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 , Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Rotasa Foundation, 2013.63A-B, © 2009, Lauren Kalman
Copied 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
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
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

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Related Books

4040_500.jpg
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.
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.

Related Posts

Lauren Kalman's  Blooms, Efflorescence, and Other Dermatological Embellishments made from acupuncture needles, gold-plated silver, semiprecious stones, tweezers, leatherette, plastic for 40 Under 40 at the Renwick Gallery.
Craft and Decorative Arts10/18/2019
Back in Bacne
Lauren Kalman's challenging work is meant to get under our skin.
A photograph of Sara Snyder
Sara Snyder
Former Head of External Affairs & Digital Strategies