Social participation in contemporary art jewellery : An investigation of contemporary art jewellery’s ability to discuss complex questions within western society.

Sammanfattning: On the base of cultural norms, it seems that it is commonly accepted that one animal is considered 'friend', while the other 'food'. Even though people's opinion may differ in regards to the world's largest animal rights organization PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animal) (Kulkarni, 2009), the organization asks a relevant question: “ If your cat tasted like chicken would you eat her?” As I work within the contemporary art jewellery field, it is through the body, jewellery, and the conscious act of wearing it, that I would like to encourage consumers to reflect on their personal meat consumption and to connect the packaged meat to the animal it comes from: what is it that we are eating? Where does it come from? Through this essay and my work/practice, I aim to critically reflect on the different existing values between animals in our society and to inspire more conscious and well informed decisions concerning meat. This essay is a research project prior to my practical exam work at the Jewellery + Corpus Master program at Konstfack and will serve as a basis for my artistic exam work. Against this background, I look at relevant literature and case studies representative of the field of contemporary art jewellery, in order to research/address the following question in this essay: -          Is it possible to discuss complex questions within society though the media of contemporary art jewellery?  Within the field, opinions differ between art historians as well as makers; it seems that the framework of contemporary art jewellery provides the medium, on one side, with great potential to speak of issues within society, although, on the other side, the same frame work commonly hinders the medium’s ability to reach out to the general public, in order to generate a wider discussion.