Exploring Elegant Armor: A day-long look into MAD’s collection of contemporary jewelry

Saturday, November 22, 2008
MAD’s jewelry curator Ursula Ilse-Neuman hosts a day-long investigation into the history of contemporary jewelry design, new materials and techniques in the field, and the hidden gems of the Museum’s unique collection.

11:00AM and 12:00 PM
Open Studios: Enameling and CAD/CAM demonstrations
Join us as artists demonstrate some of the techniques and processes that go into crafting the jewelry in the exhibition Elegant Armor. Students of world-renowned jewelry artist Jamie Bennett will take visitors through the enameling process in our studios, while artists Jocelyn Kolb and April Reigart, both former students of pioneering designer Stanley Lechtzin, will demonstrate how Computer-aided design (CAD) is used for some of today's most innovative jewelry-making.

2:00 PM
Gallery tour of Elegant Armor with MAD Curator of Jewelry Ursula Ilse-Neuman

3:00 PM
Quo Vadis: New Directions in Jewelry Design
A discussion with the field’s leading artists 

A discussion with the field's leading artists. Jewelry has always been a mirror of the society in which it is created, and with a wealth of materials and virtuoso techniques, contemporary jewelers create dazzling works. Participants will discuss the defining characteristics of art jewelry today and what it tells us about the social fabric of our world.

Participants:
Jamie Bennett, Professor of Art, SUNY New Paltz
Iris Eichenberg, Artist in Residence/Head of the Metal/Jewelry Department, Cranbrook Academy of Art
Stanley Lechtzin, Professor of Crafts and Area Head -Metals/Jewelry/CAD-CAM Area, Tyler School of Art;
Moderated by MAD jewelry curator Ursula Ilse-Neuman

Jamie Bennett
Jamie Bennett is currently Professor of Art at the State University of New York at New Paltz. He is a three-time recipient of the National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship and has received a New York State fellowship twice, as well as numerous other awards. He has participated in many pioneering exhibitions such as Jewelry Moves at the National Museum of Scotland; New Times, New Thinking Jewelry in Europe and America at the National Museum of Wales; as well as a traveling museum exhibition of his solo works in 2008.

Iris Eichenberg
Iris Eichenberg is currently the Artist in Residence/Head of the Metal/Jewelry Department at the Cranbrook Academy of Art. Eichenberg’s work has earned her numerous awards and she has exhibited in Europe, the United States, India, Austrailia and Japan. Eichenberg’s most recent series of works, inspired by the material remnants of Western and Eastern European immigration to the New World, centres on experiences of loss and belonging, dislocation and resettlement, consistencies and transformations in taste. Iris Eichenberg graduated from the Gerrit Rietveld Academy in Amsterdam in 1994.

Stanley Lechtzin
Stanley Lechtzin is a professor of art in the Craft Department at Tyler School of Art, where he heads up the Metals/Jewelry/CAD-CAM Area. Since 1958, Lechtzin's work has been exhibited extensively in the United States and abroad. In 1978, Lechtzin began his exploration of digital technologies. He believes artists must address societal issues, a belief that has led to his vision of Computer-Aided-Design/3D Printing as a new craft medium. Lechtzin’s work explores how crafts must change, while still maintaining their historical values.

Ursula Ilse-Neuman
Ursula Ilse-Neuman, a curator at the Museum of Arts & Design since 1992, has organized numerous exhibitions at MAD, including GlassWear (2007); and Corporal Identity: Body Language (2004), in collaboration with the Museum of Applied Arts in Frankfurt Germany. She has been instrumental in expanding the Museum’s focus on contemporary jewelry design. She has organized numerous exhibitions in all the traditional decorative arts media, written extensively for catalogues and magazines, juried many competitions and lectured widely. 

All of the day's events are FREE with MAD admission.