Art Nouveau- ish… “I Did It My Way…”
I still remember forking over half my paycheck at Borders Books in 1996 to purchase Elyse Karlin’s book Jewelry and Metalwork in the Arts & Crafts Tradition with my staff discount. I’ve blanked out much of my final, sh*t, part-time job – Borders was quite corporate by then – but no regrets! I still pull that book off my shelf on a regular basis. It’s beautiful.
As you might imagine, I was delighted when Elyse agreed to write one of the essays for my monograph! I was even more delighted when she compared my work to that of George Hunt, Tiffany Studios, and other remarkable artists and designers of the early 20th century.
Art Nouveau whiplash curves are really difficult to master! Whether in pencil or wire, I’ve spent years of my life mastering a similar sense of flow that they create.
Far from merely being ‘retro,’ I fold my influences such as Art Nouveau graphics and metalwork into my designs like one folds flour into a cake batter. The flour is integral to the recipe’s structure, and you might recognize the gluten. But the cake bakes and morphs into something greater than the sum of its parts. When I study Art Deco interiors, Arts & Crafts furniture, Ancient Egyptian metalwork, Art Nouveau design of all kinds, and more, I work to grasp what is salient about the feel of it all, then, as Frank Sinatra sang, “I do it my way.”
Victoria Lansford is a multi-talented artist. She creates beautiful jewelry, makes impressive repoussé objects, and is an illustrator as well. She is accomplished in all of these areas in addition to being an important educator. That explains why her work resonates with me. My areas of specialty in jewelry history are the Art Nouveau and Arts & Crafts movements, and Victoria’s work relates to these movements. Although she cites Russian filigree and Eastern repoussé as her design inspiration, I see the relationship of her work to both the Art Nouveau and Arts and Crafts movements, albeit with her modern spin.
From Early 20th Century Art Jewelry and the Work of Victoria Lansford
by Elyse Zorn Karlin
2.75 x 1 x 0.25 in; Photo by Pat Vasquez-Cunningham
Silver, gold, smoky quartz, crystals, spinel; 2.76 x 1.79 in
Collection of The Richard H. Driehaus Museum, Chicago; Image courtesy of Tadema Gallery, London
As I conclude the features on the authors of Radiant Echoes, I’m pleased to introduce Elyse.
Elyse Zorn Karlin is a jewelry historian, freelance curator, author and lecturer. She is the co-director of the Association for the Study of Jewelry and Related Arts (ASJRA) and past president of the American Society of Jewelry Historians. She has a special interest in the jewelry of the American First Ladies.
Her publications include: Jewelry and Metalwork in the Arts & Crafts Tradition (1990), Sally-Ann Weckstein: An Artist in the Studio (2022), International Art Jewelry, 1895-1920 (2011) and she edited Maker and Muse: Women and 20th Century Art Jewelry (2016). She co-authored Imperishable Beauty: Art Nouveau Jewelry (2008) and Aletto: Five Generations of Jewelry with Yvonne J. Markowitz which was published in Fall 2024. She has also written several non-jewelry books.
Her most recent curatorial project was Chicago Collects: Jewelry in Perspective which was on view at the Richard H. Driehaus Museum in Chicago in 2024.
Radiant Echoes: The Metal Mastery of Victoria Lansford showcases the artist’s journey through over three decades of ground-breaking applications of historical metalsmithing techniques. This retrospective publication comprehensively not only explores Lansford’s endless ability with complex metalsmithing techniques including filigree, Eastern repoussé, and granulation, but also speaks to how her skill and vision marry in the creation of objects that filters tradition through a contemporary lens. Simultaneously an artist, alchemist, and shaman, Lansford brings together the familiar with the unexpected through creative work that rethinks the millennia-old practice of turning raw materials into precious objects.
The book features over 150 images of art jewelry, art objects, and large-scale metalwork drawn from across Lansford’s career as well as a comprehensive glossary of her techniques used, offering a unique opportunity for readers to explore the evolution of Lansford’s creativity and craftsmanship. Radiant Echoes will make a fantastic addition to the library of anyone who loves jewelry, sculpture, metalsmithing, or simply contemplating beautiful objects.
Radiant Echoes includes new essays by curators, scholars, and artists including Kate Bonansinga, Cynthia Eid, Rauni Higson, Elyse Zorn Karlin, Victoria Lansford, and Jane Milosch, with consulting editor Emily Zilber.
Full color, casebound, 186+ pages
ISBN 978-0-9821833-6-6
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