Thursday, September 10, 2009

Anne Baynham

photograph by Rebekah Robinson

Latest comments: AJ - 10 September 2009
Well, after 10 months of brooching having not really been a wearer of brooches beforehand, I'm still not in the habit of thinking of accessorising in this way. I've found that either I don't think of adding a brooch to an ensemble, or the brooch I'm currently in possession of just doesn't go!Today I dressed around wearing the golf ball, knowing I'm off to swap tonight. So I have on jeans with boots, and a green top which shows from under a black with white trim (well actually it's inside out) wetsuitish weird material top. Which often gets kinda strange comments anyway so it's interesting to see which of the two trumps.

So far walking down Ponsnobby Rd the little boy of a friend said "excuse me...? why are you wearing that there?" I told them about the Brooch of the Month Club very proudly :) He thought I should wear it on my leg. I can see an argument for placement on my belly button actually.
I really like the construction of this brooch, it's very conceptually strong.

10 comments:

  1. Word of warning, this broach will poke someone in the face when you hug them if you wear it on the wrong side! that was my first wearing out experience, oh, ouch! what was that? wops!
    I found some people would say nothing and wait for me to mention it, i get the feeling they were not sure how they should react, like when you see a peice of art that you are possibly supposed to "get" once they realised it was a golf ball with grass sticking out people come up really close for a good look and a smile.

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  2. Yay! to the smiles! Too much art is too pretentious. This is supposed to be humourous! I want people to be able to see the lighter side of art. I hope your having fun :[)

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  3. Lucky Episode messenger number 3: Anne's brooch

    It had been a while since my last haircut and things were very out so control in the mane department. The day my long awaited haircut was scheduled, was also the day before our dear wearer Rowena was being flown to Brazil, having just landed a last minute job. Conveniently the barber and Rowena were neighbors.

    For some reason despite the hairstyle I request in this country, I always end up with something very close to a mullet. I have to say I wasn't 100% sure about this particular version. But, oh well, at least this mullet came with organic bee's wax hair gel. After the cut, I zipped around the block, picked up Anne's brooch and popped it on. I had to stop at the New World on the way home. The best way to describe this brooch is pointy, pointy, pointy. It was almost like wearing a bit of armor, it definitely had that affect on me emotionally. Walking into that grocery store, the sun was shining and suddenly I felt like a million bucks. The iffy haircut was now fantastic and edgy like the brooch. I felt like everywhere I went the brooch preceded me daring my nemesis’ to take me on. Basically I was strutting around like a New Yorker.
    So you may not be able to bottle confidence, but this little gem added a little extra spice to my attitude.

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  4. Having finlly come home from a gloriously long holiday up in the far reaches of the north island (i dont know why people feel the need to go to Fiji when there are magnificent beaches right here in our good ol' country)I have just become up to scratch with everyting that the mighty internet has sent me over the last month, this wasmy final stop and I'm very glad it was! what a lovely comment :) Can't wait to see the sweet mullet too hehe.

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  5. Fantastic and edgy... absolutely agree with Kristin. But also a little scary.

    I was curious about receiving this one, fascinated by it but wasn't sure how easy it'd be to wear. Fortunately I was wearing the perfect green skirt at the time of swap and with Kristen's infectious enthusiasm I just loved it. I wore it again within a few days to an exhibition opening and felt great. A week or so later I put it on to wear to work one day... but just felt kinda awkward and had taken it off within the first hour. The "a little scary" had gotten bigger and I chickened out.

    It then just sat sweetly on the dresser at home.

    I did have one more successful wear in the last days before my month was up though... good to get a bit of fantastic edginess back.

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  6. I have long suspected that I am far too serious, and I think this was highlighted for me with this one. I did try wearing it on my body a couple of times, but then would end up taking it off before I actually got where I was going. Perhaps because this was usually to work, where I stand up in front of lots of students, maybe I think that I need to look serious in front of them all. And also, in a teaching situation I am always a little concerned about wearing anything with any bodily connotations (thinking of Mandy's comments re "mowing balls" and "nipple placement"). Anyway in the end I wore it on my denim bag and that felt fine. But this was all quite revealing for me. Kathy.

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  7. This is one tactile brooch. People who know me did not hesitate to fiddle with it and crack jokes. "You've got to do something about that green hair coming out of your mole" Boom boom. i wont mention the myriad of balls comments. When not wearing it I left it in it's box, on the kitchen table. Seems those little boxes are irresistable and most vistors opened it, peeked inside, and fiddled. At one point I nearly passed out when I saw the green protrusions had been splayed in all directions thinking it might be damaged. However the construction of this brooch is fantastic. The backing appears to be a copper sheet with prongs holding the golfball in place. The green 'hair' might be electrical wire that is well attached withstanding lots of unsolicited fiddling.

    It was a brooch that didn't fit my usual location of centre of breast plate - it was usually placed under the left collarbone. As others have noted it certainly sticks out quite a distance and the salutary hug that Gisbornites indulge in got a bit risky at times when a few people got stabbed. I was bit bit scared when I saw this brooch at the opening party but must admit I was surprised at how easy it was to wear and how much I enjoyed wearing it. It is a top contender for the gold medal of brooch Olympics.

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  8. Yes, I admit, I was definitely one of the 'squealers' at Kristen's place last month.
    Oh the excitement - finally the time had arrived for the protruding golf ball with troll doll-esque playable hair.

    This chunky statement has proven its worth with the power to lift our consciousness and foster greater social connectedness. Not only did people often stop, lean in, question 'what the hell is that', on one occasion it also evoked a mild mannered discussion on the ethical arguments for and against foreign-owned golf courses throughout New Zealand.

    On the lighter side, this emblazoned Kermy green fiber brooch also reminds us to chill out, have fun, rekindle that inner child within and dare I say it....squeal a little.

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  9. Standing in the lift at work a couple of middle-aged woman hoped in to the lift. One looks at me and as she leans forward extending her reach towards me asks “What’s that?“ as she pokes her finger in to the middle of the green spikes. “Contemporary jewelery” I reply. She bursts out laughing “bbbaahh- contemporary! It would have to be contemporary!” (implying that it wasn’t really jewellery) and walked off?! I have never met this lady before! WTF get back to Remuera!

    Again, excellent finding. I liked the horizontal pointing aspect of this brooch, it drew me forward. People expected it to be softer, but all remarked on its golfball-ness.

    Finn

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  10. Well, after 10 months of brooching having not really been a wearer of brooches beforehand, I'm still not in the habit of thinking of accessorising in this way.
    I've found that either I don't think of adding a brooch to an ensemble, or the brooch I'm currently in possession of just doesn't go!

    Today I dressed around wearing the golf ball, knowing I'm off to swap tonight. So I have on jeans with boots, and a green top which shows from under a black with white trim (well actually it's inside out) wetsuitish weird material top. Which often gets kinda strange comments anyway so it's interesting to see which of the two trumps.

    So far walking down Ponsnobby Rd the little boy of a friend said "excuse me...? why are you wearing that there?" I told them about the Brooch of the Month Club very proudly :) He thought I should wear it on my leg. I can see an argument for placement on my belly button actually.

    I really like the construction of this brooch, it's very conceptually strong.

    ReplyDelete