Blooms, Efflorescence, and Other Dermatological Embellishments (Cystic Acne, Back)

Lauren Kalman, Blooms, Efflorescence, and Other Dermatological Embellishments (Cystic Acne, Back), 2009, gold-plated silver acupuncture needles embellished with semi-precious stones and freshwater pearls, imitation leather, stainless steel tweezers and inkjet print , A: each image: 8 ⁵⁄₈ x 17 ³⁄₈ in. (21.9 x 44.1 cm) sheet: 25 ³⁄₄ x 25 ⁷⁄₈ in. (65.4 x 65.7 cm) B: 8 x 8 x 2 ¹⁄₂ in. (20.3 x 20.3 x 6.4 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Rotasa Foundation, 2013.63A-B, © 2009, Lauren Kalman

Artwork Details

Title: Blooms, Efflorescence, and Other Dermatological Embellishments (Cystic Acne, Back)
Artist: Lauren Kalman
Date: 2009
Location: Not on view
Dimensions: A: each image: 8 ⁵⁄₈ x 17 ³⁄₈ in. (21.9 x 44.1 cm) sheet: 25 ³⁄₄ x 25 ⁷⁄₈ in. (65.4 x 65.7 cm) B: 8 x 8 x 2 ¹⁄₂ in. (20.3 x 20.3 x 6.4 cm)
Copyright: © 2009, Lauren Kalman
Credit Line: Gift of Rotasa Foundation
Mediums Description: gold-plated silver acupuncture needles embellished with semi-precious stones and freshwater pearls, imitation leather, stainless steel tweezers and inkjet print
Classifications: Decorative Arts
Subjects: Dress — accessory — jewelry
Object Number: 2013.63A-B
Linked Open Data: https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/2013.63A-B

Artwork Description

Kalman's Blooms... is at once beautiful and shocking, subverting jewelry's traditional function as adornment to instead evoke illness and deformity. For this work, the artist drove pins mounted with semiprecious stones into her back in patterns copied from medical photographs of cystic acne. Through the process, which she documents from insertion to completion, Kalman challenges the often patriarchal and consumer culture that surrounds the jewelry tradition.

Connections: Contemporary Craft at the Renwick Gallery, 2019

Works by this artist (2 items)

Harvest Moon

Artist

Charles Merrick Capps

Date1934

aquatint on paper

Back Road

Artist

Charles Merrick Capps

Date1935

drypoint on paper

Videos

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In anticipation of the exhibition 40 under 40: Craft Futures, on view at the Renwick Gallery of the Smithsonian American Art Museum from July 20, 2012 -- February 3, 2013, the museum asked the 40 artists featured to share personal videos of themselves with our audience. Here's what Lauren Kalman submitted—enjoy! Lauren Kalman Social Media Video, 2012 Digital video, color, sound, 0:57 Courtesy of the artist

Related Books

40 Under 40: Craft Futures

40 Under 40: Craft Futures examines the expanding role of the handmade in contemporary culture through the work of the next generation of artists. Organized in celebration of the fortieth anniversary of the Renwick Gallery, the Smithsonian's branch museum for American craft and decorative arts, this project gathers forty makers born since 1972, the year the Renwick opened to the public. Apparent are rapidly evolving notions of craft, ranging from traditional media, such as ceramics and jewelry, to fields as varied as sculpture, industrial design, performance and installation art, fashion design, sustainable manufacturing, and mathematics.

Exhibitions

Media - 2016.11 - SAAM-2016.11_6 - 124929

Connections: Contemporary Craft at the Renwick Gallery

November 13, 2015–March 6, 2022

Renwick Gallery

Connections is the Renwick Gallery’s dynamic ongoing permanent collection presentation, featuring more than 80 objects celebrating craft as a discipline and an approach to living differently in the modern world.

Connections: Contemporary Craft at the Renwick Gallery

November 13, 2015–March 6, 2022

Renwick Gallery

Connections is the Renwick Gallery’s dynamic ongoing permanent collection presentation, featuring more than 80 objects celebrating craft as a discipline and an approach to living differently in the modern world.