[Jewelry making - Article 00121] - Re: [Orchid] Metalsmith's Exhibition in Print

[John L. Jensen]

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Dear Orchidians,

    I thought I would chime in with a few of my experiences. About 10
    year ago I felt SNAG definitely gave me the cold shoulder & made it
    rather clear that they basically didn't want me. Of course this left
    a bad taste in my mouth for a long time. However things do change!
    SNAG is very different than it was 10 yeas ago, & I would encourage
    everyone who has not followed the organization very well to take a
    fresh look. Sure, there are still a lot of academics, but a lot has
    shifted. there are a ton of students, sculptors, blacksmiths, & even
    knifemakers like me of all people!! I have met wonderful people in
    all of these veins by being active, (& the conferences are great!) 

    I continued to ignore SNAG until just a few years ago, when I met
    through e-mail correspondence, our very  own Anne Larson Hollerbach,
    who at the time was organizing a show in conjunction with the SNAG
    conference in Denver a few years ago. I told her my previous
    experiences & concerns with SNAG, holding nothing back (I have a
    great command of colorful language). Anne understood my feelings &
    slowly got me to see that things had changed considerably. In the
    last 10 years "Metalsmith" has gotten a new editor; Suzanne Ramljak,
    & Dana Singer SNAG's executive director. Anne even forwarded (with
    permission) some of my rather scathing criticism about SNAG onto
    Suzanne, who responded kindly; surprisingly very open & gracious
    towards me, considering. I have corresponded with Suzanne several
    times in the last few years, & she has always been easy to deal with
    & professional. Dana Singer likewise is simply a brilliant, warm
    hearted & caring individual. Several others within the organization
    have been quite supportive as well; Don Freidlich, Borris Bally, Joe
    Wood, Karen Christiansen, & many, many others. 

    (Forgive me for butchering the spelling of names) For as far out on
    the fringe as my work is (considering the framework of the
    organization), my knives have continually been embraced, much to my
    (still ongoing) surprise. The thing is, you DO have to get involved
    & participate. "Metalsmith" fills a very good niche, there really are
    plenty of other magazines that cover the rest. Suzanne has really
    embraced a lot more types of work & viewpoints that the previous
    editor. She has also expanded the number of pages & in just the last
    year has moved into a completely full color magazine. "Metalsmith" is
    not going to appeal to everyone, but what is? I think it is very
    important that we support it. Compared to a lot of other arts &
    crafts, namely glass & ceramics, jewelry & metalwork are far behind
    in their public acceptance. "Metalsmith" is but one of many faces of
    our work that reach the public, & therefore is important to ALL
    jewelers & metalsmiths. Yes, it still seems to be in more of what
    people would call the academic slant, but this is needed to help
    align ALL metal work & jewelry in general with the "art" (idea)
    world. Even so, the articles have toned down a bit, 10 years ago I
    needed a dictionary to help get through the articles! Now, the
    writing is much more lively & I actually enjoy reading them. Perhaps
    I have simply gotten a bit smarter, but I doubt it!    

    So my experience of being accepted is this: I had one knife accepted
    into the "Innovative Tools for Personal Use" show in conjunction
    with the Denver conference, two knives in the 2002 EIP, (i'm still in
    shock over that), a published article in the newsletter, as well as
    being a featured at this years conference in St. Petersburg!!! That
    is a hell of a lot of acceptance of an unconventional form if you ask
    me! 

    I'll finish with an important thing to note: You have to
    participate!! Both the EIP & "Metalsmith" in general (I think? Dana
    correct me please if I'm wrong) are only open to SNAG members. You
    need to join the organization. People complain that they only see the
    same type of work. If the membership varies & grows, you will see
    other work, I'm a perfect example of this in action. Another thing to
    note regarding the EIP is that once accepted, you are NOT allowed to
    submit again, for a believe another two or three years. Also the EIP
    varies every other year between open calls & themed shows. This is
    the reason perhaps that when you have an issue on Enamelling &
    everybody gets PO'd that a certain maker is not in that issue,
    consider that; one, they may not have applied, they may not be a SNAG
    member, or they could have been in the years previous issue, & are
    now ineligible to apply the following year (even if they seem like
    they should definitely be in it) I know that this was the case with
    me. I was in the 2002 issue, the 2003 issue was on Enamelling, which
    I don't do (yet) so I didn't even have work that would qualify, & I
    was still intelligible to be in this most recent issue, luckily I am
    now finally able to qualify to be in the next EIP (I will apply, &
    keep my fingers crossed)  This may also account for why some years
    seem stronger than others. Also realize this is an "Exhibition in
    Print", things are never as good photographed as they are in real
    life, especially something so intrinsically tangible as jewelry. I
    know that I have actually seen a few of the pieces in the current
    EIP in person & they are amazing, yet don't at all come across that
    way in the issue. Perhaps, the jurors also had first hand knowledge
    of particular pieces, & therefore chose to include them. If you see a
    great piece, then see a bad photo of it, it's hard to change your
    mind about your first impression, not so the other way around! The
    very issue of this "Print" medium was addressed in the 2002 EIP
    editorial, it was discussed that more artists would hopefully respond
    to the medium of this exhibition (print), I think this is probably
    where some of the pieces in the new issue come from; virtual pieces &
    projected installation type pieces. I think these were refreshing
    ways to address the situation of "print" & that photography is a huge
    part of the "art" you are viewing in this particular case. Is this an
    effective course of action? That remains to be seen, but it's
    important to understand where this is coming from. 

    So, I hope that my experience has helped clarify a few points & has
    encouraged many of you to take a fresh look at SNAG & consider being
    a part of it, or more active if you already are. 

    As far as Keith Lewis goes, if you haven't read the "Metalsmith"
    article I would really suggest doing so before forming opinions. It
    was very enlightening, full of intelligence & good humor. I think
    anybody who has pre-conceived notions about his work would find the
    article surprising. 

Sincerely,
John Lewis Jensen
(626) 449 - 1148 
http://www.jensenknives.com
mailto:john AT jensenknives.com

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