The Singular and the Generic: Portrait of the Artist as a Maker

This article was originally commissioned by Objectspace (Auckland, NZ) on the occasion of Manon van Kouswij’s exhibition (Feb-March 2012). It has been edited down for this version.  
 
It is re-published by kind permission of the author and Objectspace, coinciding with Ben Lignel’s visit of New Zealand. Ben was giving four lectures on curating jewelry (see here), and gave the keynote address at the Talkfest organized by Objectspace (see here). He also conducted a one-day workshop on curatorial practice at the Auckland Museum.
 
A follow-up to this text, titled ‘Difference and Repetition’, is available on Art Jewelry Forum.