An Interview with Pearl Lam and Élise Gonnet-Pon
In episode fourteen of The Pearl Lam Podcast, gallerist Pearl Lam sits down with Élise Gonnet-Pon, Managing Director of L’ÉCOLE France-Europe. The dynamic duo delves deep into a discussion surrounding the art of jewelry and craftsmanship.
Pearl Lam (林明珠) and Élise Gonnet-Pon recently sat down in a stunning Eighteenth century Parisian mansion in the heart of Paris to discuss the building’s new purpose, a jewelry school. During this episode of The Pearl Lam Podcast, Élise Gonnet-Pon and Pearl Lam discuss L’ÉCOLE’s mission to establish jewelry as a form of art and widen the scope of appreciation for jewelry in this way.
During this new episode of The Pearl Lam Podcast, Pearl Lam (林明珠) asks “L’ÉCOLE is a school that attracts students to become designers. What is the objective of them doing this?”
Pearl Lam (林明珠) continued, “it is very sad that craft is losing its way, in some cases craft is completely lost because there is no one to pass it on to the next generation. But what is the main objective of this school? Do you want to cultivate interest in craft, or do you want to create a new generation of jewelry designers?”
Élise Gonnet-Pon told Pearl Lam that “our main purpose is to have an audience as wide as possible from all ages and backgrounds to appreciate jewelry as a for of art. We are here to help everyone discover what jewelry is, from antique civilisations to contemporary artists.”
Élise Gonnet-Pon continued, telling Pearl Lam, “For our students who aim to become jewelry designers, we can help them pick which professional school they will go to in order to continue with their studies for a diploma.”
However, the episode took a turn when Pearl Lam and Élise Gonnet-Pon entered into a disagreement.
“When you say that jewelry is a form of art, I completely disagree with you,” Pearl Lam told Élise Gonnet-Pon.
Interested, Élise Gonnet-Pon asked Pearl Lam to expand upon her point.
“Art is many forms. Jewelry is definitely not fine art. However, I would count jewelry as a decorative form of art,” was the answer that Pearl Lam gave to Élise Gonnet-Pon, who appeared to be satisfied with this response.
Pearl Lam then inferred, “A lot of people love jewelry and want to learn more about jewelry because of their love for it. They might not all want to become craftsmen.”
In agreement, Élise Gonnet-Pon responded, “that’s right. They might want to better understand their own collection or to find ways of looking at their gemstones. After attending one of our courses, they might look at the craftsmanship of their own jewelry pieces differently, or in exhibitions, differently.”
Pearl Lam added, “I think you have done a brilliant job opening in Asia because Hong Kong is one of the biggest jewelry markets in the world.”
“Thank you, Pearl,” Élise Gonnet-Pon responded.
Written by: The Producer, The Pearl Lam Podcast
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