The Historical Origin of “The Singing Union”MR Online. “[N]ext to the Word of God, the noble art of music is the greatest treasure in this world. It controls our thoughts, minds, hearts, and spirits.” —Martin Luther (looking for a half-remembered quote or paraphrase — “Luther knew that a singing congregation could not be beaten” — which I cannot find; that will have to do). Given the success of the Reformation, Luther seems to have had a point.
Daniel Brush Thinking about Monet
In 1980, while in his Manhattan studio, an art collector and friend showed American artist Daniel Brush a transparency of one of Monet's haystack paintings. When the piece was held up to the sun, Brush was able to see the light and colour that Monet saw and finally felt companionship in the pursuit of light.
Brush
Brush, who died in 2022, was a painter, sculptor and jewellery maker known for his ability to work with challenging materials, such as steel, to create complex yet timeless works of art.
The transparency of the Monet painting reminded the Cleveland-born artist of his physics lessons at school, learning about how light and colour can be manipulated. Soon after, he began working on a series of sculptures, where he hand-engraved fine lines into his pieces at angles that refracted light to make beautiful colours.
The engraved lines in Brush’s works in metal were a natural evolution from the paintings and drawings, drawn line by line top to bottom, left to right, recording his breathe, his heartbeat and the passage of time.
How Monet influenced Brush is the subject of “Daniel Brush, Thinking About Monet,” an exhibition by L’ÉCOLE, School of Jewellery Arts, showing at 21_21 DESIGN SIGHT, a museum in Tokyo, Japan. Established in Paris by high jewellery house Van Cleef & Arpels in 2012, L’ÉCOLE, School of Jewellery Arts offers enthusiasts and connoisseurs alike the opportunity to learn about and explore the history of jewellery arts.
L’ÉCOLE is back in Tokyo for a new exhibition presenting Daniel Brush’s work
After running three two-week programmes in Japan, L’ÉCOLE is back in Tokyo for a new exhibition presenting Daniel Brush’s work to the Japanese public for the first time.
L’ÉCOLE is back in Tokyo for a new exhibition presenting Daniel Brush’s work
Daniel Brush challenged the connection between art and jewel while taking his work to a new level of artistry and emotional impact, as shown in the exhibition Thinking About Monet.
L’ÉCOLE is back in Tokyo for a new exhibition presenting Daniel Brush’s work
While the moment with his friend at his studio sparked a curiosity for Monet that would transform the direction of his practice, Brush had long been interested in French Impressionism.
He and his wife Olivia had taken trips across Europe with a particular focus on light and how it affects colour. In France, they visited Arles, Rouen, and Giverny and briefly lived in Paris. At the time, Brush initially had reservations about Monet, which came from his dislike of thick pasty oil paints because they did not allow the light to shine through.
“Even with all those classical glazing techniques, the paintings did not have the majesty of the natural light bathing the haystacks, the meules de foin, that we went to see in the fields,” Brush said. “I liked Monet’s work when I saw it in an 8”x10” transparency with the light shining through.”
Much like Monet and the Impressionists, Brush was also enamoured by Japanese culture.
During the late 19th century, Japanese artworks took over the Western art market, eventual-ly influencing French artists and culture in a trend referred to as “Japonisme.”
Monet’s home in Giverny, for example, reveals an extensive collection of two hundred ukiyo-e prints. Many qualities people admire about Impressionism are also inspired by Japanese art, from the tightly cropped compositions to the use of floral motifs.
In his series “Cantos for a Thousand Miles,” Brush created small, square, handheld gold and steel jewel sculptures engraved with countless tiny lines.
The thought was that a Buddhist monk might carry such a sculpture in his pocket, providing a moment of reflection. He also began each day by sweeping the floor of his Manhattan loft for up to six hours at a time, simi-lar to the meditative way a Buddhist monk might sweep a temple.
Rings of Infinity
Ring of Infinity
Moutain
Moutain
Poppies
Poppies
Hand Piece
Hand Piece
As a child, Brush visited the Cleveland Museum of Art to look at Japanese armour and, much later, the Metropolitan Museum in New York, where a curator showed him a blade by the me-dieval Japanese blacksmith Masamune (1264-1343). Between 1999 and 2002, Brush creat-ed three steel pieces inspired by seeing and handling the Masamune sword.
Japanese blade image
When it comes to his practice as a jeweller, though, Brush was entirely self-taught.
His journey started after a visit with his mother to the Victoria & Albert Museum in London as part of a tour of Europe. There, he was inspired by seeing an Etruscan gold bowl covered with granulated gold.
By 1993, Brush had mastered granulation and would go on to challenge preconceived notions of size and scale and ideas of preciousness in jewellery by using industrial materials such as steel and aluminium to create seemingly delicate pieces.
Decades later, these works – which pay homage to the light-infused hues of Monet’s muted palette – are on display in another
