Graphite+Pendulum-Pendant

Date: 1994
 * [[image:http://ids.si.edu/ids/deliveryService?id=http://americanart.si.edu/images/1995/1995.12_2a.jpg&max=460 width="266" height="369" link="@http://americanart.si.edu/collections/search/artwork/?id=34361"]] || Title: **Graphite Pendulum-Pendant**

Artist: **Joan Parcher** Born: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 1956

Medium: graphite, sterling silver, and stainless steel Dimensions: 13 1/2 x 8 1/2 x 1 1/2 in. (34.3 x 21.6 x 3.8 cm.) Smithsonian American Art Museum Museum purchase through the Renwick Acquisitions Fund

Accession: 1995.12 || **Luce Center Label:** In //Graphite Pendulum-Pendant//, Joan Parcher reminds the viewer that one person’s trash is another’s treasure. Instead of traditional gemstones or precious metals, the artist uses materials gathered from a dump. Her works challenge the notion of preciousness and the tradition of jewelry as ornament. The pendant sways on the wearer’s body, smearing a dark stain across the chest and making the wearer a part of the artwork. The piece continually disintegrates as the material scrapes the surface of the clothing, shattering our idea of jewelry as a precious heirloom.

Sergey Jivetin on Joan Parcher—Connections: Renwick Gallery
 * Resources: **

Artist Biography SAAM Collections Page 
 * Links: **

Luce Center Label
In //Graphite Pendulum-Pendant,// Joan Parcher reminds the viewer that one person’s trash is another’s treasure. Instead of traditional gemstones or precious metals, the artist uses materials gathered from a dump. Her works challenge the notion of preciousness and the tradition of jewelry as ornament. The pendant sways on the wearer’s body, smearing a dark stain across the chest and making the wearer a part of the artwork. The piece continually disintegrates as the material scrapes the surface of the clothing, shattering our idea of jewelry as a precious heirloom.