MEDUSA Exhibition, Jewels and Taboos: an Insight by Michèle Heuzé

The long-awaited exhibition MEDUSA opened its doors today at the MAM (Musée d’Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris). You have until November 5th to discover a selection of jewelry and Avant-guard pieces. MEDUSA is an exhibition that clearly makes you think and opens a new perspective on jewelry and its taboos.

To guide us in our visit, we had the great pleasure of meeting a historian and great specialist in the jewelry domain; Michèle Heuzé, scientific advisor to the exhibition's curator Anne Dressen. Careful; you will never look at your jewelry in the same way again...

Jewelry is an impulse of life

Hello Michèle Heuzé, you have worked for over a year and a half to prepare this exhibition, why choose the name MEDUSA ?

For the outlook: you wear a piece of jewelry for yourself and to be looked at. We wish to be seduced or to let others wonder about you. By wearing a piece of jewelry, you manifest an urge for life, a need to be loved and to belong to a group.

It is a bit like the face of the Medusa in Greek mythology, the jewel attracts and disturbs the one who conceives it, looks at it, or wears it. The name Medusa is expressed by this permanent gaze between the outside world that builds our identity, and with ourselves, whether benevolent or not.

How is this exhibition unique?

For the first time there is an exhibition at the Musée d’Art Contemporain who raises the following questions: why is jewelry not perceived as an artistic piece of work? Why is not recognized as art even though renowned artists create them?

The answer in this exhibition is unfolded into four parts: through identity and its subversions, the jewel as a support for self-expression, through its value, its relationship to the body, and finally, through the various functions and associated rites. We then realize that too much investment, too much culture harm the jewel and prevents it from being seen as a purely artistic language. This is both its strength and its weakness...

How did you prepare this exhibition? How did you select the pieces?

First, we defined the taboos, that is to say the main axes that invest the definition of a jewel, namely its identity, its value, its relationship to the body and its different functions; leading us to a curated selection of over 400 pieces from all over the world that respond to this thematic. In the majority of our display cases we are confronted to feminine jewels, its counter-proposal and a proposition to open up to other interpretations.

How can jewelry carry out taboos?

Jewelry is a vector of taboos in the art world. In our daily lives, we do not see jewelry as a limitation because of their richness and their density in terms of meaning and cultural value. Through this exhibition, we realize that this culture is universal, it travels through time and space like a universal language.

What is your definition of jewelry?

It certainly is not the definition you would find in the Petit Robert, which demeans the jewel to its preciousness. Jewelry is in the way it invests the body. You will certainly discover in this exhibition jewelry that are able to give themselves their own meaning.

A chastity belt is on display as well as pieces of fine jewelry, do you see in jewelry a desire to alienate women?

Jewelry was not created to debase women. The question is rather: how can it be a tool to hide her, to infantilize her? In the exhibition we have endeavors to show how jewelry positions itself in relationship to women: on the one hand, elitist jewelry worn by a Queen, on the other, jewelry as a tool for seduction that give women a dangerous side, even poisonous.

What about men's jewelry? How is it defined? How did it go through the ages?

Jewelry was born to adorn mankind since its origins. It is interesting to see how social evolution has transformed the relationship between men and jewelry. You will notice that rebels such as « Bikers » and « Punks » or « Rappers » by opposing themselves, go back to their roots by wearing jewelry.

You will see a tie on display at the exhibition, here is the current man's jewel, but the Avant-guard jewel is unisex, transgender...

You present a sugar candy necklace next to a dancer by Van Cleef & Arpels, or even a Kleenex paper pouch: what is the message behind these streaks of humor?

The value of associating fine jewelry with a sugar candy necklace does not lie in the material used, but in the purpose. Many women have a girlish attitude, wear miniatures that can have a bit of a sassy side, and make their jewelry transitional items to the point of feeling naked without their jewelry.

The unexpected proximity between different pieces of jewelry should stimulate questioning in the visitor this discourse between the candy necklace and the high jewelry dancer clip works without judgment because it is intended and each piece of jewelry in the exhibition is a word, a series of words unfolding.

Your favorites?

My favorite pieces of jewelry, as a Mother, is the one my daughter gave me; a noodle necklace with a candied strawberry! As a Woman, I have always loved the diamond dog collars, for their Princess like effect, very feminine and timeless. As a Historian, it is Lalique's "Noisette" necklace. It is not the aesthetic side that touches me, but rather the way Lalique restores nature with its roughness that fascinates me. This jewel embodies its creator. It is a jewel apart from others, like a historic gateway to avant-guard jewelry.

For their message, I appreciate the works of Benjamin Lignel, Frédéric Braham and their jewelry that are all a game on words. I particularly like the Pradier bracelet that you will find in the second display case that reveals the pores of the skin and all the feminine sensuality with these two women in front of a Pandora's box, who appear to be talking to each other.

Finally the jewel that touches me the most is Lalique's Anemone and his approach on the subject of death and the last breath. Lalique has this ability to symbolize life from start to finish and represents, with the roots of the anemone, the beauty of women and maturity with a lot of poetry.

The avant-guard jewel is interesting in its purpose

How do you perceive conceptual jewelry?

It is the one that invites me to question myself the most: it gives me a completely new definition. The conceptual jewel has given me a lot of food for thought to better understand the past because it questions certain fundamentals. It is completely artistic work.

When is a jewel defined as a work of art?

In itself, it is first and foremost a piece of craftsmanship and as long as we speak of "know-how", we are not speaking about its purpose or meaning. The avant-guard jewel is interesting in how it mocks our times, its' purpose, its' message.

For example, the artist Frédéric Braham challenges the visitor by offering a beverage that you can drink made from silver and gold, isn't the jewel inside? An artist pushes boundaries; rather than seeming, shouldn't we be questioning ourselves? There is also this shirt by the same artist on which he has pinned a brooch and you will discover the definition of "brooch" in the Petit Robert dictionary...

Galatée Pestre works on the lost jewel and the imprint it leaves, quite a point. She has even made a brooch that I wore at the opening ceremony of the exhibition made with the strands of hair from all the artists.

How will this exhibition be animated?

We have organized a series of performances that will animate the exhibition, among which I would like to mention:
• The conference by Frederic Braham on the danger of false perception: Thursday 12th of October 2017 at 7pm
• Erotic jewelry or the art of bondage by Betony Verdon: Thursday the 28th of September 2017 at 8pm
• The jewelry writing workshop by Laurence Verdier : Saturday the 17th of June 2017 from 10am to 1pm and Thursday the 6th of July from 7pm to 10pm

What is the relationship with the "Parcours Bijoux 2017" ?

The exhibition is part of a series of Parisian events dedicated to contemporary jewelry by putting under the spotlight a number of artists who create avant-guard jewelry. Parcours Bijoux will take place from September 25 to November 30 2017 in Paris in the Galleries and Museums; numerous exhibitions will punctuate these two months devoted to French and International designers of the contemporary jewelry scene.

What would you like visitors to remember most about this exhibition?

You should not categorize jewelry that is different in the same value system. If we adorn ourselves, it is because we need to build ourselves culturally through accessories to show ourselves to others, to exist.

This exhibition is a real invitation to questioning! What jewelry do we wear and why? What meaning do they have? Are we looking for belongingness to a group, a social class? What kind of social status can jewelry bring us? And as the artist Frédéric Braham tries to lead us to believe through his work, isn't the most beautiful jewel who we are inside?

Consult the MAM website for cultural actions such as guided tours, the Night of the Museums Saturday 20th of May from 6pm to midnight, well-being workshops or activities for children with tours, entertainment and art workshops.

The exhibition catalogue supported by the École des Arts Joailliers Van Cleef & Arpels should also be available in the next few days and the School will organize courses and conferences around the exhibition on specific themes.

Enjoy the exhibition and do not hesitate to share your experience and thoughts after this enriching and interesting visit.