I have worked with typewriter keys, and now work with keys from computer keyboards
I want to be clear about my comments about objects, first. I have
zero objection to someone who takes typewriter keys, for example, and
uses them as a kernel for something. My objection is to those who
simply pick them up, pin them to a wall and say, “Look what I did.”
Second, although this is a fascinating thread, to me - I greatly
enjoy everyone’s thoughts here - I’ll point out that the discussion
of “Is jewelry art?” no more has an answer than it ever has over the
centuries. I’m not trying to stifle it, just be aware if you’ve
forgotten. To me, saying “Jewelry is not art.” is true and not true.
At times it is, but mostly it’s not art, it’s design. I am an artist,
yes, but I consider my jewelry side to be as a “designer”. That’s
what many people object to in contemporary art - it has degraded from
art into merely design. If one gets a canvas and draws an artistic
line down the middle, or two, and accompanies it with some breathless
artspeak about “The Division of Space” - that is design, not really
art. I’m not presuming to define it, but most people consider art to
be a deeper thing than dividing space up - interior designers divide
space up every day. Finally, to swing into an entirely new direction,
and mostly for the students out there, I want to open up the subject
of. I wouldn’t say that the concept of “The Starving Artist” is a
myth, because I’ve done it myself. It is, though, usually someone who
isn’t very good at at and should do something else, or someone trying
to find their legs, as in my case. Art is not a glorious shrine, art
is a career path. Everybody in the world needs to make money, even if
that money is actually trade or something. Van Gogh never sold a
painting in his life (true), but it’s not because he didn’t try.
Paloma Picasso bought a stake in Tiffany’s with her inheritance,
Dali’s estate was in the tens of millions. Art, unless you are a
hobbyist, is simply a profession like any other, and that’s not, not,
not to say that art has to be “commercial”. So, for those of you/us
who want to make a living at art, how does that work? Craftsmanship.
If you want to be a guitarist, first you get a guitar and learn how
to play it, THEN you worry about the self-expression part. And the
same goes for jewelry, painting, or whatever. Art is turning the
mundane into something profound. If you get a piece of bread and glue
it to a wall with some skillful gallery mounting (I’ve seen it),
people will walk by it and say “Look at that!” But likely you’ll go
home hungry. If you paint or sculpt that piece of bread, apply color,
maybe some abstraction, then you are saying, “This is my VISION of a
piece of bread”. And that is Art at it’s fullest.