“Every ornament conceals what it adorns” wrote Nietzsche. A statement intended as a metaphor and valuation of the concept of ‘culture’ imbued in the Roman tradition. Culture that is merely ornament separates the inner and the outer, it is forgery and disguise. It is contrary to the Greek notion of culture as a harmony of thought, form and intention. In Dedication To an attempt is made in the spirit of Greek thought to create a series of objects and jewels that are totalities in themselves. Objects that are not reflections, not decorationsthat conceal. Intention and result complement and fulfil one another. The idea was to make six objects related to six people connected with the maker. The basic form of the objects is the double dish. The roundedness and the symbolism of gift and dedication connected with the dish were ideally suited to the concept. The dishes are made from tree different sorts of metal:copper, brass and steel. What these metals have in common is that each of them can take on two completely different appearances. Brass can have a hard,polished skin, or it can be dull, greenish blue and receptive. The warm, smooth gleam of copper can be treated in such a way as to give it a raw, almost painfull look. Steel can look grainy, but can alsoshine like a mirror. Oppositioms which, complemented by a diversity of signs, served the perpose of expressing the core of the relationschip between two people.
Ans van Berkum