More than a talk, RISD Professor Matthew Bird’s presentation is the ultimate research project, a thrilling visual adventure! Where can a piece of jewelry take us? What stories does it hold? Where has it been? What has it witnessed? While TJL always loves a good jewelry detective story, this is more of a courtroom drama…
- Exhibit A: Diamonds. Lots of Diamonds, including the “Diamond Duke.”
- Exhibit B: Croissants and undercooked gingerbread.
- Exhibit C: Strychnine poisoning.
What happened? Tune in below to find out!
Bird has spent the past thirty years working in different parts of the art, design, and gift professions, and finding ways to bring his professional experience into the classroom teaching design and design history at Rhode Island School of Design. Trained as an industrial designer and metalsmith, his own design work has been sold in gift stores, museum stores, galleries, and catalogues throughout the US and overseas. He has developed and managed multiple retail environments and participated as a designer and buyer for several others. Bird has curated and designed museum exhibitions that helped introduce design into fine-art institutions. His knowledge of manufacturing and materials informs his teaching and writing about design history, making the information especially useful to students learning the practice of design.