SCHMUCK 2009 Part Two

Hello again,
So I realize that I never finished up the second part of my Schmuck Blog, and I finally have some time in between crit cycles, so here we go..

I did end up going to all the shows I wanted to (listed before) and here is what I thought..

My favorite show was definitely the JAMES show, where I got to meet my new friend Lisa Juen. I had met her initially online (via facebook of all places) and the thing is, I really, really, really LOVE her work. She combines enameled metal and fiber in unusual ways and I really respond to the work. So call it being mesmorized by being in Germany or distracted by all that I saw there, because I didn’t even really realize her work was going to be there, and about a ½ second after I realized it was her work, she walked through the door, and I just went for it, introduced myself and it was great!










Lisa Juen















Lisa Juen
















Lisa Juen




The work she presented was really great! She included some artificial fingernails and they looked liked flower petals, and she had this great wrapping technique of the stones she used, that I can't stop thinking about. The purpose of the show was that there was an exchange between students based off of packaging.





The packaging the work was based off of




I ALSO really loved the show because of the way it was installed. When I first walked into the studio I couldn’t quite wrap my head around how they installed these boards hanging from the ceiling with only mono filiment and staples?! However, after scratching my head for a few seconds, my art detective Erin explained the boards were actually Styrofoam, and I was just amazed. Call it the dumbfoundedness that Schmuck or Germany or all of the above did to me, but I was just blown away and I LOVE that! I just feel like it doesn’t happen enough in life and it was great.







The lovely installation





Then we went to go see the In Transit show, which has the work of our friend Helen Carnac in it. I wasn’t holding my breath that we would see Helen, but there she was! When we got there not only was she there, but she wasn’t surrounded by fans like she would be if she was here for an artist lecture or something, she was quietly arranging her work and some papers she had in her hands, so Erin and I got to go up, give our hugs, and chat with her for like 20 minutes! It was just great. That’s one thing I really loved about Schmuck was being able to actually be able to chat with artists that I love, which I feel is a little harder at times here, and I’m not too sure why.








The foundry




What I also really loved about the space that Helen (and several others) were showing at is that it was such a cool space! They set up their show in a metal foundry, so the whole place smelled like freshly cast aluminum or steel, not sure which one they were casting, but it definitely smelled like cast metal in there. And I loved how well the work fit into the space. At times it was hard to tell where the foundry ended and the art began.








Helen and her illustrations hanging


That’s another thing I’d say I really loved about Schmuck was being able to see the artwork in so many different venues, instead of herding around like cattle in a big convention center, which can just get SO exhausting. The main reason I find these events so important is being able to see the work up close and personal! There is so much you can find out about a piece by seeing it in person! For example, I saw a Ruudt Peters piece that was SO much larger that I thought it was in the images.








Ruudt Peters




Finally, the show we saw last was probably my least favorite show, not because of the work, but because of the venue. It was the WITTENBRINK show, which showcased the work of students of Otto Kunzli. It was inside a mall, which was weird, and it was really difficult to find, which was totally frustrating. By the time we got there I was just angry, and the work was good but I just didn’t like the venue after being in that sweet metal foundry, it just couldn’t compare.














The one nice thing about the WITTENBRINK show was that the show was near the Residence Hall, which is where the Munich Royalty stayed. I went there once before when I was in Germany a few years ago, and it is awesome – painted ceilings, relics, gardens – an absolute MUST if you are ever there in the summer time.














Overall we had a pretty sweet Schmuck! And now that I get how it works, I’m excited to go back and do it all over again!