Description
c1978 Frank Patania Jr Southwestern modernist sterling bolo with turquoise and 100 peso Mexican coin. Bolo is 94 grams without the box of course. Comes with
original Thunderbird shop box (3 out of 4 corners are split on box top. Bolo
slide is 2.5" tall x 2 3/8" wide 38" long. I think this piece had to have been
made in 1978, the year the coin was issued, a year or two later at the most.
The training Frank Jr. received was a breath of fresh air in the history of
contemporary American craft. To understand the importance of this instruction,
one must look to Frank Sr., who came to America with his experience of the
apprenticeship system from Italy in the wake of the Industrial Revolution. This
had a lasting effect on the handmade tradition. Mass production became apart of
everyday life. The need for the services of skilled, educated artisans declined,
as did the apprenticeship programs that trained them. It was accepted that mass
production pieces were in general of better quality than what most people could
make. Many craftsmen were forced to close shop and join in the factory ranks as
designers.
The effect of mass production on jewelry design is evident with a glance of any
"Sears and Roebuck" catalogues of the early 20th century. Since these products
were being made for the masses, designs were often "dumbed down", reflecting
"safe" motifs repeatedly rooted in past trends. Reproduction became the national
aesthetic. There were however, "pockets" within the United States that were
exceptions. The Kalo Shops and Roycrofter, for example, were teaching
apprenticeship programs, but they were small factors compared to the
overwhelming impact of mass production.
Like many first generation American children, Frank Jr. was encouraged to follow
a formal education. Interestingly, he did not choose applied arts, but rather
American History, with a minor in Anthropology. Reflecting on his choices, he
believes his father would have thought a degree in applied arts would have been
"a waste of time," because nothing could compare to the crafts education he had
already imparted to his son.
By the time Frank Jr. joined the shop full-time, the climate towards crafts had
undergone a major change. Postwar America witnessed an explosion in the
development of architecture, industrial design, and the handcrafts. For the
first time in decades, craft was enjoying a newfound appreciation, much of which
was due to en masse support of craftsmen through universities and crafts
schools. An indication of the health of the contemporary jewelry movement can be
seen in the surge of important exhibitions during the 40s and 50s. The Museum of
Modern Art in NYC took an important step by promoting the first major exhibition
of contemporary jewelry in 1946. Magazines like Design Quarterly and Craft
Horizon (now American Craft) devoted full sections to design and contemporary
jewelry.
By the 1950s, a number of people were making contemporary jewelry on a
professional scale. That same year, The American Craft council held its first
conference, attended by over 450 crafts men and women from 30 states. During the
three day conference they addressed many concerns of the young craftsman,
including: 1) the craftsmen's relationship to society in economics and social
aesthetics; 2) design importance as it related to techniques; and 3) problems in
professional practices in the small business. While many young craftsmen in the
United States were just addressing these issues for the first time, The
Thunderbird Shop of Tucson and Santa Fe had already found resolution in regards
to these problems and had implemented them in to a system that allowed the
creativity of the shop to flourish while maintaining financial success.
Today, Frank, Jr. and his wife Donna travel between Tucson and Santa Fe. Frank,
Jr. says he is grateful for the life he has been given, acknowledging his joy in
being able to do what his loves for a living and finally arriving at a place in
which he can create the pieces he chooses without the pressures of the market.
(Fig 25-27) He looks to his son, Sam, to carry on the family name and
traditions, recognizing the struggle of a young designer with a family and the
pressures to meet payroll while still maintain ones own inimitable style.
