The design company Elementary Set will launch its first collection, consisting of seven solid brass bracelets, each of which contains one or more, three dimensional, movable geometric shapes. The collection draws inspiration from the beauty and boldness of essential geometric shapes, pairing these basic forms with more abstracted versions of themselves.
Founded in 2009 by the artist and curator Jonathan Berger, Elementary Set is a venture into what Berger refers to as "experimental manufacturing." The company will present one collection or "set" every year, for which Berger will interpret a different basic or "elementary" product type. Berger's approach to design is influenced largely by the history of philosophically driven companies including the work of Charles and Ray Eames, SUPERSTUDIO, and SITE Projects. Each collection will remain available for as long as materials will allow.
The first collection responds in part to the classification of jewelry as largely "luxury" or "costume" in nature. Rejecting these two polar definitions, the collection proposes an elegant utilitarian view of what jewelry could be.
Berger remarks, "In making what I consider to be my ideal of what jewelry could be, I wanted to call into question all of the conventions that I find oppressive. Why precious metals and stones? And, moreover, why does the absence of these elements automatically yield a demotion to 'costume' status. I am always waiting for my notion of beauty to change. As an artist, as a curator, as a designer, you must be able to believe that anything has the potential to have potential. The one hundred eighty degree turns continue to be the most important and profound moments in my life."
Elementary Set's bracelets reinvent the traditional components and traits of jewelry and challenge our understanding of what jewelry should be. Berger has chosen to use brass in lieu of gold or other precious metals, which requires that the owner choose to regularly polish the objects to a high shine or allow the metal to reach a naturally oxidized state. Elementary Set's jewelry collection is intended to be modular, with the straight forward streamlined format serving as an index that encourages owners to curate their own arrangements. This engagement is key in the spirit of the collection, which is distinctly democratic, modest, and in pursuit of a variety of glamour divorced from traditional notions of value and worth.
Elementary Set's second collection will be available beginning fall 2010.