Legends: Studio Jewelry by Emily Cobb
Philadelphia Art Alliance
September 6, 2012 to December 10, 2012
Emily Cobb, The Elk With Antlers That Never Stopped Growing, Headpiece, 2012. Glass-filled Nylon, photopolymer, gypsum.
In her first solo exhibition in Philadelphia, artist Emily Cobb has transformed the PAA’s first floor galleries into a surreal study collection for her studio jewelry, including brooches, neckpieces, and rings—highly original pieces that illustrate modern fairy tales and fables. The title of the exhibition evokes both meanings of the word “legend”: the more common use, referring to stories of mythical beings or events, as well as the term used to describe an illustration, or to explain the symbols on a map. Cobb’s premise and installation concept reflect a desire to situate her work in the storied, wood-paneled galleries of the PAA with the aim of giving visitors the impression that they have been invited into an eccentric and wondrous library.
Cobb’s mastery of CAD (computer-aided design) has allowed her to develop a vocabulary of forms in unusual materials such as photopolymers, which lends her neck-pieces, earrings, and brooches the extraordinary precision and specificity required by her ideas. “The descriptive titles and captions are meant to encourage further interpretation of the objects,” Cobb says, “and through the juxtaposition, metamorphosis, and abstraction of representational forms, my work is intended to captivate the imagination.”
The exhibition includes a station where viewers may record their own “endings” or responses to the stories on view as inspiration strikes them, and these responses will be shared online at: http://legendsjewelryexhibition.tumblr.com
About the Artist
Emily Cobb recently earned an MFA at Tyler School of Art, Temple University, in Philadelphia with a major in Metals/Jewelry/CAD-CAM and she is currently focused on creating work with 3D modeling software and computer aided design. She was the teacher of record for CAD-CAM II and had an academic internship as a 3D print lab administrator. She earned a BFA from Tyler School of Art in 2010, and studied abroad for an academic year at Temple University’s Rome campus. Her work has been featured in numerous publications including Showcase 500 Rings: New Directions in Art Jewelry by Marthe Le Van and Bruce Metcalf, Humor in Craft by Brigitte Martin, and Emily Cobb’s Fairy Tales for the 21st Century by Mari Shaw. She resides in Ardmore, Pennsylvania.