![]() ![]() 1945), is an example of the abstract jewelry Bertoia produced in the 1940s. This brooch, forged and fabricated in sterling silver (c. The brooch is accompanied by a monotype that is evocative of its repeated forms (figure 2, right).įigure 4. This piece has articulations, which would come to be a trademark of Bertoia’s brooches and necklaces. The 1940s-era fish spine brooch (figure 2, left) was made during the metal shortage it and retains the sterling silver hallmark that belies its source as recycled silverware. There are several monotypes displayed that are very reminiscent of the piece, exhibiting concentric and overlapping orbits. ![]() It was reportedly made as a response to Cranbrook’s visiting Bauhaus architect Walter Gropius’s challenge to design objects in space. It is composed of three textured ceramic beads orbiting on silver wire. A spherical hatpin is distinctive for its airiness. The earliest piece in MAD’s exhibition, a pendant from 1935 made from sterling silver and unidentified gemstones, echoes Art Deco geometry and shows skill for handmaking chain and setting gemstones, but it is evident that it is a student piece as it does not yet show the distinct design voice that Bertoia would soon develop. His work was in several exhibitions of contemporary jewelry, including one at New York’s Museum of Modern Art in, 1946, and was on the crest of the studio jewelry movement that emphasized design over materials. Throughout the 1940s, Bertoia continued to make and sell jewelry and monotypes, his style becoming more gestural and biomorphic. Most of the monotypes in the exhibit were created in the same time period as the jewelry.īertoia moved to California in 1943 to work for designers (and former classmates) Charles and Ray Eames. The media served as a launching point for his exploration into the abstract, helping him to develop relationships between shapes and lines with organic volumetric forms that resulted in expressions of kinetics and latent vitality. Bertoia produced more than 4000 monotypes throughout his career. Starting at Cranbrook, Bertoia also created drawings and monotypes as a way to harness his creative visions, allowing him to investigate structure and line with freedom and spontaneity. The exhibition includes jewelry pieces from Cranbrook, from both his student days and from his most prolific period in the 1940s. When even these sources became scarce, he taught graphic design. He scavenged scraps from metal shops and scoured flea markets for tableware to find brass and silver. ![]() Beginning in 1941, metals were being funneled into manufacturing for WWII, and Bertoia’s work was confined to small ornaments and jewelry. After finishing his program, Bertoia was asked to stay on in 1939 to re-open Cranbrook’s metalworking shop. At the time, the relatively young academy was a melting pot of creativity, attracting many famous artists, designers, and architects such as Walter Gropius, Ray and Charles Eames, and Florence Knoll. In 1936 he began his studies at the Art School of the Detroit Society of Arts and Crafts, entering the Cranbrook Academy of Art the following year on a teaching scholarship to study painting and drawing. He immigrated to Detroit from Italy in 1930 and attended the Cass Technical School, where he studied art and design and learned how to make jewelry. The shining metal and pounding left a “deep and delightful” impression that influenced his work, some of which is currently on display at New York City’s Museum of Arts and Design in Bent, Cast & Forged: The Jewelry of Harry Bertoia (figure 1).īertoia’s jewelry is only a small representation of his work. He credited his passion for metalwork to gypsies who came to his hometown of San Lorenzo, Italy to repair and fabricate kitchen equipment. He did not find inspiration through cherished memories of a mother’s or grandmother’s jewelry. Harry Bertoia (1915–1978) was not like most jewelry designers. From the collection of Cranbrook Art Museum, gift of Dorothy Dunitz in memory of Saul Dunitz. Bertoia created this articulated brass necklace with forged elements and rivets circa 1942-1943. ![]()
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