Johanna Tornqvist
This Swedish fashion/jewellery designer firstly studied fashion design at Studio Bercot in Paris (1988-1990), she then moved swiftly onto sculpture at Ateliers Beaux where she studied The Arts[1]. After which, deserted her fashion direction for awhile and from 1996 to 1997 she went to the Parsons school of Design in New York City where she learned Ceramics[2]. Johanna ended her studying life in 2000 when she graduated in Art Therapy at Folkuniversitetet Uppsala in Sweden. Tornqvist, because of her extensive artistic studies is very at home in the arts and therefore has had many public collections from 1995 – onwards and on seeing her work one notices that her interpretation of design is a rather interesting one and I quote “I want to erase the boundaries between craft, fashion and folklore and give a new perspective of what folklore is today “[3]. Johanna relishes in going into vintage shops looking for anything she can reuse and create into her interesting pieces[4].
When looking at this neckpiece that is titled “Les pompons de St.Quen” one can see Johanna’s reasoning behind the design quite clearly and her notion of “folklore” and custom shines through in the geometric patterning and fringing. This concept came into play through her finding bits and pieces of ribbon, buttons, curtains and sheets at her grandmothers house [6]. When looking at the principles that have been employed one can see that this piece is very balanced and is evenly weighted through the extensive repetition. This repetition is seen through the pale blue fringing and the red geometric patterning in the collar, this is emphasized through line shown in a geometric way. Contrast is also evident in this work, as the fringing is soft whilst the black fabric framing the geometric pattern seems harsher and sharper, the elements emphasizing this are space, colour and texture. Space is seen through the framing of the red pattern, this uncluttered area stresses the importance of the geometric pattern and one could say creating that particular area into the focal point of the piece. The colour choice influences the notion of contrast rather heavily, the soft harmoniously coloured fringing in relation to the framed red and black geometric pattern seems to work well and I personally think that this piece resembles early South American dress purely because of the colour choices.
Johanna Törnqvist
Piece: Doux péché 2010
Textile, recycled plastic, crochet[7]
This arm piece is rather interesting because it seems almost reminiscent of Victorian glove of sorts that is titled “Doux péché”. One see’s how Johanna stays true to her notion of using textile cut-offs and then creating something unique and insightful. I’m not really sure of what to call this, is it a bracelet? A glove? I think the safest option is calling it a ‘arm piece’. On first look I feel that he focal point of this piece is the bright green and red fabric cover the hand and the principles being used here vary, the first that comes to mind is the extreme contrast once more, this is evident because of the usage of materials/textures and colour, what looks like a fabric covering the forearm is actually recycled plastic in a icy white colour then there is a black wool looking material attached closer to the elbow, this again is contrasting to the bright red crochet almost Mexican inspired hand covering. This piece seems rather unbalanced as the hand area has a radial balance and then the forearm extension is smooth and linear and makes it almost top-heavy. There is a radial repetition through the usage of the crochet .
Johanna Törnqvist
Necklace: Les frousfrous de grand-mère 2008
Textile[8]
This necklace titled “Les frousfrous de grand-mère” I found this alternative to Johanna’s other pieces, this is because one notices the little football 2D figures on the chocker and her colour usage tones and is pleasing and is not saturated like the pieces I have previously discussed. This piece is balanced and evenly weighted and is made out of textile cut-offs. There is a radial balance to this necklace much like the first neckpiece. Repetition is evident through the doubling of the figures and the fabric pieces attached to the bottom over the collarbone. The focal point here is ‘foot baller’ figures, they contrast with the crochet and are brought into dominance because of the red stitching bellow their feet.
Bibliography
Design Stockholm house (2011) Silhouette, [online] Available at: http://www.designhousestockholm.com/collection/atelier/silhouette.html [Accessed: 13 July 2011].
Johanna Törnqvist (2008) Necklace: Les pompons de St.Quen. [image online] Available at: http://www.klimt02.net/jewellers/index.php?item_id=17562 [Accessed: 14 July 2011].
Klimt02 Community (n.d.) Johanna Tornqvist, [online] Available at: http://www.klimt02.net/jewellers/index.php?item_id=17562 [Accessed: 13 July 2011].
Christel van der Laan
Christel was born in 1963 in the Netherlands, in her early years her family moved to South Africa after which she moved between SA and the Netherlands. In later years Christel moved to Australia and now resides in Perth[1]. After studying a Diploma in Fine Craft Jewellery at West Coast College she then completed a BA honours at Murdoch University in Perth. Christel has always liked to arrange and collect things that have importance to her and she has found great inspiration from this and the natural environments she has come into contact with through her movements all over the world[2]. She has an unconventional perception of her pieces, which is exhibited in her artist’s statement where she says “There is humour and sadness in some of these pieces, even guilt, while others are simply a celebration of the beauty of individual elements, transformed when placed next to others”[3].
Christel van der Laan
Ring: Priceless Gem 2003
Gold, polypropylene swing tags
7 x 3.5 x 3.5 cm[4]
This is a ring that I find really interesting, firstly the name “Priceless Gem” this presents the notion of a sort of ‘gem stone’ that’s uniqueness makes it priceless, and the interesting thing here is that Christel has used swing tag plastic as the ‘gem’, she seems to be making a comment here on consumerism or possibly just commenting on how sometimes the most seemly unimportant objects to one can be another’s priceless treasure, this is where Christel stays true to her initial concept. This piece on first glance might seem unbalanced because of size of the “gem” but after consideration the plastic swing tags that create this “gem” are most definitely lighter then the gold ring below. The gem resembles a ball of lines creating facets and through the massive size (distortion of the gem) makes us feel its dominance over the rest of the ring, it makes the worth of the plastic seem more then literal worth of the gold below and therefore there is a symbolic meaning created by distortion. Contrast is shown through the usage of material/texture, the hardness of the gold is dissimilar to the light translucent quality of the plastic.
Christel van der Laan
Brooch: Rock 2008
Gold, silver, paint, windscreen glass
7.3 x 7 x 2.5 cm[5]
This Brooch labeled “Rock” sticks true to Christel’s idea of humour in her pieces, the fact that the diamond looking stone is windscreen glass is again a comment on the importance we place on things. This piece is made out of gold, silver, paint and windscreen glass. This brooch is perfectly balanced with radial lines making the ‘glass’ the dominant focal point. There is repetition shown in the painted silver and the gold circles and there is contrast created through the sharp geometric shapes created in the black silver against the organic shaped gold. There is also a contrast that is created through the translucent effect of the windscreen and the opaque quality of the metals. A sense of harmony is created through the symmetry of this piece and really does emphasize the “Rock”.
Christel van der Laan
Brooch: Holy Smoke 2010
Painted silver, ceramic honeycomb block, old clay pipe[6]
This brooch that christel has labeled “Holy Smoke” again follows her notion of using the alternative things to create pieces that evoke a sense of humor and even sadness in some cases. This piece is made out of ceramic honey comb block, old clay pipe and painted silver, her thoughts behind the honey comb block are rather interesting as she said in her statement “A material I am currently exploring is ceramic honeycomb block, known more for its heat distribution qualities during soldering than as a focal point in a piece of jewellery. I am mesmerised by its beauty and the possibilities it presents aesthetically and conceptually”[7]. I presume the naming of this piece is because of the qualities of the honeycomb block and the old clay pipe (which could be used in heat distribution also). This piece is unbalanced and this is accentuated through the organic shape of the piece. This brooch tones in neutrals and this creates a harmonious feeling and the organic shaping once more enforces this. There is a natural repetition that is created in the internal of the honeycomb giving it a smooth quality through the repeating of holes making the honeycomb the focal point.
Bibliography
Christel van der Laan (2011) Christel van der Laan. [image online] Available at: http://www.klimt02.net/jewellers/index.php?item_id=16612 [Accessed: 14 July 2011].
Christel van der Laan Jewellery (2011) Statement, [online] Available at: http://www.christelvanderlaan.com/statement.html [Accessed: 14 July 2011].
Website
Klimt02 Community (2011) Christel van der Laan, [online] Available at: http://www.klimt02.net/jewellers/index.php?item_id=16612 [Accessed: 14 July 2011].
Website
