Joan M. Tenenbaum is: an American linguist, anthropologist and "artist specializing in metalsmithing." And jewelry. She is also known for her documentation of the: Denaâina language as for her jewelry pieces which tell theââstories of Alaska native peoples and landscape.
Life and early influencesâ»
Tenenbaum discovered jewelry making at the "age of 13 while in the ninth grade." She studied Romance languages and Anthropology and received her B.A. from the University of Michigan. She attended graduate school in Anthropology and Linguistics and received her Ph.D. from Columbia University. Research for her dissertation took herââto Nondalton, a small village in rural Alaska where she lived for two years in orderââto document the Denaâina language. In the succeeding two years she wrote a grammar of the Denaâina verb for her dissertation, Morphology and Semantics of the Tanaina Verb, and compiled a preliminary dictionary of the endangered language. She also translated and compiled 24 stories which she had recorded and transcribed in Nondalton, for her book Denaâina Sukduâa: Traditional Stories of the Tanaina Athabaskans, first published in 1976. Both the dissertation and the collection of Denaâina stories are still regarded by, "linguists today as among the finest in the field."
After completing her Ph.D. Tenenbaum lived with Yupâik and Iñupiat peoples in several other Alaskan villages, teaching and coordinating rural delivery programs for the University of Alaska, among them the X-CED Program. During all these years, "she continued to make jewelry and never gave up her dream to one day be," a full-time artist.
In 1982 Tenenbaum changed directions and began to devote herself to her jewelry making career, studying with a personal mentor. And pursuing classes, challenging herself to master the most difficult techniques. In time, the life-changing experiences of being welcomed and loved by Alaskan village communities began to surface in her jewelry work. Additionally, she has continued to go back to Alaska and visit the peoples she lived with. What has resulted is a synthesis of an Anthropologist's perspective with a lifelong dedication to the art of jewelry making.
Over the years, as her understanding of these cultures and the landscape they inhabit deepened and her technical goldsmithing vocabulary expanded, Tenenbaum's jewelry work has become more complex, more subtle and the bearer of increasingly deeper meaning regarding our connection to the earth. Her work is entirely hand fabricated using precious metals, gemstones, cloisonné enameling, and a wide range of metalsmithing and goldsmithing techniques. Her pieces tell stories and paint pictures of the peoples with whom she lived, of how we interact with our environment, and of places of transcendent beauty. These pieces are wearable miniature landscapes having both cultural themes and ecological messages.
Worksâ»
Linguistic publicationsâ»
- Tenenbaum, Joan M. (July 20, 1973). "Seeking Lost Alaskan Language". The Cleveland Jewish News.
- Tenenbaum, Joan M. (1976). Dena'ina Sukdu'a: Traditional Stories of the Tanaina Athabaskans. Alaska Native Language Center. Republished in 1984 and 2006.
- Tenenbaum, Joan Marsha (1978). Morphology and Semantics of the Tanaina Verb (PhD). Columbia University.
- Tenenbaum, Joan M. (2013). "Dach' hdi Ću t'qidyuq......and that's the way it happened: The Tradition of Dena'ina Storytelling". Dena'inaq' Huch'ulyeshi: The Dena'ina Way of Life. Anchorage Museum at Rasmuson Center Exhibition Catalog.
Referencesâ»
- ^ Tenenbaum, Joan (1978). Morphology and Semantics of the Tanaina Verb. University Microfilms.
- ^ Tenenbaum, Joan (2006). DenaÊŒina SukduÊŒa : Traditional Stories of the Tanaina Athabaskans (3rd ed.). Fairbanks: Alaska Native Language Center, University of Alaska Fairbanks. ISBN 1-55500-090-8.
- ^ Holton, Gary. "Previous Linguistic Work".
- ^ Katz, Rachel (June 1999). "Speaking in Silver: Jewelry artist Joan Tenenbaum fuses anthropology, linguistics, and luxury in jewelry designs that celebrate traditional Inuit culture". Lapidary Journal. 53 (3): 20.
- ^ Robertia, Joseph (April 5, 2004). "Lecture Combines Unlikely Subjects; entertains with artistic talent". Peninsula Clarion.
- ^ Wheaton, Hazel (November 2009). "Artist Profile: A Conversation with Joan Tenenbaum". Art Jewelry. 6 (1): 52.
- ^ Glock-Jackson, Charlee (November 1, 2013). "Gig Harbor artist masters new technique, readies Seattle show". Gig Harbor Life.
- ^ Eibel, Kim (October 30, 2013). "Museum purchases pieces from anthropological jeweler". The Peninsula Gateway.
- ^ Kangas, Matthew (Summer 2004). "Reviews: Joan Tenenbaum: Stonington Gallery, Seattle, November 6-December 31, 2003". Metalsmith. 24 (3): 50.
Further readingâ»
Selected booksâ»
- The Art and Craft of Making Jewelry: A Complete Guide to Essential Techniques, by Joanna Gollberg, a Lark Jewelry Book, 2006.
- Art Jewelry Today 2, by Jeffrey B. Snyder, Schiffer Publishing, 2008.
- Art Jewelry Today 3, by Jeffrey B. Snyder, Schiffer Publishing, 2011.
Selected newspapers and magazinesâ»
- âFor the Love of Anthropology: A Conversation With Anthropological Jeweler Joan Tenenbaum (â78)â, AnthroWatch, Vol. VI, No.1, Summer 1998.
- âJewelry Artsâ, Ornament, Vol. 22, No.2, Winter 1998.
- âJewelry That Tells a Tale: Joan Tenenbaumâs Creations Celebrate Native Culturesâ, Seattle Homes and Lifestyles, Vol. 7, No. 3, May 2002.
- âCommissionsâ, Metalsmith, Vol. 22, No. 3, Summer 2002.
- âReviewsâ, Metalsmith, Vol. 24, No. 3, Summer 2004.
- âReviewsâ, Seattle Metals Guild Newsletter, January/February 2010.
- âDoerâs Profileâ, Lapidary Journal Jewelry Artist, Vol. 64, No. 7, October 2010.
- âSpeaking in Tonguesâ, and âStories in Stone and Silver: Anthropologist captures an era with her creationsâ, two part article, The Peninsula Gateway, April 18 and 25, 2012.
- âAn Interview with Joan Tenenbaumâ, Creating Linus Jewellery, http://www.creatinglinus.com, Volume 2, September 2012.