MESSENGERS OF MODERNISM
AMERICAN STUDIO JEWELRY 1940 – 1960
Toni Greenbaum and Martin Eidelberg
Toni Greenbaum and Martin Eidelberg: MESSENGERS OF MODERNISM: AMERICAN STUDIO JEWELRY 1940 – 1960. New York: Flammarion, in association with the Montreal Museum of Decorative Arts, 1996. First edition. Slim quarto. Photo illustrated French folded wrappers. 168 pp. Fully illustrated in color. Upper corner gently bruised, otherwise a fine copy.
6.5 x 8. softcover book with 168 pages and nearly 100 examples of mid-century modernist studio jewelry produced during the unrivalled creative burst from 1940 to 1960. This book was published in 1996 by Flammarion in association with the Montreal Museum of Decorative Arts as a catalogue of a show that originated in Montreal.
This stunning volume shows and discusses the modern studio jewelry created by the following artists: Alexander Calder, Jose De Rivera, Harry Bertoia, Margaret De Patta, Frank Rebajes, Sam Kramer, Art Smith, Paul Lobel, Henry Steig, Bob Winston, Irena Brynner, F. Carlton Ball, Elsa Freund, Frances Higgins, Everett Macdonald, Betty Cooke, Jules Brenner, Franz Bergmann, Ed Levin, Bill Tendler, Merry Renk, Peter Macchiarini, Ed Wiener, Earl Pardon, and Marianne Strengell.
Each of these artists has been given their own chapter segment in order to show examples of their work as well as providing important biographic information.
In this beautifully designed and lavishly illustrated book, Greenbaum analyzes the output of American modernist jewelers, many of whom, such as Alexander Calder and Harry Bertoia, began as sculptors or painters. In their metal-working skills many of these artists were self-taught and evolved new techniques. This jewelry rejected expensive precious stones in favor of cheaper, irregular gems, and even glass, pebbles and shards of pottery. The influence of Surrealism, Cubism, Constructivism, and Abstract Expressionism led these artists to explore representations of space and individual perception in ways which challenged the traditions of earlier jewelry production.
From the 1940s through the 1950s, American modernist jewelry was a major force in the decorative arts. As diverse in their appearance as the men and women who created them, these necklaces, rings, bracelets, and brooches subscribed to one overriding precept––the ornamental interpretation of modern art using the body as a point of reference. American Modernist jewelry, like the writings of the Beat Generation authors, offered art on the most personal level. It served as emblems for art-loving humanists in an age of alienation. The ninety pieces in this book are thus truly messengers of Modernism.
Excerpted from EVERYDAY ART QUARTERLY [A Guide To Well Designed Products]. Minneapolis: Walker Art Center, Spring 1948, Number 7: “Designers have used new materials and new forms to produce objects suited to our present-day way of life. In jewelry design, however, few changes had been seen ... the same stars, clusters, rosettes, floral motifs, and other traditional shapes that have been used for centuries." The magazine then goes on to recognize a new jewelry movement -- one where artists and craftsmen were beginning to experiment with new jewelry forms, not only using the traditional metals of gold and silver, but also aluminum, brass, copper, plastics, and ceramics. The craftsmen creating these new designs were offering them from their studios and from specialty shops to a receptive public.”
This issue of Everyday Art Quarterly remains the primary reference for the seminal Modern Jewelry Under Fifty Dollars exhibit -- the exhibit responsible for a profound and lasting affect on the modern jewelry movement and it's artisans (Art Smith credited the 1948 Walker show with drawing national attention to his work and making it possible for him to sell his pieces in several craft shops across the country in addition to his own store in New York). A reviewer commented "Jewelry is worn for two reasons: for it’s preciousness, or for it’s decorative value. Precious stones or genuine pearls are, above all, a sign of the affluence of the wearer and must be judged by different standards. But jewelry made of less valuable materials – costume jewelry – should be regarded as part of the wearer’s clothing; its main function is to enhance a person’s appearance, to be genuinely decorative. The majority of the pieces in the exhibition achieve this desirable decorative quality. Others are more in the nature of miniature sculpture.”
Of the thirty-two jewelers exhibiting at the Walker, ten were from New York which was a stronghold of modernist jewelry shops, Paul Lobel and Art Smith on West Fourth Street, Sam Kramer on West 8th Street. Seven were from California. "Although many Modernist jewelers in New York operated their own shops, most California metalsmiths marketed their jewelry through craft galleries, outdoor art festivals, and other venues sympathetic to the cause of modern art." Margaret De Patta, and Bob Winston were from the San Francisco Bay Area.