It was proposed last week through a quote by Dr Damian Skinner, that objects and their meanings are somehow mutable according to where they are viewed. I have read further articles on this subject, including a review on a workshop given by Dr Skinner in order to clarify this concept because something about it jars with my sensibilities as a maker of jewellery.
This viewpoint is further detailed by dividing possible viewing spaces into several categories. Whilst I can understand the importance of considering carefully how one can best display ones pieces, I find that this concept of alteration of intrinsic meaning is counter to all we are trying to achieve as makers.
People may put on different facades according to where they are and what company they are in, objects cannot. The encoded message about status, wealth, craftsmanship and even religious significance are available to us centuries after the cultures that created the massive gold torcs of the Celts, or the delicate hollow form earrings of the Greeks have faded away.
A carefully considered, finely made object will always hold true to itself, whether it's seen in a gallery or was dropped in the gutter. The only thing which is mutable to such a large degree is an individual's feeling about an object, a woman throwing her engagement ring into the gutter shows how she may feel about her relationship, yet it does not alter the original meaning of the ring.
If, as a jeweller, you focus on the piece you are making, every nuance, every subtlety and you are able to compact all the depth and meaning into this small, wearable object, it won't matter where people first encounter it. One of the points of jewellery is that it is mobile and therefore will be outside of the jeweller's realm of control, the challenge is to make something which speaks for itself, all the rest is window dressing.
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