The 2015 edition of Schmucksymposium Zimmerhof 2015, curated by Current Obsession will feature a talk by artist Mallory Weston. The talk, ‘Done to Death’ will explore the life of symbols and their presence in both contemporary art jewelry and the broader world of art and design. The life cycle of a symbol is fluid and constantly evolving. The meaning of an icon can shift over time and across cultures and what was once considered fresh and unique can become overused and cliche in an instant. But despite this fluid life cycle, the icon will always remain an effective and nearly instantaneous method of communication. This talk will address how artists embrace or challenge the symbol within their work through new approaches in making, conceptual and material exploration, and collaboration.
Zimmerhof is a yearly meeting of members of the jewelry field – students, makers, designers and historians – taking place in an impressive old farmhouse estate in Bad Rappenau-Zimmerhof.
What are Jewellery’s Icons?
Icon is an ambiguous word simultaneously connoting a religious symbol loaded with historical and spiritual content, a flickering symbol on a computer desktop distilled and reduced in meaning, or an actual person – a rock star or a celebrity. Does Contemporary Jewelry have a system of symbols and signs connecting the past and the future? And if so, where do these symbols and signs belong: in a subculture, within the mainstream, or have they lost their cultural relevance?
June 4-7, 2015
Schmucksymposium Zimmerhof 2015
