theory exam

2011-11-04

Comparative analysis:

Used the first option with the box pendant and the round one.

Pendant A is a box literally with a top and a bottom. The bottom fits into the top and the pendant can be worn with the top and the bottom together or apart. There is a little ball that looks like a pearl inside the bottom part, it can be seen when the top and bottom are separated. The pendant does not have a very shiny finish, it’s made from white- silvery coloured metal and it hangs from what looks like thin cord. Pendant B is also made from a white- silvery coloured metal and does not have a highly polished finish either. It is however shaped like a full moon with a tiny quarter taken out at the top. There is a ball protruding from there and a jump ring is connected to the top of the ball. It is through this jump ring that the pendant is connected to the chain which is a more solid looking metal ‘cord’ as compared to the one on pendant a. Pendant b is in one piece as compared to pendant a and both have a ball somewhere. Whilst the ball in pendant a has the appearance of a pearl and is soft creamy white in colour; the ball in pendant b has an almost glass like, marble like quality and is black in colour. It doesn’t look like metal to me so I would tend to think that the jump ring is stuck on instead of soldered. With pendant a however it looks like there is a hole in the ball and the cord which goes through the box around it is what connects the ball to the rest of the piece.

Hollow construction seem to have used in both pieces with the addition of doming in pendant B. Neither of them has the appearance of being intensely complex technical pieces. It’s not hard to try and imagine how both were made. Pendant a has a very geometric look, it’s all straight lines and sharp angles. I appreciate how it looks balanced regardless of which way it’s worn, its different that the bottom part fits into the top instead of the top fitting into the bottom and that the bottom is smaller than the top, but somehow it all balances out. The soft, curvy lines of the ball inside the pendant contrast very nicely with the outside. The curves of the cord from which the pendant hang also echo the curves of the ball, and the way the cord is very slender just gives it a rather feminine look which flows very nicely with the ball and the curves etc. Pendant b interestingly has a more curvy shape but somehow that doesn’t make it look more feminine. The dark colour of the ball and its size don’t throws off any sense of delicacy one might have had from the curved shape of the pendant. The thick cord form which it hangs also emphasizes this feel. It exhibits a bit of a geometric feel as well.

 I find that pendant a it feels like some sort of hidden treasure hidden within an outer wrapping that doesn’t necessarily reflect what is outside. The box shape makes me think of receiving a gift. Pendant b also has a ball peeking from somewhere but it feels more like a symbolic thing. The shape echoes a moon and the dark colour reminds me of a dark night, it feels like there is a deeper almost religious feel to the piece, like there is more to it than what you see ( also because of the its simplicity and the contrast in colours.)  The simplicity of both pieces encourages one to look and wonder more.