Radiant Echoes – 2015-2019
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Imagination is what propels us onward, making the human experience so much broader and more diverse than any of our other qualities could possibly achieve. Many of Einstein’s theories were based on his thought experiments. His imagining what it might be like to travel on a beam of light ultimately led to his Theory of Special Relativity.
So it was my imagination, fueled by my absolute conviction and expertise in how sheet metal moves when forged and formed, that led me to assure a client and accept a commission that, to my knowledge, had never before been done quite the way I intended to go about it.
And it worked.
In fact, just about the only thing that didn’t work out so well was the toll this period of work took on my health. In 2017 I shipped the Turtle Doors and their sister project, the Etched Copper Room Divider to Europe, and now they sail the world on a custom-built, 69 meter superyacht that spends much of its time enabling scientists and researchers to study endangered marine life.
The next year I launched Giving Voice, another project, smaller in scale but much larger in scope. The print edition’s format is ‘normal’ enough – for a modern day illuminated manuscript with metalwork that once again pushed boundaries of physics. The ebook edition, however, took years of studying the evolving technology of media rich books that could include video animations even on their covers in order create a huge, immersive experience that fits on your iPad.
In between these mammoth undertakings, I delved deeper into combining ancient and cutting edge technologies in unexpected ways, using a micro-TIG welder to connect structures of filigree as well as figuring out how to expand the appearance of layered alloys by adding 24k gold keum boo foil to mokume gane on Eastern repoussé pieces.
Despite the years of physical therapy for work-exacerbated injuries, I have no regrets. Now I’ve learned to hammer smarter…and as slowly and painstakingly as ever.
What sets these pieces apart though, is not their innovative, slight-of-hand use of technology, but the way I employed said technology to create soft, organic forms that echo the wonders of our cosmos.
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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
Ships mid-November, 2024
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