Final Projects at International Schools of Design

Information and limitless communication calls for an exchange of ideas and opinions above and beyond political borders and cultural spheres of influence. This also applies to the jewelry-related activities at schools of design all over the world.

The work of a jewelry maker is informed by the critical dialogue between, and also by encounters with, various cultural and artistic work methods in their current global context. A survey of the final projects at these design schools gives an impression of the new accents brought to jewelry design by the younger generation.

This survey presents an interesting cross-section of current trends, which show diverse ideas, courageous new lines of thought, and original uses of materials and formats. By means of transformation, combination, and ironic breaks, many underutilized aspects of this physical art are brought to the fore, opening a wide field of diverse associations. Current works maintain an understanding of history alongside a form that is oriented toward the here and now. Many of the selected pieces reflect the late lngeborg Bornhofen's assertion that: "The more we experience our individual and global state of endangerment and vulnerability, the more interested life is in its own destructibility and transitory nature - fragile circumstances, moments, structures. Jewelry pieces are no longer stable. Existing in this construct demands caution. Caution for oneself and one's environment - caution in one's relations to others."

Most of the works listed here were collected by Marie-José van den Hout, Director of the Galerie Marzee in Nijmegen, the Netherlands, for the Annual International Graduation Show that took place at the Midora Fair for Watches, Clocks, and Jewelry in Leipzig, Germany. As Marie-José van den Hout explains the aim of the exhibition, this collection of final projects was meant to introduce the larger trade audience outside of the gallery circle to the high-quality and especially creative work of up-and-coming designers.

Publication in ART+DESIGN should go further to support and realize this intention. The Annual International Graduation Show displays this year's best final projects from the international universities and colleges below. Also shown were works from Israel and from the Professional Institute for Design, Jewelry, and Equipment in Schwäbisch Gmünd, Germany. kph