Another Cosmic Folklore

As an art teacher, my favorite section that I have to cover is aesthetics.  If you check the online dictionaries, you’ll probably find it difficult to ascertain what exactly that word means.  In art and the philosophy of art, there are two main uses for the word, and it gets a little tricky.  Aesthetics is a branch of reasoning that goes back to the first recorded philosophers.  This is where the philosopher examines the nature of subjective things, such as love, art, beauty.  These are things of which we may all define differently.  The second use in the art world is to describe an emotional reaction to something, such as, “this room has a dreary aesthetic.”  The second use is mostly used by the art snob or interior decorator, so I will discard it completely from use here  (as not to confuse).

Star Flower- sterling silver, smokey topaz, and amethyst. An example of my five petal flower design. Is it art?

So, what is art?  What is beautiful?  Why is it that one person thinks something is art, and another may discount it as just an ordinary thing?  Why is one man’s garbage another’s gold mine?  Some aestheticians chalk the differences to race, gender, socio-economics, religion, and age.  But, first, what is this thing in which we speak, art?

I define art as evidence that something extraordinary that happened within the creative process that elevates the object above the level of ordinary.  For me, this covers your different definition as well as my own.  We tend not to appreciate the things in which we have seen or used on a regular basis, because they become ordinary.  I could drivel this all over the place with examples, and descriptions, and the evolution of art within this definition.  But, this is the shoestring variety explanation.  I will try to keep it on jewelry.

Ouroboros: labradorite and sterling silver. commission. An extraordinary stone, and an ordinary symbol used in a new a creative way. Is it art?

A work can be elevated above the level of ordinary anywhere within the creative process.  Maybe, it is when a patron gives me a very unique stone, and the inspiration just pours from the rock that I have to work with.  Or, maybe it is after several sketches.  Or, maybe, it isn’t until I actually begin work, and I reach a state of satori with the tools, where every brush of the file and every punch with the hammer is a perfect pencil mark needing no further revisions (rarely do I ever reach satori, especially when I’ve had coffee all day).  Sometimes, it is just in the way that the work will be worn.  And, maybe it could be years later, when all of the mountains have worn down to hills, and the continents have shifted, someone will discover my work and define it as extraordinary because no one living in that time would have ever seen anything like it.  From inspiration, through revision, to the work being worn, some phenomena can occur that elevates the work above the level of ordinary.  Because in my world, there are two types of jewelry, ordinary jewelry, and extraordinary jewelry.  You may only find works with diamonds and gold extraordinary.  Some may think diamonds to be too cliché, and these people may only find unusual stones to be of interest, or driftwood, or plastic.  Both are valid, and neither view is wrong.

In my own work, I strive to work within narratives of folklore.  Or, at least this was what I set out to do.  Things evolve.  As I explored the gods and goddesses of ancient cultures within their folklore, I found that many of these collective aesthetics of these cultures were embodied within their gods.  Venus is the best example, the goddess of love, beauty, and fertility.  Western mainstream culture has held close to the Greek aesthetic of beauty as depicted by the Greeks, but my favorite is Botticelli’s depiction of Venus on the Half Shell (as I call it).  But, all of the world doesn’t define beauty the same.  Some ancient South American cultures would prefer a flatter forehead in their women, as they  would strap planks to their children’s heads to better form them as they developed.  African cultures all had their own tribal versions of beauty, and in Western Europe at the time of Greek culture would have preferred a woman with more meat on her bones.  And, today, even within a culture of bulimic super models, some still prefer a little heftier girl, and some may prefer the more natural girl (whatever your definition of ‘natural’ may be).

Ice Flower Ring: 18K white and yellow gold with diamonds. -Commission

So, as my work has evolved, so has my objectives and my aesthetics.  Some artists will find a niche within their aesthetics and stick to it, making similar paintings or jewelry throughout their lives.  But, I am always trying to learn and explore further from my comfort zone.  When I was approached by the patron that commissioned the ring above, I almost turned it down.  She wanted her engagement ring re-purposed into something new, since she had recently finalized a divorce (Yep, so there’s jewelry for entering marriage, and jewelry for leaving it).  I had almost refused it because of the diamond.  Officially, I’m not insured for taking risks with such expensive stones, but as I thought about the idea, I was feeling pretty confident with my skills.  I just had to make sure that I didn’t lose this darn thing.

I have called the five leafed flower designs Venus flowers.  The five points of the pentagram representing the planet Venus in the night sky, and the symbol of goddess worship.  However, this patron wanted six leaves.  I will spare you the explanations of trinitas and unitates of sacred geometry, but the six petals represent life and progression, which is what the patron wanted as a symbol of her new life.
Ok, is this art?  This is what I ask myself as I am working, and especially when I am finished, or think I’m finished.  Does it fit within my aesthetic?  I never strive to be the best, as I can’t possibly even define who or what is the best within the world of jewelry.  Some artists have way more money to work with.  So, all I can do is strive to do my best.  Working with my patron’s gold, making sure every solder is well fitted before soldering, rechecking afterward.  Checking every setting.  Sanding and polishing at every appropriate interval while working.  I check and recheck every detail in sketches before I begin.  Keeping the stone in the safe until the moment I need it, and working with towels laid down around my work area to catch any of the stones if dropped. Thinking about whether this is what I would call beautiful, especially not being a gemologist and diamonds not being what I work with every day.

Is this the best diamond ring in the world.  No, but to my patron it was exactly what she wanted.  It is a symbol of her life.  It is extraordinary within her aesthetic.  It’s definitely not an ordinary diamond ring.  It is her own private Venus on the half shell.  Some may not see this style or aesthetic as art, and that’s OK.  Some may have preferred a more traditional setting.  Some may have had their own way of transforming the metals and stones into something different.  We are all different, and I like that.  If we were all the same, then the color would be too monochromatic for me.

Artists have worked with patrons to develop their ideas for centuries.  Michelangelo wasn’t just given free reign to decorate Italy with naked people.  His ideas were developed with his patrons and the church.  Artists, today, try to avoid working with patrons on commissions (especially painters and sculptors).  It is a challenge.  Some days being an artist comes easy, especially when I am making things to pacify my own whim.  But, working with a patron to develop something new and challenging that still fits both of our aesthetics has a deeper  fulfillment.  With compromise on both ends we create something bigger than each of us had thought possible.  She completes the cycle of the creative process for me by exhibiting my work on her hand, making the magic real.

Do you agree?  How do you define art? 

{ 0 comments }