Aw Schmucks!

[Kevin Murray]

It's been a wonderful week for jewellery in Melbourne, particularly with the Schmuck and Johannes Kuhnen exhibitions at RMIT Gallery.

The panel discussion that followed in Friday was very interesting. This was despite the question 'What is contemporary jewellery?' which seemed to puzzle most of the speakers.

Memo to self: when setting a panel topic, remember to discuss this with the speakers.

I thought the statements by speakers were surprisingly forthright. Generally, there seemed a dismay at the lack of regard for skill in jewellery. Robert Baines decried the 'throw it all together' style of making, and questioned whether it would have lasting value. Simon Cottrell bemoaned the lack of critical discussion about jewellery and asked where the JMGA Vic was when we needed it.

Memo to others: We need to appreciate that these invaluable bodies are run by volunteers and the best way of activating them is to join up and start doing something.

But most challenging was Johannes Kuhnen, who basically claimed that there was so little time devoted to learning skills in university jewellery courses that there was little point doing them. He argued that universities were the wrong place for learning jewellery because they valued writing more than making. There was quite a strong response to his comments, with many saying that the trend in tertiary education is towards more higher degree learning, rather than expecting it to be completed in undergraduate years.

All in all, it was a very intense discussion, frustratingly constrained by time. It was a sign that we desperately need more substantial and better organised forums to reflect on what's happening in jewellery today.

Memo to JMGA conference organisers: Allow for plenty of discussion time, and wait for questions, they will come, even you have to wait before someone gets up the courage.

BTW The shows are absolutely wonderful. Very interesting to see the strength of Asian jewellers in Schmuck.

[Melissa Cameron]

Thanks Cathy. I've been in contact with Karen, since before my exam show which, as you pointed out, she attended. It's a great site; she's very thorough in her approach to blogging. Hopefully as it gets more widely known it will provide another avenue not just to promote shows, but to also host discussion about those shows.

[Cate Salter]

Hi Melissa
Karen Thompson does a fabulous blog on Melbourne jewellery, might be a helpful contact for you, and she has reviewed Schmuck, Jewellery Topos and Melbourne Hollow Ware, oh, and your exhibition too.
http://melbournejeweller.wordpress.com/
I havent been able to find any info on the jmga in Victoria either, but actually all round the country they are hard to find. WA has only recently started a website, mainly conference based and most of the other jmga websites are based around their respective conferences. and of course no lemel anymore.

[Melissa Cameron]

Funny you should mention that Kevin. I made a suggestion similar to yours and had others respond with 'why not try to use the JMGA' as a starting point. There's one thing that history taught me, that if I don't find out why outlets like the JMGA can't get jewellers together, then I may be doomed to repeat their faults.

Having not yet found an inroad there, I see a more informal gathering as an option, as you said. Watch this space.

[Kevin Murray]

Melissa, Why not seize the moment and start organising something? It seems important to take the initiative and begin working out what kind of dialogue would be useful to jewellers at the moment. Since the 1970s, jewellery in Australia has been more just a small industry, but also an art form that expresses something about what we consider important in the world - and our corner of it. As an art form, it needs a lively forum in which we can respond to what's happening.

Why not start with a meeting in someone's city studio, or nearby café, to think about the kinds of questions that are worth considering, and the best way of asking them? Step by step. Anyone offering?

And thanks for the Sydney advice Melinda. Damien and I will certainly pay a visit when we are in Sydney this August.

[Melinda Young]

Hi Kevin
An example of a fine outlet created by Enmore alumni is Studio 20/17 established early last year by Melanie Ihnen and Bridget Kennedy in the Dank Street Gallery Complex in Waterloo. They represent a wide cross section of outstanding makers (including fellow Enmore graduates, such as Danielle). Well worth a visit next time you are in town.
warmest
Mel

[Melissa Cameron]

Hi Kevin,

I have to add to your points about representational bodies lacking membership (the JMGA in particular) and what I have found in the last week or so, an increased desire for discourse within the jewellery community. I found Simon's comments during the panel discussion particularly pertinent, as they echo my own feelings of "where is the discourse?" exactly. When we meet, en masse, such as that Friday or on the Wednesday just passed (for the Melbourne Hollow Ware panel discussion at RMIT), there are heartening attempts, albeit a little stilted (people seem out of practice), at genuine and probing discussion. Some of these attempts are arrested by the fact that people do seem to be out of practice in such engagement, which is a shame, and brings me to the other part of your comments, your mention of the upcoming JMGA conference.

Being a relative newcomer to Melbourne, (originally from Perth) I find it interesting that the JMGA here seems to be MIA. I have been searching for their website, but it seems to have lapsed. I ask, in all honesty, how can one join the JMGA Victorian chapter? (Hopefully someone reading will be able to point me in the right direction.)

I think that a vibrant and thriving community of jewellers need to be able to engage in dialogue for their own professional development, and I believe that this should be able to exist independently of the many strong educational institutions that we have in this state. We have outlets through fora such as this, but as has been exemplified in the two recent panel discussions, people, like me, want more 'face to face' time. Hopefully through the JMGA Vic I will be able to participate in such a discourse. Who's with me?

Melissa

[Kevin Murray]

Danielle,

It's wonderful to hear such as positive story. I hear many good things about Enmore TAFE. I hope all the talent that emerges from it finds good outlets in Sydney. Or perhaps Enmore alumni can set something up themselves?

Good luck with the interview!

[Danielle Butters]

Hi Kevin,

Interesting to hear about debate over course content and skill levels in tertiary education in jewellery. As a recent graduate coming to the field as a mature aged student with past degrees from university, I chose a vocational course at TAFE (Design Centre, Enmore) over the equivalent university degree specifically because of the focus on skills and the facilities available. I wasn't disappointed.

My time is precious and, having an academic background, I see how easily I can create my own curriculum of academic learning and critical discussion. What I couldn't create for myself was a staff of renowned and highly skilled teachers and access to outstanding workshop facilities that allowed me to push myself to the limit of my skills for the three years of my training. What I didn't expect, and was happy to find in addition to that was an added focus on professional practice - solid business skills to make this career work once my training was finished.

Clearly, my experience has made me an advocate for vocational learning, but I still value my university education very highly. I think the most important point for a prospective student to consider when choosing a course of study is exactly what they want to get out of it, what outcome is worth their spending so much time and effort to achieve. An honest answer to this question, without consideration of prestige or educational traditions will point them in the right direction - whether that be university or vocational training.

Herewith ends the rant!

[Kevin Murray]

I'm sure after a journey like that, Schmuck couldn't help but be a wondrous experience. It makes me feel it's just too easy to take the tram from Brunswick down to RMIT Gallery.

I'd have to say that the exhibition reminds you quite powerfully how important it is to see the work in the flesh. Images in a book or Klimt02 are just faint versions of the real thing. Give that jewellery is made for the body, it helps greatly to have your body at hand when seeing them.

But with the price of petrol? That's a close one.

[Cate Salter]

Thanks for the post Kevin.
Assessments are nearly finished and with school holidays soon I am wondering whether Schmuck could be worth the absolute hell of driving across the Nullabor with an eleven year old. (We are on a student budget after all) I have been reading all the reviews with interest. So close but still so far.