Exhibitions San Francisco. Pocket Guide to New Zealand Jewelry. Velvet da Vinci Gallery. The Curated Object

Alan Preston, Pendant: Breastplate 2006, Gold lip oyster shell, vau, gold, 14,5 cm breastplate, 7,5 cm pendant 

Lisa Walker, Necklace: Untitled 2006, New Zealand mussel shells, wool, plastic, glue, fabric, 55 cm

Octavia Cook, Brooch: A Diplomatic Acquisition for the Ambassador of the Bi-Cultural Merger 2008 Bakelite, acrylic, sterling silver, 10 x 8 x 0,8 cm

Warwick Freeman, Brooch: Face Ache 2007, Horse tooth, sterling silver, 2,5 x 2,5 x 2 cm 

Jason Hall, Pendant: Shotgun Heart 2009, Shotgun barrel, linen cord, 3,5 x 1,5 cm

Warwick Freeman, Brooches: Kiwi Footprint stone, sterling silver, 8 x 3,5 x 1 cm 

Anna Wallis, Pendant: Large White Crystal Pendant 2009, Sterling silver, powdercoat enamel, 7 x 4 x 4 cm 

The Pocket Guide to New Zealand

January 13-Feb. 28, 2010

During the Second World War, American soldiers in New Zealand were issued an informative and witty guide to familiarize themselves with the country in which they were stationed. Published by the War and Navy Departments in 1943, Pocket Guide to New Zealand was, as the name promised, a descriptive guide to the history, culture, peoples and language of New Zealand. "Deep in the heart of the south seas", the guide suggested, soldiers would discover a society both similar and different to America. Reassuring readers that New Zealanders were a pioneering society who had been "seeing our movies, listening to our radio, and reading our magazines", the Pocket Guide to New Zealand concluded that American soldiers would meet "a people with some of the British reserve, with many British methods and institutions, but with American outspokenness and directness "plus a working knowledge of American slang."

Five decades later, the Pocket Guide to New Zealand Jewelry continues this tradition of cultural exchange, introducing a new generation of Americans to contemporary jewelry made "deep in the heart of the south seas". Small enough to fit in your pocket, yet big enough to survey the best contemporary jewelers currently working in New Zealand, the Pocket Guide to New Zealand Jewelry is an indispensable introduction to the history and practice of adornment in a country that continues to transform cultural influences from England (and Europe) and America into jewelry that American audiences will find both familiar and strange. 

Participating artists: Anna Wallis, Jane Dodd, Jason Hall, Peter Deckers, Fran Allison, Warwick Freeman, Areta Wilkinson, Alan Preston, Renee Bevan, Lisa Walker, Peter McKay, Lynn Kelly, Octavia Cook, Andrea Daly, Pauline Bern, Niki Hastings-McFall

Curated by Dr. Damian Skinner

For more information please visit: Velvet da Vinci

 

Comments

[Jane]

What a fascinating subject, with its imaginative use of mundane objects - not mundane after all. Who knew it even existed? As always, your presentation is impressive.

[CuratedObject]

Thanks, Jane! We are always so thrilled when you comment! I agree: not mundane at all : )