| Dual Dilemma |
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The four silversmiths. From left to right: Paul Pallandt, At Brandenburg. Jef Huibers, Jan van Nouhuys. |
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Dear All, If anyone continues to be mesmerised by these four gorgeous sculptures to the point of being astounded by their beauty, it would be me. You have no idea of the many nights I found myself tossing and turning, worrying about the title I had conferred upon this exhibition project: "The Four Seasons in Sixteen Stone Worth of Silver". Should I focus on striking an artistic chord with a poetic phrase or two, as would be my natural inclination, or live up to the requirements of one of my primary duties and exploit the PR content of the spectacle of one hundred kilos of precious metal? Having decided that poetry didn't need me to illuminate other people's thoughts, I eventually plumped for the spectacular. You probably know how my fascination with silver was first sparked in the mid-1990s, when I was introduced to the work of Goudji, and how I have become increasingly mesmerised ever since by the shimmering sparkle of the material and the way in which it allows itself to be shaped as much as by its air of opulence, for want of a better word. And then there are the activities undertaken by the "Silver in Motion" Foundation, which under the inspired leadership of Jan van Nouhuys had essentially been initiating this kind of thing for many years. Add to this the world of jewellery and that of design and it suddenly hits us that silver actually plays a much more comprehensive role in our lives than we would tend to give it credit for. Or, to use an elegant turn of phrase: Silver as the Hub of the Human Configuration. Not that you'd know it if you were to try and characterise the silversmith's position within the world of the visual arts. On the training side there is a tendency to think in artisanal terms only. Worse still, no-one really knows what to do with the training courses: move them from Schoonhoven to Amsterdam, or the other way around perhaps? And how about the modest student numbers - can they be said to justify the continuation of the curriculum? At which point I could of course soothe your potential outrage by suggesting that training is hardly the essence of artistic creation, no matter how many diplomas are handed out at art schools. It looks as if there's no getting 'round it: I'll simply have to send you on your way with a dilemma. Tell me what you think: are we attending the birth of a special branch of the visual arts, so that we will be able in future to look back in the gratifying knowledge that we were there when it was all happening, or will we be left with a sense of wistfulness, having had to establish that at the end of the day the "yield" was confined to a select group of exceptionally talented silversmiths who turned out to be exquisite rarities in the silver landscape, so that we will be longing for their fascinating three-dimensional reflective design? Whichever the eventual outcome, you are here now, you can indulge now, and that for the time being isn't too bad a note at all on which to declare this exhibition open. (Opening speech given on 15 June 2002 at the launch of the exhibition entitled "The Four Seasons in Sixteen Stone Worth of Silver".) |