Wednesday, September 14, 2005

The on-line jewellery project (Paula)

I’m a collector and a consumer ( may be a over consumer?!), no doubt!

I collect almost everything… I’m a little bite like Pippi Long stocking( collecting “good to have things”, you never know when you can use it…), I’m collecting; garbage’s as avocado shells who I’m drying and put other things in, as small tins… Other seeds, plastic cans, plastic bags and so on…
I collecting free postcards, books, cd´s, magazines, ugly dolls who I find in flea markets, deo balls, sugar cubs from different parts of the world, photos of things I see when I have my camera with me etc.

But first of all I collect friends or meetings with people, things they say and how they are…
I’m curios about life and nothing is too small to collect or save in my mind.

I wonder: Are you a collector? What are you collect and why?
What part do you have in the consumer society your in? Are you a consumer?
Is it possible not to be a consumer 2005?

For the moment I don’t know why I collect things, I just know that I always has collecting “good to have things”. But why??? I have no idea.
May be is it because it will reminds me of something, may be it’s because I think we all trough things away easily? May be it’s because it started my associations lines? May be it’s because that I feel happy of what I find? May be it’s because I’m thinking that without things I can’t remember? May be it’s because of who I’m or who I wanted to be?

I think we all are a part of the consumer society, even if we want or not. What we collect and what we buy is a question of where we live, what male we are, how old we are, who we want to be, how much money we have to spend, fashion etc.

I started this on – line project for two reasons; first I wanted to work with other jewellery artist around the world, second is that I’m curios how other jewellery artist think about the consumer society. And what we can do with this subject…


This is a perfect opportunity for me to do it, first to ask jewellery artist if they want to join this project and otherwise to see how other work with this subject; consumer society…
To have this on – line project is nice and interesting, because I and everyone can work alone and then share it with others on the internet…
Now when we got this blog, we easily can communicate with eight others and with people who isn’t in this project to!

The idea of some kind of on –line project started when I was in a workshop with Ruudt Peters in Ravenstein/ The Netherlands last summer: NOW CHAOS.
The subject was; hate materials.
Under the course we (or I) learned that it’s nothing as hate materials, because everything has the own potential if you find it out…

2 comments:

paula lindblom said...

This was the first toughts about the on-line-project.
Written in Mars 2005.

And now in October 2005 WE got this BLOG!





Consumption Society existence… “Use and throw away”.

With the help of recycling materials like junk/trash or junk-market-finds,
be inspired to make pieces of jewellery.

Together with other jewellery artists take care of this, transform and
use these materials once again…


In Africa people have developed a master ship in making everything from toys to objects of art out of junk. This attracts me!
Already during my education in Jewellery-Art at HDK, Högskolan för Design Konsthantverk (HDK = University of Design & Art) I attended a workshop in Tokyo, Japan where I/we worked with junk jewellery (2000). In the summer of 2004, I also attended a workshop in Holland, arranged by the present Professor at the Swedish Konstfack (=School of Arts);
Mr. Ruudt Peters. This workshop was aimed to investigate “hate” material. The name of the course was; “Now Chaos”.

When I made my examination work in the Faculty of Arts for graduation to MFA (Master of Arts), the subject was “Superficiality of Society”. I choose the artist Mr. Eric Langert as my instructor, because he has, in an excellent way, the ability to transform junk/trash into incredible objects. He has the ability to see the intrinsic characteristics of the materials, an imagination and will to make something else out of already existing materials, i.e. to transform the materials…
He has among other things made the National Exhibition “My Animal Park”. One of the better exhibitions I have seen, with already existing materials/objects transformed to fantasy animals, all from crocodiles out of car tyres, dinosaurian of old radiators and bats of umbrellas etc.

My interest is that I think we live in a consumption society. A society where incredible much things are thrown away and goes to waste. I will try to find a way to continue working with this from our western “use and throw away”? Principals I want to focus on myself as a part of the consumption society.
To transform consumed/rejected products, charge them with “new” value and put them into another whole, is what I expect to do. Principally in jewellery art or as I choose to call it; “body-related-art”.

Of course opinions differ why people use different materials around the world. It is all from easy reach to none supply of materials that rules our material choices. My wish is to be able to use different recycling-material, such as junk/trash and junk-market-finds once already rejected by people.

Through contact with other jewellery artists around the world, create an On-Line-Project is one idea that came up during the last days at the workshop; “Now Chaos” Holland (2004).

To be able to work together with others against new goals just where you are geographically, and keep in touch through Internet and discuss and constructively criticize as well as running the project against a mutual goal, a project in transformation.

To simply be in a situation in spite of the geographical distance which is large…?

In February 2005, I sent an inquiry to different jewellery artists, if they were interested in gathering around a mutual theme? Within certain frames remain to the theme/subject and be willing to seriously participate.
I thought perhaps five people would find this interesting. Now it is in all 10 participants!!!
Represented countries are: Sweden (4 people), Denmark (3), Spain (2) and
USA (1).

I have put up certain guiding principles for this project:
All people which have chosen to participate, shall stick to recycling materials,
junk/trash and junk market finds.
We shall produce 3-5 pieces of jewellery.
We shall communicate with the others via Internet.
We shall arrange an exhibition in our hometowns/countries. This exhibition
does not necessarily have to be in a gallery. It can as well take place in empty
premises in town…
A publication will be made, where every participant gets two pages each for
pictures and text. This will become a publication of the different exhibition occasions.

At present everything is free of charge, but we will certainly all need to apply for scholarships etc. in order to be able to produce a final publication. Travel costs and exhibitions in the different countries shall also be considered.

Possibly a site/homepage will be opened for this purpose. This will facilitate communications through picture and text. Every participant can then easily update hers ideas and jewellery via the site.
All participants can refer gallery visitors and other interested persons to this site/homepage.

paula lindblom said...

Or September...WE got the blog.