Neckpiece with removable objects. Materials include 'redblackleopard' silver, acrylic, plastic, mirrored mylar, glass, rubber, black and white ebony, leopard fur, and powder coated steel.
Can you tell what this is? It might not be obvious at first, but it's a modular neckpiece based on very old-fashioned techniques that's made by Seth Papac. Here's the story.
Papac, a young artist who completed a Masters in Fine Arts in Metals/Jewelry at Cranbrook Academy of Art in Michigan last year, mixes a broad range of materials, from traditional metal and enamel to found objects and other non-traditional materials to create large neckpieces that look like wearable wall hangings.
Papac is inspired by parures, a French term for a set of matching jewelry, which rose to popularity in early-17th century Europe. Apparently, the parure was modular and could be disassembled into different parts and remade again. Papac's neckpieces are designed with parures in mind so that wearers can create their own narratives through interchangeability.
Neckpiece with removable necklace and objects. Materials include: Sterling silver, brass, aluminum, enameled steel, plastic, fiberglass, rubber, and paper.
To show you how this concept works, the 'olivedrab' necklace, below, is just one of the components of the neckpiece, above. The wearer gets lots of flexibility to mix and match.
'Olivedrab' necklace
Papac says this about jewelry: "My interest in jewelry as a medium of art is its site - the body. Much as the function of architecture is to house, to display and protect paintings and sculpture, the body acts as a literal, metaphorical, and conceptual structure for jewelry. Placed on this site, jewelry acts as a personal signifier of taste, attitude, belief and history."
Neckpiece with removable necklace and objects. Materials include: Sterling silver, copper, steel, enamel, wood, plastic, rubber, and wool.
In the same way, the 'orangeshag' necklace, below, is just one of the components of the neckpiece, above. How versatile can you get?
Orangeshag necklace
While I can't say that I would wear one of these pieces or think they're beautiful, I definitely think they're cool. I like Papac's mixing of precious metals with everyday materials to create modular pieces that can be reassembled or worn as standalones, jewelry that can suit anyone's whim. Also, I admire Papac's view that the body exists to display jewelry rather than jewelry serving as the embellishment of the body.
Velvet da Vinci in San Francisco is featuring Papac's work through June 14, 2010. You can also see more at Seth Papac.
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