eae bed (or Jewelry has always crossed the boundaries of art and commercialism. Certainly many museums have collections of the jewels of old royal families and ancient civilizations, yet many of the contemporary artists of jewelry are over- looked, and only become known if they achieve great commercial success. The twentieth century was a period of incredible changes in jewelry, as it was for art and society, and though these social currents are reflected in the jew- clty of the era, we have yet to take stock of the rich body of work created after the Art Deco period ‘One of my favorite jewelry artist has also been, for many years, one of the hardest to find. Back when | was in school, | was thumbing through a book of American jewelry when | spotted a picture of a necklace that wrapped around a woman's neck and one shoulder, and came back around for another loop. It looked like it came from outer space by way of Alexander Calder's studio. Blown away, | wrote the name- Art Smith- on my hand and went searching for other pieces by this man. Over several years, | was only able to find a few pictures, a couple of actual pieces, and very litte information, Now, Art Smith is getting the credit and exhibition he deserves for his beautiful, rhythmical designs. The Brooklyn Museum has a two year show running in his honor, based on the gift of 21 original pieces of his jewelry from his, long-time companion and heir. The works are a stunning reminder of one man’s brilliance and for me, and for many other designers | hope, they are a wake-up call, a paean to the power of the avant-garde. Working from the 1940’s though the seventies, Smith was part of what was called the Studio Jewelry Movement in the U.S., which rejected traditional fine jewelry as too constrained and replaced it with freer, more modem concepts of form derived from bio-morphism, primitivism, and constructivism. It also rejected the separation of designer and fabricator in favor of works which were conceived of and executed by one mind and one set of hands, and in that way creating a more expressionistic and artistic form. ‘Smith's jewelry is a beautiful body of work that makes a strong case for this movement. Many of the pieces are in- spired by jazz, based on his love of the music and his close relationship with Duke Ellington. His generally massive pieces of jewelry are stil ight, getting their size from twists and turns in the air, spinning parts, and wires that en- circle parts of the body. Amazingly, he got masses of silver to create the same effect of the music he loved. A great hero of mine, it is good to see his work brought to the public eye by Laura Rysman