Schmuckismus

Schmuckism, Jewellery and Social Reflection.
For many decades the questioning of one’s own traditions stood predominantly at the fore of auteur jewellery ; now in the work of a new generation of artists, the medium has largely disengaged itself from its own self-referencing. Instead, jewellery is understood as a possibility and an imperative for the reflection of socially relevant content, whereby topics such as ecology, the consumer society, identities and feminism are directly expressed through the medium of jewellery.

Renowned Danish jewellery artist Karin Pontoppidan (b. 1968), professor of jewellery and devices at the Munich Academy of Fine Arts, has now invited thirty international jewellery artists to the Neue Sammlung – The Design Museum in Munich. The stances she selected are all united by an attitude that regards jewellery as a medium for socio-political and socially relevant issues.

In this publication, a panorama of fifteen years of jewellery history unfolds before the readers’ eyes. More recent as well as older works by the invited artists are each presented on two double-page spreads, while annotations by the curator elucidate the distinctive features of the respective works and locate them within a social context.
Essays by Karen Pontoppidan and Hanne Lorek are accompanied by large-format illustrations of the works, following the exhibition concept, while the text by Paul Derrez examines the political potential of mass-produced lapel badges.

Based on works by thirty jewellery artists from the upcoming generation, the socio-political dimension of contemporary auteur jewellery is presented in all its diversity. A book on the increasing significance of jewellery in today’s production of art.

Text in English and German.