Nothing in "Ornament as Art: Avant-Garde Jewelry from the Helen Williams Drutt Collection" is for sale, but I really wish it was. The show includes approximately 300 works from the 1960s to the present, and while the MFAH owns plenty of things to covet, something about jewelry really brings out those acquisitive instincts. Maybe it's because almost all of us — women at least — wear it. And while it's great to have artwork in your home, there's something particularly intimate and engaging about having an artwork you wear on your person.
People have coveted and flaunted jewelry since ancient times, but these works are desirable for untraditional reasons. Their value is not dependent upon precious metals or extravagant gems — some things in the show are made from corrugated cardboard. The artists in the Drutt collection approach jewelry as an art object, with ideas taking precedence over the intrinsic value of the materials used.
