Jenny - Day 2

Today was a completely different experience compared to yesterday. Having the opportunity to hear artists talk about their work in person was an amazing experience. It allowed me to really understand how these pieces came to be and where the idea originated from, rather than having a completely superficial reaction. The talks gave a platform from which you then have a deeper understanding and respect.This means that you will then be attracted to different aspects of jewellery or will be attracted to different types of jewellery than what you would normally drift towards.

In this case - when I first saw Ela Bauer's "aprons" I didn't fully appreciate them until she started talking about them, which changed my outlook on them completely. Once I had an understanding of the concept behind her work I then started to draw connections between things she had mentioned and ideas I find to be extremely compelling.

Ela with one of her aprons

However when put into museum context some problems arise in relation to information, language and time. There is usually limited information about work we see, when it is available there is a language barrier and because we're all running on quite a tight schedule, there is also a time restraint.

Being quite "newly" exposed to the contemporary jewellery scene and not knowing "everyone" all that well can have it's problems, so having someone there who can do a little explaining allows you to appreciate the work so much more, instead of relying on just aesthetics and conjuring up a superficial response.