the body grounds Kalman (who earned a
B .F .A .
in jewelry and metal-
smithing from the Massachusetts College of A rt and Design) in
a jewelry tradition. But through performance, her objects are trans-
formed into instruments of either physical restraint or augmentation.
The physicality and seeming absurdity of Kalman’s activities
conjure the familiar unease of canonized performance art (think
of Carolee Schneemann, Karen Finley or Paul McCarthy), but she
leaves us wanting, as she gives only a close-cropped and artfully
composed frame filled with pink skin and gold implements. The
video or photograph is considered as a formal object itself, under-
lining her dedication to craftsmanship—yes, photographs and videos
are crafted, too. Kalman’s work exudes an uncanny yet reasonable
hybridity. She is the child of A rt and Craft’s divorce; quite indif-
ferent to their past quarrels, she loves them both. After all, they
are her parents.
Kalman’s path is an interesting one. She grew up in industrial
Cleveland, Ohio, where her mother was a commercial photographer
and her father an industrial designer. Kalman’s parents are no doubt
present in her work, as her objects for the body allude to ergonomics
and industrial design, while the use of photography is a straightfor-
ward lineage. In her graduate studies at Ohio State University her
focus was art and technology, two fields that she seemed almost
predestined to embrace. Kalman’s interdisciplinary approach has
also contributed to her career as an educator. Her ability to bring
disparate influences to her classroom no doubt serves the students
at the Rhode Island School of Design, where she teaches in the
sculpture department.
If the range and depth of Kalman’s objects, photographs, videos
and installations are not enough to impress, her prodigious output
cements the matter. Kalman tends to work on one project at a time,
chugging along with a new body of work annually. Following her
progress over the past five years, one can see how she fluidly builds
each subsequent project on the last. For instance, a conceptual ex-
ploration of alternative medicine (as in her
A esth etic Acupuncture
experiments, which consisted of acupuncture needles set with gem-
stones) may yield a functional mechanism in the next body of work.
This is the case with her most recent body of work,
Blooms, E fflores-
cence, and Other Derm atological Embellishm ents,
2008-9. Kalman uses
golden acupuncture needles, set with precious stones and pearls
in the pin heads, to pierce the skin in arrangements that simulate
dermatological conditions such as acne, warts, nevus comedonicus
(a rare skin abnormality characterized by small but pronounced
closely set pustules), shingles and symptoms of sexually transmitted
diseases including syphilis and gonorrhea.
The precious pins transform the afflictions into aesthetically
pleasing adornment for the body. While maintaining an element of
repulsion in their impingement on the skin and referencing the mar-
ginally accepted practice of body piercing, the
Bloom s
are also strik-
ing in their color, arrangement and monetary value. Thus they are
both desirable and disgusting. The appearance of the groupings
derives from Internet sources, reflecting her interest in vernacular
images. After the pins are arranged on the body they are photo-
graphed, and the photograph—rather than the precious pins—be-
comes the work. The ease with which we recognize disease in the
photographs is facilitated by our willingness to accept the photo-
graphic medium as an accurate representation of reality. In
Bloom s,
Efflorescence, a n d O ther D erm atological Em bellishm ents,
restorative»
Top:
C y stic /tcne, C hest,
2009,
gold-plated silver,
semipermanent
acupuncture needles,
semiprecious stones,
mdf, faux leather,
brass, hammer, box.
Bottom:
S y p h ilis,
2009,
gold-plated silver,
acupuncture needles,
carnelian, mdf,
faux leather, brass,
pliers, box.
040 american craft oct/novo9
www.freedowns.net & www.journal-plaiza.net
