Plume: a Master of Fine Arts Thesis by Vincent Pontillo-Verrastro

Article / Artists Behind the Scenes Debates Making

Published: 03.07.2015

Plume: a Master of Fine Arts Thesis by Vincent Pontillo-Verrastro.

Author:: Vincent Pontillo-Verrastro

Edited by:: Klimt02

Edited at:: Bloomington

Edited on:: 2015

Plume Collection
Photo by Ben Timpson

In april 2015 Vincent presented his MFA thesis at the Indiana University. Inspired by the manufacturing processes involved in brush-making, and in looking to historic and contemporary approaches to fabrication for both the brush and jewelry proposing to hihglight a dialogue of the primacy of the tactile sense in jewellery.

This collection of jewelry is an attempt in appropriating the function and tactile properties of the brush, while re-proposing this function within the format of jewelry.
I compare the ubiquitous experience of brushing with the intimacy inherent in jewelry which touches the wearer and in turn, asks to be touched through its haptic quality. I am inspired by the manufacturing processes involved in brush-making, and in looking to historic and contemporary approaches to fabrication for both the brush and jewelry, these works seek to seamlessly blend digital and traditional craft processes. By adopting these physiological and metaphoric associations, I hope to present a dialogue emphasizing the primacy of touch in experiencing jewelry.
/ Vincent Pontillo Verrastro

Vincent Pontillo-Verrastro's thesis work is a mixture of high-tech and low tech mediums and processes. His work pushes the idea of how pieces can be created by redefining what a typical studio practice can contain and explore. Through the subject of the brush Vincent is investigating the object itself along with the intimate activity and interactivity associated with wearable adornment.
/ Nicole Jacquard. SNAG President. Area Head/Associate Professor. Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana. USA

Plume was on view at the Indiana University Art Museum on 1-12 April, 2015

Gasconade brooch by Vincent Pontillo Verrastro, 2015
PLA, horsehair, mink, graphite, rare earth magnets
210 x 184 x 67 mm
MFA 2015
Photo by Ben Timpson