. I hope this gives you a sense of just how controversial the programming was.

Day 1

Professional Development Seminar Part 1 – Marla Johnson

Marla Johnson of Aristotle Design, a marketing and web design firm in Little Rock, Arkansas, organized her presentation in two parts. The first part of her presentation focused on improving web visibility through a combination of understanding google’s ranking algorithm and prioritizing search terms. The second part of Marla’s talk had to do with social networking in driving business and building brand image. Chances are if you are reading this on my blog, that blogs, facebook, twitter, and youtube are about as revolutionary as a ham sandwich. The information was good (although sometimes necessarily basic for a general audience) and the speaking was fairly dynamic, but not juicy as part two……



Professional Development Seminar Part 2 – Galleries in an age of Digital Commerce

Karen Lorene – Facere Gallery – Seattle
Patti Bleicher – Gallery Loupe – Mont Clair, NJ
Whitney Couch – Object Fetish – Online Gallery
Sienna Patti – Sienna Gallery – Lenox, MA
Beth Ann Gerstein – Society of Arts and Crafts, Boston
Ruth Snyderman – The Works Gallery, Philadelphia

This was a panel discussion of gallerists moderated by the PDS organizers. The role of the gallery in today’s jewelry/ craft marketplace is hot topic about which I blogged a few months back, and it was clear out of the gate that the panel was going to get the tough questions. The first question essentially asked the panel to justify their continued existence, (“What does a brick and mortar gallery offer that an online one cannot?”) and by mid way through the conversation the gallerists began to look flustered at being ambused. While the tone was a bit us and them, (between the artists and the gallerists) PDS organizers Andy Cooperman and Harriete Estel Berman wanted to really get to the meat. And there were interesting moments, most of which resulted from ego conflicts. Highlights: the admission that you can pay blog writers to talk about your gallery (good bye journalistic integrity), that some gallerists recognize that studio jewelry is a small market and they are okay with that, and that every customer is a collector they just don’t know it yet. The issue of the a gallerist as an agent came up, with the general consensus being that with the amount of artists each gallery represents, they cannot be an effective career manager. I wonder then with internet sales venues, marginal advocacy activities, and a fifty percent share going to the middlemen, why the gallery remains such a dominant force in studio jewelry dissemination? It must be because artists are incompetent business people that don't know how to deal with the public. Boy am I sick of that line. For a more complete transcript check out Emiko Oye's blog Reware Revolutionary Rating: 3 – A public demonstration

Pin Swap

My partner Amy Weiks and I made 100+ pins for the swap, and some were to advertise the blog, so if this is your first time to the blog, welcome. My pins were meant to be provocative and esoteric sporting such slogans as: Write., Fuck Big Jewelry, Big Fucking Jewelry, [Harlan] Butt: Good for Metalsmithing, Etsy Sucks, Etsy is Awesome, Blog this Pin, Future Metalsmithing Legend, Europe Called. Ya, its spelled Jewellery, etc. It was a laugh.

Day 2

Conference Chair, Doug Bucci opened the day with remarks that explained the theme of the conference, Revolution, as looking at Revolutions in the past, present and future. A welcome explanation, even if quite vague. Stanley Lechtzin was given the lifetime achievement award before presenting his own lecture.

Stanley Lechtzin – The American Metalsmithing Revolutionaries
Stanley began his lecture by affirming his conviction that evolution more accurately describes the natural order development in metalsmithing than revolution. However, upon further contemplation Lechtzin concluded that historical Academic figures in Metalsmithing. best represent the theme of Revolution. While no doubt important in the history and lineage of metalsmithing at present, the application of any sort of critical study of the figures was conspicuously absent. Instead footage from some unknown (to me at least) source, was liberated in order to allow the audience to hear early and mid 20th century academics, such as Ron Pearson, Arlene Fisch, and Richard Thomas explain how they came to be influential teachers quite by happenstance. There was no overarching narrative, which I longed for, but none-the-less it was interesting to put faces with names that I have long held in revere. Revolutionary rating: 1 – Not the slightest hint of agitation.

Dr. Sandra Alfoldy – Imagining Ourselves: Looking into the Future of Craft

After an introduction by Elizabeth Argo of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, Dr. Alfoldy launched into a rebuke of Garth Clark’s 2008 lecture at the Museum of Contemporary Craft in Portland, OR (entitled How Envy Killed the Crafts: An Autopsy in Two Parts). Alfoldy’s talk presented a refutation, which fell short of changing my mind, primarily because it didn’t present an organized or critically reasoned case. Alfoldy announced the 3 part organization of the talk would cover the popular, political, and global aspects of craft, which she examined in her craft history classes at the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design. She gave evidence of surveys her students conducted about the public perception of craft, which sounded promising, as she related that craft in the public’s mind is primarily associated with domestic mavens like Martha Stewart. However, she departed from her stated rubric for building a case for craft's vitality. An abridged history of craft came next which spanned Van Eyck’s Goldsmiths Guild (talk about pandering) to Deutche Werkbund, the German version of the English Arts and Crafts movement (about 5 centuries). But it wasn't the lack of clear organization that troubled me in particular. Since the lecture was framed as a response to Garth Clark's assertion that craft is dead, I would have expected Alfoldy to specifically refute the claims of craft's financial and organizational insolvency, which Alfoldy ignored. It was around the time that Alfoldy finished her abridged history of craft that I first noticed that her argument was troublingly thin. Clark's authority on the business of craft simply could not be refuted by an academic, and Alfoldy's focus of craft as a thriving and vibrant practice is beside the point of Clark's argument. Of course the audience would have had to have heard Garth Clark's lecture in order to put this in perspective, so for most the talk was an affirmation, which closed by telling the audience craft was alive and well, instead of providing any meaningful call to action. That craft is a robust practice capable of producing interesting objects and activities was a surprise to no one. To call that scholarship is symptomatic of the low level of criticallity in the field. Make no mistake that Alfoldy was a great public speaker, but for me content is king. One last note, to anyone who dares to invoke the name William Morris, don't use his life's work as a craft advocate and socialist to build your case, and then at the end of your talk declare that the young patrons of indie craft will eventually grow to appreciate higher or finer craft objects. Sandra and Elizabeth, please remember that Morris withdrew from his company in disgust of his inability to reconcile his socialist beliefs with the wares he was producing for his bourgeois patrons. Should the most democratic class of craft patrons today aspire up the economic craft ladder to what you believe to be "fine craft?" I believe you are on the wrong side of Morris here. Also, for the record iPod cozies do serve a function; to protect the iPod from scratching and damage. Revolutionary rating: 4 - Boston Tea Party. Though I felt it to be more along the lines of the counter revolution.

Leo Caballero of Klimt02 gave a lecture in the afternoon which was hampered by his language skills (unfortunately), but there was some gems in there, I only wish I could have simply read the talk. A video which promoted Klimt02 was shown at the end. It was great, although I found the juxtaposition of images of contemporary sculpture (Damien Hirstamong them) and contemporary jewelry a heavy handed supplication. 1 - Not the slightest hint of agitation.

Conversation with the Board

SNAGs financial crisis is over! After the concern over budget short falls and the loss SNAG would take on heavy student attendance at the 2008 Savannah Conference, SNAG ended 2008 with a nearly $70,000 surplus. Good job Stewart Thomson!

Several topics came up in a candid round table discussion. The first issue, which was sort of a lark into intellectual property with several voices giving conflicting advise, most of which conflicted wit the advice I had received from a recent consultation I had with an IP lawyer. Not very helpful. I brought up the suggestion that students should be involved in planning the conference by including them in planning committees, so as to give young people a voice and extend the hand of inclusion. The theme of extending a hand to students would be revisited on Day 3. An African American male conference attendee addressed his concern to the board about the lack of diversity of conference attendees and the membership of the organization in general. The response he received was completely unacceptable. Instead of owning this glaring problem, apologizing and vowing to work harder to reach out in the future, the response was one of justifications and sympathy. It is the mark of good leadership to acknowledge failure. I suggest that the board soon acknowledges that SNAG has failed on the diversity issue. There seemed to be no animosity in the discussion however.

Comments Welcome,
More soon... stay tuned!

-Gabriel

The Revolution in Three parts - Part 1: Contributing Factors OR The Lead Up

"Revolution is not something fixed in ideology, nor is it something fashioned to a particular decade. It is a perpetual process embedded in the human spirit.”

-Abbie Hoffman

Intro

This post will be the first in a three part series exploring the 2009 Society of North American Goldsmiths (SNAG) conference - Revolution - which takes place in Philadelphia May 20-23. To all readers who aren't interested in SNAG or its conference, feel free to excuse yourselves from reading.

A Short Account of my Involvement in the Lead Up to the Revolution

I first started blogging about this conference in September 2008, with a post dissecting the speaker line up. Since then I have been thinking, talking and preparing for this conference more than any of the previous three that I have attended (Cleveland 2005, Chicago 2006, Savannah 2008). It started when I was invited to submit questions from my "alternative" perspective to the organizers of the professional development seminar (no doubt based on the excellent quality of my blog post about galleries). The topic of the professional development seminar is (partly) the role galleries in the age of digital commerce. Then, around mid-February I spent a few hours on the phone with the conference chair, Doug Bucci, talking about targeted student programming and student involvement in planning the conference. My main contention was that even though students make up 35-50% of the attendees, the only programming event aimed towards them is a mixer and a portfolio review (which is not limited to students), and in general very little is done to engage them. After our conversation I was invited to help plan/ think of a theme for the pin swap, which I promptly refused after my request to open the planning to a more general pool of students was denied for time and logistic reasons. C'est la vie. Then of course I was invited just recently to blog about the conference as an "official conference blogger." Placing the words official and blogger next to each other feels very strange to me... like professional amateurism, or autocratic justice. It is strange that SNAG would affiliate themselves with my blog, especially since I made it clear that I would be brutally honest for better or worse. I feel like this has been a platform for autonomous and critical analysis, so being an official blogger bugs me out a little bit. Hopefully though the endorsement will increase my readership, which will in turn lead to more dialogue, action, change and god willing...revolution. But anyhow here I am writing my first post as an official blogger. heh.

Throughout the past few months I have felt a bit uneasy by the number of people contacting me requesting input on different projects. I am very afraid of being the token "young voice." I can't help but feel used, as if by giving my input or contributing that it validates whatever project it happens to be. It has happened a bit leading up to the conference. I wish there were more young people coming forward to be involved, or else being invited to get involved. I can hardly represent the demographic I feel people want me to. Maybe if they asked for my perspective - instead of the youth perspective - it wouldn't trouble me so much.

Philanthropy Failed

Some of you may be familiar with my Pro Bono Jeweler Performance Series - especially if you read American Craft Magazine. As a follow up, I started the Altruist Series, which sought to combine contemporary studio jewelry with philanthropic contributions. I proposed to make a special piece from my Altruist Series (see Altruist no. 8 below) for the SNAG Student Endowment Auction using the SNAG logo. The project was rejected on the grounds that SNAG must protect its organizational image, and using the logo could lead to the perceived endorsement of political statements or agendas. Needless to say this is not a path that SNAG wanted to go down. In my mind, I wonder who is SNAG? I thought it was the membership, rather than its regents. I have a hard time imagining that the membership would object to the use of the SNAG logo to raise funds for one of its programs (in fact isn't that what they do when they send me a letter on cool SNAG stationary asking for a donation?). However, I do understand the impulse to protect the organzation from affiliation with a known revolutionary, but wait what about the blogging? I am confused.



So besides being involved in projects and planning of a somewhat controversial nature I am also in three exhibitions this year in conjunction with the conference: Decorative Resurgence at Rowan University, Stuff:Jewelry for the People at Sub-Octo gallery, and the annual juried student exhibition, Metal Evolution at Loews Hotel. I have to admit that I tried particularly hard to make and submit controversial work. I invite readers to visit these shows and offer feedback about the work. Beyond my own work though, there will be an incredible number of exhibitions in the Philadelphia area, 25 at last count, very exciting. I can hardly wait. The SNAG conference gallery night always seems like the pinnacle showcase of jewelry and metalsmithing for the year. Great for metalsmiths and students, but this constellation of exhibitions is for us...where is the studio jewelry extravaganza for everyone else? That is neither here nor there.

The Soap Box Line Up

I know I was a bit ageist the last time I talked about the lecture line up, but I am sticking to my guns. The speakers at this years conference promise to be the best line up I have yet seen at a SNAG conference but their scope is generally not about current revolution, but past. Perhaps a more apt title for the conference should have been Once Upon a Revolution? Stanley Letchzin's talk certainly sounds like it could be titled just that. Sandra Alfoldy (as a replacement for Paul Greenhalgh) promises to be something to chew on for me at least. Dear reader you know how much I like to talk about the future of craft. I also look forward to the panel moderated by Helen Drutt: Revolution/ Evolution, although I feel the 2 hours might be better spent reading Adam Smith or Karl Marx. Myra Mimlitsch Gray and Albert Paley illuminating their own work is very good twosome in terms of interesting work, but I have never seen either of them speak, so I will hope for the best. Perhaps the dark horse of the speaker line up is Neri Oxman whose lecture, Craft by Ecology, sounds like it is right up my green alley but I can't seem to find anything that would confirm my suspicions. Her talk is not to be missed. As for Art and Sex, the lecture to be delivered by Camille Paglia, I know this country was founded by puritans, but over two hundred years later are we still going to be shocked by sex? Vito Acconci, Paul McCarthy, and the Vienna Actionists seen to fall under the once upon a revolution banner. I wait with bated breath for her examples.

Get Out the Vote

Don't forget to vote if you are a SNAG member! Though it seems like the choices this year are like comparing apples to apples. All five candidates for the board and the nominations and elections committee are academics. That doesn't mean they are not good candidates, only that if you don't need a service line on your promotion and tenure resume, volunteering for SNAG is rare.

Final Thoughts

The SNAG conference is like vacation and facebook in a blender. It is a time to connect with old friends, to meet new friends, and to network the shit out of the people there (unless you are already on top). I get inspired every time I go and it renews my resolve to write, make, and work towards making a contribution to metalsmithing and to humanity (two disparate things). I look forward to it, and my one hope is that students will be VERY VOCAL at the conference. I can't help but remember how timid I was at my first conference, but now more than ever, and with this theme more than in the past, it is time to start rethinking everything. How revolutionary will this conference be? I'll tell you next week!