|kənˈtempəˌrerē|
Con-tem-po-ra-ry
Some people do not speak normally when they articulate those five syllables. It's something that sounds more like a password. «Contemporary» is cool. But it is also frightening.
Applied to jewelry, «contemporary» seems to require a special kind of courage, if not sheer boldness. It is already difficult, in certain circumstances, to stand behind that «contemporary» object in your living room (especially when your parents-in-law come for a visit), but to wear «contemporary» in the presence of total strangers is another trial.
Everything is OK as long as you stay within the protected zone of other «contemporary» freaks, but it’s another story when you have to face comments that range from: "What is that?" to "And how much did you pay for that ?". Not to speak about total invisibility. «Contemporary» is a struggle. And the less acknowledged you are, wearing this weird, not even recognizable stuff (where again? on your shoulder?!), the more likely you are to be nominated for the «contemporary martyr of the year».
When I meet students at my own workshops, one of my first requests is that they give me a definition of this adjective. That is about the only context in which (I think) I can ask such a question without being seen as a total drag. The answer I like the best is the approach from the simple etymological perspective, derived from the latin "cum temporis", that is "with the time", meaning "from today". This helps us to understand that «classical», which is often opposed to «contemporary», is just what has been «contemporary» in the past, and has had enough guts to survive over the years and the changes in tastes.
All we know is that very little of what is contemporary today will be tomorrow’s classics, but it’s still vital to be curious and daring.
And who knows, even your parents-in-law might like it one day.
Check out Christophe's earlier writing here. | 
Levi van Veluw
Landscape IV (2008)
(thanks to www.biff.tumblr.com) |