No disrespect for DPC and whoever else he sends off with The Digital, but Jill Krementz' photoreport from the Picasso to Koons: Artist as Jeweler show at the Museum of Arts and Design, or the MAD1 is the mad-funniest thing I've ever seen on New York Social Diary.
First, the concept for the show, in the words of Mrs Barbara Tober, head of the museum's Global Initiative:
"Eight years ago my husband and I were visiting Diane Venet and her husband [noted traffic circle and corporate plaza sculpture artist Bernar Venet] in France. Diane said, 'I have a dream. I want to organize a show of jewelry by all the important artists of the 20th century.' And so now you can see over 200 pieces of jewelry by 20th-century artists. Her dream has been realized."Make that "all the important artists of the 20th century--and Lexus Burning Man hack Arne Quinze."
"he was able to transform his originality into a different sphere."
The packed crowd looks to be exactly who you'd expect to see at an artist as jeweler show: Upper East Siders who can only afford five figure jewelry. They also happen to be exactly the people who you'd never in a million years expect to see on the West Side. So kudos to the Museum for luring them all the way across smelly Central Park South!
This diptych from a curatorial Q&A is the best but my no means only example of Krementz's exquisite composition and captioning craft. She really is The Economist of society websites.
But Krementz only keeps the confusion alive over these otherwise awesome enough bunny necklaces, introduced by Jeff Koons for Stella McCartney in 2005 [and apparently not sold out until 2009? Is that what those dates mean?]
It's been described both ways over the years, and you can't trust a blog any more than you can the press release it regurgitates, so it's never been clear to me whether these bunnies are platinum or white gold. Or maybe there are editions of each. One of which was $50,000. Assuming you paid retail, of course.
Someone was wearing one of these in a party pic recently. Where was that? The New Museum, probably.
1 Can't we all just admit that the Museum of Arts and Design only forefronted its inferiority complex by changing its name just as the craft boom took off, and that they really should fly its craft flag high, and just come out as the MAC?
