the tod blog

Jewelry Blog Carnival

Fri, 19 Jun 2009 09:10:51 -0400

Topic • Most influential historical metalsmith or metalsmithing tradition

Participant members Blogs are listed at the end of the page as well as a place to comment.

Uh oh, I wasn’t ready for this one.
It’s actually a fairly easy question for me to answer. It’s absolutely my father, Earl Pardon. As many of you may know he played a vital part in the post World War Two Art Jewelry movement. I think you could safely say his main impact was in the art of enameling and bring color into the field. Examples can be seen here on my website by clicking on the Earl Pardon Portfolio above. You can also find out more about him in virtually any book on mid 20th century modernist jewelry.

Growing up surrounded by his work and his student’s work; obviously I didn’t have a chance. Ha! One reason that I think about is that in the early 50’s you could almost count the number of Art Metals people on your fingers and maybe into your toes. There were hardly any books on Art Jewelry at all. Most of the influences then were coming from Europe. So as a child I saw my father’s work as what jewelry is supposed to be. I didn’t know what all that other stuff was out there, just adornment I guess.

I resisted going into the field for a long time. I was so rebellious I went into ceramics at Alfred University and came out the other end as a painter. I’m laughing. Rebellious? Eventually he got me interested in enameling at the beginning of the 80’s. Then by 1986 I was his apprentice working for him for 4 years before he died in 1990. That was the extent of my jewelry education. I also learned never work for a member of your family. Ha!! Only kidding. He was a task master though. It was like old school. Starting out with menial work then moving up to making work according to his specifications and then allowing me to make suggestions and carry them out.

In my early work you can most definitely see a very direct influence because I was using his techniques. I would work for him by day and then on my own work nights and weekends. It wasn’t until after his death that i had grown into my own way of working. I still carry his influences with me though. It’s in the genes.

Participants:
Lora Hart

Elaine Luther
Kirsten Skiles
Marco Fleseri
Angela Crispin
Sherri Haab

Tamra Gentry
Chris Parry

Lorrene Davis
Tonya Davidson

Tod Pardon (You Are Here)

Jewelry Blog Carnival

Thu, 21 May 2009 21:53:54 -0400

Topic • Most influential metal artist or teacher

Participant members Blogs are listed at the end of the page as well as a place to comment.

The question as to who is or was my major influence, as to a metal artist or teacher is an extremely hard question for me to grasp. Especially having seemed to live several lives in one long life so far. I still sort of consider myself a painter who is working in other media but mainly metals and video at this point. I think Im taking the “metal” part of this topic and bending it a bit to fit my background.

I decided to look back upon my career and figure out the first teacher who liberated my thought process. His name is Harland Snodgrass and he was my painting professor at Alfred University back in the early 70’s during my undergraduate years. The odd thing about Harland was that by the time I was his student in painting he had declared the medium dead for himself. I just loved the irony of it and he remained my painting teacher until I graduated, with a BFA in painting, in 1974. Harland had started to work in a brand new medium, video, and it’s manipulation by giant computers in air-locked rooms with floating floors that had far less power than a Nano Shuffle. He was actually on the cutting edge of this whole new medium. It was an amazing transformation to observe, going from painting to video, which helped me later in life to segue rather easily between media.

Now a change in direction can happen at any point for a variety of reasons. My direction still changes, within Metals and without. This is what keeps it alive and fresh for me over the past half a century (I’m including the serious start to a painting career at age six.) But it was Harland Snodgrass who taught me the ease in which to work with any material and use what ever you needed. An artist should be able to work in any medium without having to conform to just one way of thinking. “If the only tool you have is a hammer your going to treat everything like a nail,” Abraham H. Maslow.

What Harland taught me was, to let go. This happened at the beginning of my Junior year after completing two years of foundation courses. I was concentrating in painting and had kind of, painted myself into a corner that I just couldn’t get out of. This corner was a heavy reliance on conceptualization to drive my work. What was happening was that I was limiting myself in terms of the whole process of making art. I was trying to create pieces that were ego or issue driven.

The magic words that Harland uttered to me at just the right time for me to hear were,” It doesn’t matter what you draw or paint, pick anything, just start and keep going. Your ideas will find you.” It was a fairly simple statement that had an amazing effect on me. It took the pressure off of me rather instantly. As the Indian Nobel Laureate, Rabindrinath Tagore said,”What seems to be coming at you is really coming from you.” What i had learned was to embrace the whole experience of the process in order for there to be any kind of meaningful out come. Mind, body and materials had to dance together if it was ever going to come out like the Tango. Not that you actually knew it was going to be a Tango.

Before I end this I have to mention one other person that changed my life and my work. My son Dexter Guy Pardon who is now 11 years old. In fact when he was 4 and I told him how much influence he had on my work he looked at me seriously and said, “Dad you would be nothing without me.” He nailed it.

Participants:
Lora Hart

Elaine Luther
Kirsten Skiles
Marco Fleseri
Angela Crispin
Sherri Haab

Tamra Gentry
Chris Parry

Lorrene Davis
Tonya Davidson

Tod Pardon (You Are Here)

Pitchfork: TV

Mon, 27 Apr 2009 12:17:49 -0400

Great concerts and back grounds on bands.

Thank you Pitchfork: TV!

Wire We Here Video Part 2

Fri, 13 Mar 2009 15:03:41 -0400

This March, artists unveil their more playful side at the exhibition “Wire
We Here?” at Museo Gallery. As a departure for their inspiration, artists
were invited by guest curator Keke Cribbs to use wire and mixed media in the
spirit of Alexander Calder’s Wire circus.
“I wanted to challenge artists to use wire, mixed media, color and humor to
revive a feeling of playfulness within the studio atmosphere," says Cribbs.
"With so much commercialization and overseas production, our playfulness has
taken a backseat to business. And now, a tightened art market appears to
affect creativity at its very roots. I wanted to challenge artists to dig
deeper and find that playful place that inspired us to be artists in the
first place.”

Exhibitors:

Alexander Miller
Mary Jane Miller
Amanda Ondrick
Danielle Bodine
Brad Pressman
Brigitte Martin
Buffy Cribbs
Caitlin Hyde
Virginia Causey
Ann Cribbs
George Cribbs
Robbie Cribbs
Daniella Woolf
David Tuthill
Richard Evans
David Gignac
Tim Leonard
Bill Herberholz
Dan Imbrugia
Dick Marquis
Kamla Kakaria
Alicia Lomne
Marc St. Pierre
Marcia MacDonald
Michael Licastro
Micki Lippe
Tod Pardon
Hilary Pfeifer
Roger Horner
Midori Saito
Donald Singleton
Carl Ulmschneirder
Bill Vitts

Opening Reception: First Saturday, March 7, 5-7 pm
Artist Lecture: Hilary Pfeifer, Sunday, March 8, 11:30am

MUSEO Gallery
215 First Street/P. O. Box 548
Langley, WA 98260
360.221.7737
http://www.museo.cc
Open 11-5, Tuesdays by appt.

Wire We Here Video Part 1

Fri, 13 Mar 2009 14:37:55 -0400

David Greenberger on the Air

Sat, 28 Feb 2009 11:06:10 -0500

Duplex Planet

Thirty years ago in Boston, David Greenberger took a job at the Duplex nursing home. Out of his conversations with residents, Greenberger created poetry, prose, stage performances and music. Greenberger tells the story of how he found his own voice by listening to others. This story originally aired as part of the Transom Radio Hour.

Excellent Moon

Fri, 27 Feb 2009 12:56:16 -0500

This is just a selection from 'The Music of Regret,' by Laurie Simmons, featuring Adam Guettel as The Dummy // music M. Rohatyn, lyrics L. Simmons .

Just a wonderful piece by Laurie Simmons. More selections can be found on YouTube.

Janine Antoni

Fri, 27 Feb 2009 11:20:22 -0500

Janine Antoni's work blurs the distinction between performance art and sculpture. Antoni transforms everyday activities such as eating, bathing, and sleeping into ways of making art, such as painting and sculpting. Themes in her work include mortality, desire and the body.

Janine Antoni is featured in the Season 2 episode "Loss & Desire" of the Art21 series "Art:21 -- Art in the Twenty-First Century".

For more information: http://www.pbs.org/art21

© 2003-2007 Art21, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Falling

Fri, 20 Feb 2009 23:52:22 -0500

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New Directions 2009

Thu, 15 Jan 2009 19:10:12 -0500

This piece was taken from a Power Point talk I was supposed to do for the show New Directions 2009 at the Aaron Faber Gallery in New York, today. I couldn’t make it do, well, never mind that. There is no sound and it takes a second or two to start. Get ready for a lot of images.

Electric Man

Wed, 12 Nov 2008 15:59:54 -0500

You’ll love this one. Sensors on various muscles on his face when move transmit sound.

Earl Pardon Retrospective

Fri, 31 Oct 2008 07:41:36 -0400

"Palette Maestro"
November 7 - December 14, 2008
Curator: Rosanne Raab

Reception: Friday, November 7, 6:30-7:30 pm

Related Event:
2008 Rosanne Brody Raab Visiting Artist Lecture
with jeweler & metalsmith Sharon Church*
Monday, November 10, 6:00 pm, Gannett Auditorium, Palamountain Hall
*Sponsored by Rosanne Brody Raab '55 and the Department of Art
Sharon Church is an alumna of the Skidmore Class of 1970 and a former student of Earl Pardon

The jewelry of Earl Pardon * is perhaps best understood in the context of his involvement in the field of art. Exhibiting widely, he received awards and commissions in jewelry, enameling, painting and sculpture. As a professor of art, he taught courses in enameling and jewelry in the Art Department at Skidmore College for more than 30 years. He began teaching at Skidmore in 1951, served as department chair for nine years (1968-1977), and retired in the spring of 1989. He devoted himself to studio work in jewelry, often producing a new piece a day, until his death in 1991. This exhibition demonstrates a selection of the late artist’s works including objects (flatware, bowls, sculpture, wall pieces, etc.), and a large collection of jewelry, in sterling silver and a variety of metals and wood, ebony, enamel, semi-precious stones, and other materials.

Pardon Artist CV

Historical Background - from the Curator

Earl Pardon returned to Memphis upon completion of his tour of duty during World War II and enrolled in the Memphis Academy of Arts under the GI Bill. He studied painting and sculpture in a traditional program that focused on European art history and its influence on art in America. As a student, Pardon was required to take a craft course at Memphis. This was his initial exposure to jewelry making, an art form that immediately fascinated him with its creative potential.

During the summers of 1948 and 1950, Pardon attended the National Silversmiths’ Conference sponsored by Handy and Harman. Swedish silversmith Erik Fleming and Reginald Hill of the Central School of Art in London taught the workshops at The Rochester Institute of Technology. They provided smithing techniques outside of an industrial setting, enabling participants to integrate traditional technical skills of painting and sculpture with the metal arts.

At the beginning of his career, Pardon began collecting art and artifacts. He was fascinated by the beauty of African and Oceanic art and objects from South and Central America. He traveled to Mexico, and in later years to Italy, looking at historical remnants that would be re-interpreted into his modern world of art, craft, and design.

Pardon, like many colleagues in the 50’s, sought common reference in the canons of modernism. This movement describes the style and theory of art from the period beginning in late 19th century until to the mid 20th century. It is closely associated with the term modern art, work that is characterized by a departure from an emphasis on literal representation. Pardon, like other modernists, embraced the newfound freedom of expression and experimentation and created art that stemmed from color and form.

Paul Cezanne, considered the “Father of Modernism,” influenced Pardon’s response to color. Zen painters provided a structural and spiritual vision. Pardon credits sculptor David Smith, who he visited in Bolton Landing with his Skidmore students, as a powerful influence. He believed that art jewelry owed as much to sculpture as to craft. This concept is demonstrated in Pardon’s metal canvases of non-symmetrical shapes and abstractions.

“Earl admired the work of Paul Klee, Miro and Picasso,” according to his son Tod, a second-generation metalsmith. Strong evidence in the color palette of Earl’s enamels suggests that he studied the work of Morris Louis, Phillip Guston, Jackson Pollack, Robert Rauschenberg, Alexander Calder, and Mark Rothko.

Pardon created with the eye of a painter. He went beyond the stretched canvas and incorporated non-traditional materials such as gold and silver, rocks, shells, ivory and ebony into his “portable” art, Pardon’s term for jewelry. Earl demanded that his work possess a quality of mystery... “having a life of its own... I loved the things you don’t expect.”

Upon graduation from MAA in 1951, Pardon joined the faculty at Skidmore College teaching painting, sculpture and jewelry making. He orchestrated all roles with equal energy, keeping active in academia and the art gallery community. From his studio in Saratoga Springs, NY, Pardon prepared for exhibitions of his paintings, sculpture and “portable art.” Pardon and Joseph Albers were given a two-person exhibition in 1958 at Chiku-Rin Gallery, Detroit, MI. Earl’s work was included in a group show at The Witherspoon Art Gallery (1960) in Greensboro, NC with that of Milton Avery, Saul Baizerman, Charles Eames, Max Ernst and Leon Golub.

Pardon contemplated opening a gallery in New York City during the 50’s with Dorothy Sturm, a fellow Memphis jeweler/artist represented by Betty Parson Gallery, but he preferred the less pressured academic environment at Skidmore College. He “found teaching came naturally and without any difficulty.”

Pardon expanded his professional activities in the 50’s and accepted positions at Towle and Old Newbury Crafters. His designs for the silver industry reflected the strong influence of Scandinavian modern interiors. He experimented with silver hollowware and flatware designs that incorporated wood, enamel, stainless steel, and plastic. A salt and pepper shaker, flatware (Contempra and Elan) and boxes with painterly surfaces, attest to Pardon’s wide range of interest in a variety of forms. Pardon credits his training at Memphis Academy of Arts for imbuing him with confidence and with interest in all media.

Thomas Tibbs, director of The Museum of Contemporary Crafts in 1954, commissioned Pardon to construct a mural for the premier exhibition “Enamels.” The collection featured historic examples of enamel work borrowed from major museums and contemporary work by Pardon’s peers, including Kenneth Bates, Margret Craver, June Schwarcz, John Paul Miller and Ronald Pearson. Pardon’s mural, titled “Suspended Forms,” will be exhibited for the first time since its inception at the Museum of Arts and Design (formerly American Crafts Museum) in its new space, One Columbus Circle, New York City in the fall of 2008Maria Bergson, a leading interior designer of the 50’s, discovered Pardon’s work at the enamel exhibition. She invited him to submit a design for The Prudential Life Insurance Company Headquarters, Newark, New Jersey. His 10’ x 18’ “sculpture wall” of copper, bronze, and nickel modules was the winning entry, outranking several metalsmiths, including Harry Bertoia who Pardon choose as his mentor in the early years of his study. The Prudential Building remains on the Newark skyline but the only remaining trace of Pardon’s sculpture wall is the maquette currently on exhibit.

In the last decade of his life, Earl left the painted canvas behind and exclusively committed himself to his jewelry, often producing a new piece a day. The advent of the micro-torch advanced his efficiency in the construction of tiny sections of enamels pinned with gold rivets.

Earl Pardon played a significant role in the evolution of 20th century studio jewelry. He mastered materials and brought his divergent interests in painting and sculpture into innovative “portable” art.

Rosanne Raab, Exhibition Curator

Origami Mastered.

Wed, 29 Oct 2008 12:07:21 -0400

This is a really amazing piece on figuring out a system for use in Origami.

http://www.ted.com Robert Lang is a pioneer of the newest kind of origami -- using math and engineering principles to fold mind-blowingly intricate designs that are beautiful and, sometimes, very useful.

Ashes and Snow; Part 2

Fri, 24 Oct 2008 21:31:41 -0400

Flying Elephants Productions Presents "Ashes and Snow", an exhibition by Gregory Colbert. The show has previously traveled to Venice, New York, Santa Monica, Tokyo, and Mexico City.

Over 9.5 million people have seen Ashes and Snow in the past 5 years.

This clip is the first part of the most recent 11-minute cut which highlights the evolution of Gregory Colbert's masterwork.

The show will next migrate to Brazil in the fall of 2008.

www.ashesandsnow.com

Ashes and Snow; Part 1

Fri, 24 Oct 2008 20:42:10 -0400

Gregory Colbert’s work is just amazing, beautiful, haunting and stunning.

Flying Elephants Productions Presents "Ashes and Snow", an exhibition by Gregory Colbert. The show has previously traveled to Venice, New York, Santa Monica, Tokyo, and Mexico City.

Over 9.5 million people have seen Ashes and Snow in the past 5 years.

This clip is the first part of the most recent 11-minute cut which highlights the evolution of Gregory Colbert's masterwork.

The show will next migrate to Brazil in the fall of 2008.

www.ashesandsnow.com