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Push Jewelry: 30 Artists Explore the Boundaries of Jewelry is curated by Arthur Hash, a metalsmith and jewelry designer living in New Paltz, New York. Push Jewelry is a nine by seven inch hard copy book with 176 pages of text and lots and lots of full color photography. It was published by Lark Crafts in September of 2012. This book is part of a series called "Push," and retails for $24.95 in the US and $29.95 in Canada.
The Book's Format
As suggested by the book's subtitle and the fact that there is a "curator" versus an "editor" who put this book together, Push Jewelry is really a jewelry artists' instillation published in the form of a book. The physical book is even very artistic with its open window cover that allows a peak inside to the first page along with a black background throughout with white and green text that shoots out in vertical and horizontal text boxes throughout. The stars are the photographs of the finished pieces, but it is helpful to read the comments provided by each of the thirty artists in order to understand the approach each took to this project.
My Final Thoughts
I understand that some art jewelry is not meant to be practical. Instead, it works more like a narrative and stand alone art object that has meaning behind it rather than functionality. That said, the main issue I had with this book is the use of animal materials. And, of course, this is aversion relates more to my personal tastes as well as convictions.
With so many other materials available to use to make jewelry, I see no reason or pleasure in viewing jewelry that uses feathers or horse hair just as I see no pleasure in owning a mink coat. Even if these are found objects, it bothers me. Of course, the whole book does not contain this kind of jewelry. There are lots of other materials used, and the artists stayed true to the idea of pushing against boundaries that the book is all about, so anyone who enjoys avant garde art jewelry will more than likely enjoy this book.
Publisher's Site
Disclosure: A review copy was provided by the publisher. For more information, please see our Ethics Policy.
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