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20th/21st Century Silversmiths Memphis & related silver/jewelry
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Author | Topic: Memphis & related silver/jewelry |
Paul Lemieux Posts: 1792 |
posted 01-29-2009 11:15 AM
Memphis & related silver/jewelry In the '60s and '70s, certain Italian designers, such as the late Ettore Sottsass, grew dissatisfied with the monochromism and austerity of Modernism and the Italian Radical Design Movement was born. In 1976, with the formation of Studio Alchimia in Milan, many of these designers and others were afforded an opportunity to turn their visions into actual products. Alchimia was very experimental, not commercially viable, and frightening to investors because of its sometimes politically radical points of view. Alchimia products, manufactured in small numbers by a various producers, reacted against Modern Design. They were colorful and characterized by aggressive, bizarre, and asymmetrical shapes as well as unusual juxtapositions of forms and mixtures of materials. In 1981, several Alchimia and other designers formed the Memphis Group, which was backed more enthusiastically by investors and supported by larger manufacturing concerns. Memphis existed from 1981 to 1988 and held great influence 1980s design. It produced outrageous decorative arts, furniture, textiles, and so on. Like those of its predecessor Alchimia, Memphis's products were characterized by bold colors; asymmetric, geometric, and/or bizarre forms; and whimsy with a subtly unsettling quality. During the '80s, Alchimia remained active, but its products were more experimental and produced on a more limited scale. Here are some examples of Memphis and related silverware and jewelry.
^"Murmansk" fruit bowl by Ettore Sottsass for Memphis.
^In 1983, Alchimia designers collaborated with the Italian firm Alessi on "Programme no. 6", which was an effort to introduce Post-Modernism and hand-craftsmanship on a small scale (vs. machine mass-manufacture) to the company's production. Above are several of the hand-made tea service items from "Programme no. 6". IP: Logged |
Paul Lemieux Posts: 1792 |
posted 01-29-2009 11:17 AM
^Jewelry designers of the '80s could use fine or inexpensive materials to produce pieces in the Memphis style. This is a titanium, rubber, and acrylic necklace by designer Vernon Reed.
^Metal and enamel brooch by Memphis designer Gerard Taylor for Acme studios, c. 1985. Memphis silver is even less common than other materials, probably because silver didn't lend itself to the colorful nature of most Memphis designs. Also the designers frequently favored cheaper materials such as plastic and glass (although the end products were still extremely expensive). (If you are not familiar with the Memphis style you can click here to view several classic examples.) Reactions to the Memphis style were generally split between adoration and disgust. I like it a lot. I hope others will share similar examples or photos from other publications (the pictures above, except the last 2, are from the books "Memphis" by Richard Horn and "Alchimia: Contemporary Italian Design" by Kazuko Sato). There is a recent book about contemporary Italian silver that has several more examples but I do not have a copy. IP: Logged |
FWG Posts: 845 |
posted 01-29-2009 02:51 PM
I never saw any of the Memphis silver in person; I suspect that you're right, that it ran against the preference for common materials treated uncommonly. There was a wonderful gallery in the River West area of Chicago in the '80s that carried a lot of this sort of work, but it was unfortunately in the great Louis Sullivan warehouse building that burned in 1989. I happened to witness the end of that fire; I was going to an auction in the area that morning and as I got near started seeing smoke. Took the time to watch and lament the great loss.... Edit: I had a link to a Google-cached story on this fire, but for some reason the UBB coding wasn't working with the cached page and at the time of posting the direct link was also not working, but as Jersey points out below they did get it back up: The Great Gallery Fire. I'll leave this note here for the record....
[This message has been edited by FWG (edited 01-30-2009).] IP: Logged |
jersey Posts: 1203 |
posted 01-29-2009 06:37 PM
Paul that's super, thank you for sharing. FWG Is this what you meant Jersey IP: Logged |
FWG Posts: 845 |
posted 01-30-2009 07:51 AM
Thanks Jersey! I modified my previous text too to reflect that it's back live. IP: Logged |
jersey Posts: 1203 |
posted 01-30-2009 08:13 AM
Hi FWG! You are most kindly welcome! I got it from the search & clicked on the "cached" link, thats where it is. Jersey IP: Logged |
rat Posts: 63 |
posted 03-23-2009 07:46 PM
ACME Studios made a lot of costume jewelry that was designed by the Memphis artists. They have discontinued making the pieces and broken all the molds, and consequently, the pieces (like the ones shown in Paul's post) are collectible. There is an online archive of all the designs with production years here: Acme Studios Collectors Archive - rat IP: Logged |
Paul Lemieux Posts: 1792 |
posted 03-24-2009 02:47 AM
rat, thanks for that great link! I guess my Gerard Taylor design above is titled "Lanza". Not sure if this refers to singer Mario Lanza or some Italian word I've never heard... According to rat's link, in addition to the Memphis designer pieces ('85), Acme also apparently had a line of pieces designed by the aforementioned Studio Alchimia (made in '86). IP: Logged |
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