Marianna Kunow, instructor of foreign languages, started off the Let’s Talk Art series, introducing the audience to the world of Mexican Silver to explore the metal jewelry designs and work of three women. The lecture took place February 26 at the Hammond Regional Art Center where a mixture of students and the community attended.
The “Let’s Talk Art” series is a strong of lectures, normally consisting of three but sometimes having four. The series is usually hosted by Hammond Regional Art Center, put on by the library, the coordination of this event being a combined effort between Dr. Irene Nero and Dr. Amy Morris of the Visual Arts Department and Eric Johnson along with the Friends of Sims (as co-sponsors). Usually, the lectures are conducted by graduating seniors in Art History or faculty members.
In addition to having a degree in visual art and a minor field in Latin American Art History achieved in graduate school, Kunow’s field of study is anthropology, which is the study of culture and people. She managed a way to incorporate that into her lecture about the jewelry made by three specific women, discussing how the culture, among others, influenced the designs and materials put into the jewelry. “It’s a fascinating topic; people have been doing it for thousands of years and this jewelry is so inventive. And, I really like it,” said Kunow, talking about how she became interested in the jewelry-making business. “I probably got into it unconsciously because when I was a kid I saw the things my parents brought back from Mexico, and they spoke to me even then.”
The three women discussed in the lecture were Bernice Goodspeed, Maria Nunez de Brilanti, and Margot Van Voorhies Carr, each leaving their own individual mark on the jewelry making industry from Taxco, Mexico. The women were specifically chosen out of Kunow’s interest in how even though the jewelry making industry was considered a ‘man’s world’ there were still women present and leaving just as big of a mark as they did. “I was so thrilled to find there were more women designers in this big boys club,” explained Kunow. “I started researching the jewelry from this time period that I liked, and I was just thrilled to find that there were women out there making beautiful things; I really did think it was all about the boys.”
Even though the topic was art related, you didn’t have to be an art major just to get interested and connected to what was being discussed in the presentation. “Adornment is something that everybody can relate to in some way. Most people wear a watch, a ring, earrings, or a nose-ring or a something. I mean we’re all into wearing some kind of decoration. And, I think most people can relate to that whatever your background is; also, I think the personal stories of these women designers are interesting.”
On another interesting note, Kunow wasn’t the only one well-versed with the history of these women, a woman present in the audience told of how she knew them and how she went to school with one of the designers, William Sprawling, who wrote one of the books Kunow was using as a source. “I was so encouraged to meet someone that had actually, personally met these people I was discussing, Mauge Sharp,” said Kunow, excitedly. “I want to have coffee with her and sit down and talk to her about it because she got to meet Spratling (jewelry designer) and went to Mexico in the fifties. I was really excited.”
There are still two more scheduled lectures left. The second is taking place on March 26, topic on this feminism and technology in art and finishing with while the third will be on April 9, discussing the connection between Charles Dickens and the visual arts. Both will be located at the Hammond Regional Art Center. For more information, contact the library at (985) 549-3962.