Neoprene Necklaces at The One Way Gallery

So, I'm excited to have some newer work at the One Way Gallery in Providence for their current show. You should definitly check out the show that's up now... not just to see my jewelry, but also because this is the One Way's Providence Flagship location. The One Way has been in Narragansett, Rhode Island for around 7 years now, and I'm pleased to say that I've been there since the beginning!

The Providence One Way location is at 231 Westminster St, downtown by Craftland.

Blogged on My Love For You!

I've been following Meighan O'Toole's amazing blog, My Love For You, for quite a while now. Meighan has created a repository of amazing makers, I got to her webspace for a stimulating mental vacation and to view inspirating works from two and three dimensional artists...

Imagine my surprise this morning when I find an email in my inbox from a friend congratulating me on having my work on her website! After clicking through the link that was provided in the email, I found a post about my Pro Nailz rings! Needless to say, I'm increadibly honored to have Meighan dedicate a blog post to me, and I feel like an overly excited nerd about joining the ranks of the artists included in My Love For You.

Thanks to Meighan for acknowledging my work, and for having such kind words about it.

And thanks to Wendi, for liking my work (and me) enough to share!

For the sake of Opulence...

I am flattered to have recently been asked by The Opulent Project to participate in one of their ongoing projects, COSTUME COSTUME. As a result, I've been working on making lots of the Pro Nailz pieces the past couple of weeks. As you can tell from the image to the right, I've logged many hours painting nails while watching hours of terrible movies. I can barely tell the difference between my living room and a professional nail salon at this point.

The exhibition that I've been making the work for, COSTUME COSTUME, investigates the nature and subject of costume jewelry... Costume jewelry has been traditionally viewed as a mass produced, low price point, fashionable yet disposable variety of jewelry. According to The Opulent Project, 'the original intention of costume jewelry is not to become collectibles or heirlooms but to be fashionable and dispensable when the trend passes. Frequently this jewelry is a mimicry of existing unattainable luxury jewelry or simply of a notion of traditional jewelry.'

The goal of COSTUME COSTUME is to present the limited edition works of designers who have tweaked the identity of costume jewelry to address the conceptual issues associated with this genre of jewelry. The pieces that are represented in this show challenge concepts of value, material, historicism, and identity. 'By replication and alteration we seek to further remove the simulated jewelry from its origin, thus costuming the costumed.... COSTUME COSTUME.'

I shipped the work that I'm contributing to COSTUME COSTUME out this morning to the ladies of The Opulent Project. It all fit into a small sized USPS priority rate box, which is always nice because the shipping rates are tolerable but also discouraging because it seems like so much artwork and labor should take up more physical space.

Check it out: COSTUME COSTUME will be exhibited with Sienna Gallery at SOFA NY in April 2011, and will then travel to the Heidi Lowe Gallery in August.

New works up on Website

I just wanted to point out that the images that I took a while back with Maureen Keaveny are now up on my website, islaytaylor.com... So, check it out and make sure to check back, because we're taking more photos this week!

Work Documentation

What's a great way to spend a Friday night, and I'm not being sarcastic here? I spent last night documenting some of my recent work with Maureen Keaveny, which was so much fun! I really like shooting work on models as well as off the body; and my models were great. I attached a couple pictures below, one of Josie wearing her wedding dress to highlight the design of the neoprene necklaces. And another of Olivia, she looks amazing in the retroglo chains (hopefully the images will make the necklace actually glow!).

I can't wait to see how the pictures come out!

SO Rhode Island Interview!

I was recently interviewed for what I thought was going to be a short side-bar piece about myself and my role as Gallery Director at Hera Gallery... However, when I picked up the latest issue of SO Rhode Island Magazine, a local Arts & Entertainment Monthly, I was surprised to see a full page portrait of myself smiling (awkwardly) back at me.

Despite the intimidating full page photo, the writing is very generous and references some of my aesthetic philosophies, inspirations, and recent works. They also make note of Chromophilia, which was a great free plug for that show. I'm pretty flattered to have been featured in this months paper, and really appreciate the opportunity to talk about the artistic interests that I'm involved in.

Click on the photo above to enlarge the image and read the article.

Art New England Article

There's a really interesting article in this issue of Art New England about the Providence art scene written by Doug Norris. Doug is a wonderfully observant art writer who primarily reviews for the South County Independent, and freelances for national publications as well.

In Providence: The Artists' Nest, Doug describes the Providence art-scene as a incubator focusing on experimentation, collaboration, and community. This mentality is particularly fostered by the local artist run organizations such as AS220 and The Hive Archive. He also elaborates on Providences thriving anti-establishment art subcultures; artist developed micro-communities built around performances, parties, live music, daily creation, and shared spaces that emphasized the collective nature of making things. An example of this would be Fort Thunder. Fort Thunder refers to an illegally artist occupied warehouse which has recently been developed into gentrified condo space. With the eviction of the artists, Fort Thunder has come to describe a group of people (artists, makers, musicians) tied together by their beliefs and interests, but with out a tangible locale. Exhibitions and events are stages across the city in warehouse, peoples apartments, or unoccupied loading docks (which I've seen temporarily transformed into elaborate stages for plays), information about which is spread the old fashioned way by word of mouth and screen printed posters. One last local organization that the article mentioned is the Dirt Palace, a feminist collective operating out of a re-purposed Library building. The Dirt Palace is a space that promotes personal growth for individuals, and an environment conducive to challenging thoughts and radical actions.

Despite it's gritty appearance, Providence proves to be a ripe locale for embracing and facilitating creative natures. There are so many unique facets to Providences art scene that it's difficult to distinguish or separate these elements. It's this influence and contamination of one genera to the next that I've always found so appealing about this town. Providence really does makes it easy to be a creator, people support one another and businesses actually cater to artists.

Be sure to check out the article below by clicking on the images to enlarge them to a readable size. You'll also note that I've been quoted in this article a lot! I'm excited to have been able to contribute to such an honest, historical, and observant portrait of the city that I live and work in.

Upcoming exhibition: Objectified

So, I'm pretty excited (and a little nervous) to be working with Honfleur Gallery in Washington DC to curate an exhibition titled Objectified: the domestication of the industrial.

Objectified will feature the work of Robert Longyear, Jeanne Jo, Andrea Miller, and Colleen Heineman.

The show brings together the work of four artists utilizing different media, and working in different methods. The commonality that these artists share is a philosophical approach to their subject matter, each artist presented here acts as a conduit transforming common materials and concepts into fine art. Whether transforming detritus into wearable works of art, or meticulously creating a knit codex, the artists of Objectified act as an intermediary, allowing their source materials to become more accessible to the viewer.

Objectified was born of the desire to bring together makers from disparate backgrounds, and working in a variety of ways who all drastically alter their materials as a result of extensive conceptual investigations. The title of the show refers to the artists use of the hand, and the alterations that the artists induce upon their work, each piece yielding an intimate relationship to the viewer. It was also important to have this show represent tangible objects as the results of the concepts and investigations articulated here. Allowing for a physical object to become the final vessel indicative of an arduous creative process emphasizes the complex status of that object.

Honfleur is a wonderful non-profit gallery in the Anacostia neighborhood of DC. And, I actually went to College with their Creative Director, Briony Evans, who was the one to invite me to curate the exhibition there. I'll be posting more information about the show as the dates get a little closer, including images of the work that will be included.

And, now that I've written this blog post I'm not so nervous any more. Much more excited...

Picture Perfect Parure

On picture day in second grade, I snuck in some of my favorite jewelry to wear for my school portrait. I was immortalized wearing a necklace, a brooch, and a pair of earrings that I certainly didn't leave the house wearing that morning. It was pretty surprising for my family to receive the packet of photos documenting me in all my bejeweled glory.

Even at eight years old, I had a desire to be photographed in my favorite jewelry. I thought the jewelry was beautiful, and therefore I would be beautiful. Despite the fact that none of the jewelry matched, it was a parure that made me feel so special, I don't think I ever took a school portrait that was a memorable since then.

I like to look at pictures of other women wearing their jewelry. I hunt through books at the library, and scan the internet for images of women displaying their collection of jewels. For a while now, I've been collecting portraits of ladies decked out in full regalia, wearing a menagerie of diamonds, pearls, and other precious bobbles. There is something about the way that these women look, the expressions on their face, that reflects how the jewelry makes them feel on the inside. As if the weight of the adornment actually lightens their mood and their raises their spirits. Like a child playing dress-up.

Here is a sampling of some particularly nice images below. I concentrated on women wearing pearls for this selection. Unfortunately, I don't have names for all of the ladies.

Above: Empress Alexandra Feodorovna

above: Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna

Awesome! Awesome! Awesome!

Yesterday I went to go see Kirsten Hassenfeld's exhibit, Dans la Lune, at the David Winton Bell Gallery. If you couldn't tell by the title of this post, it was pretty phenomenal! As it turns out, dans la lune is French for "He's in outer space," or "He's on another planet;" however, it is also used as a slang term for being drugged or groggy. The title is pretty appropriate, as the ethereal quality of the installation does completely transport the viewer to a new space.

On display were six large scale hanging sculptures made entirely out of paper, velum, and foam-core. Made with the most ordinary of materials, the work is loaded with ornamental references to luxury goods, classical architecture, jewelry, and decorative arts. The resulting hybrid forms are endlessly adorned and heavy with the indulgence of ornament.

The visual stimulation from the opulent swags, chains, gems-like crystals, and honeycomb beads are made palatable by the stark white color palate. The use of the white paper neutralizes the abundant information that is a result of Hassenfeld's thousands of hours of work cutting, gluing, folding, and painting layer upon layer of paper. Yet, there are still slight color variations within the installation. Some of the paper has a warmer tonal quality, while some components have a cooler tonal quality. As the color white shifts to blue, ecru, and ochre, the identity of the paper takes on a biological feel. It seems more alive with the loss of sterility.

The fluctuation in scale involved in this piece transcends the viewer to another world. The vibration between the artwork and the viewer is in a constant state of tension as new elements constantly reveal themselves to the viewer. Traditionally minute ornaments are enlarged to dwarf the viewer, while there are also elements that have been shrunken down exponentially.

I spent a long time in the Bell Gallery experiencing the installation. When I was still for long enough, I was able to notice that each hanging sculpture was slightly twisting and swaying. I could feel the artwork flexing in space, as the paper was quietly breathing or slowly dancing. It momentarily gave me a sense of vertigo, and it seems as though I was a little bit dans la lune.

Gray matter

Since recently reading Jamie Bennet's article, In the Midst of Color: reflections on color's inescapable presence, I have been thinking a lot about the color gray. More of a tool than a color, it is a utilitarian mix of black and white created to determine the value of other colors in its proximity. Gray is a 'service color' which allows other 'real' colors to appear more potent. Bennet comments that if you are interested in the strategic use of color, you must address gray.

The color gray is a neutralizer, allowing for the material to succeed to form, and for the viewer to view the form of an object without obstruction. Gray can also erase history, pretext, and interpretation. It is a democratic tool, subsidizing an object in to its more primal elements.

Despite the intrinsic qualities associated with gray, it seems that our contemporary culture is adverse to this color. We spend hour dying gray hairs, movies won't be watched if they are black & white (gray), gray days are percieved as dismal, and gray suits are associated with a conformist and boring life style.

Personally, I have long since stopped trying to hide my gray hairs, and feel that it's time to embrace this wonderful hue into our aesthetic vocabulary.

Chromophilia

The end of summer means that it's time again for Metalsmith Magazines exhibition in print. This years exhibition, Saturated: Color and Metal, focuses on the visual experience that color brings to jewelry. In addition to displaying the work of 34 artists, Jamie Bennett wrote an article, In the Midst of Color: Reflections on color's inescapable presence, that accompanies the exhibition.

The thesis of Jamie Bennett's article is that color is incrementally and strategically determined, from conception to reception. Color comes preloaded: if you are working with concrete or pollen, the chromatic value is there, but just as significant is the material's associative meaning. Color is colored by the conditions of its embodiment, yet when transformed by inventive and knowing artists it can gain powerful new significance within the context of contemporary metalwork.

Bennett also distinguishes between the use of color as an aesthetic tool and as a conceptual indicator. After reading his article, I decided to map out the characteristics of the two different methodologies. It's interesting how many connectors there are between concept and aesthetics, the two categories pushing against one another, with the only divider between them being intent.