معرفی
Karen Bachmann is a Visiting Professor at the School of Art, Pratt Institute, where she teaches in both the Fine Arts and Art History departments. Additionally, she serves as an Adjunct Professor in Jewelry Design at the Fashion Institute of Technology. Her academic work intersects with studio practice, focusing on modern reinterpretations of historical art forms.
- B.F.A. in Sculpture/Jewelry from Pratt Institute
- M.A. in History of Art from Purchase College, State University of New York
Karen’s research centers on hairwork jewelry and its evolution from medieval to 19th-century practices. Her work explores how human relics function as memory objects, bridging historical craftsmanship with contemporary wearable art. She combines scholarly analysis with hands-on studio creation, often loaning her extensive private collection of Victorian hairwork to museums for exhibitions.
Her publications, such as Hairy Secrets and Queen of the Stone Age, emphasize the symbolic and cultural significance of decorative art. The recent essay in Death: A Graveside Companion expands this into broader discussions of thanatology and historical mourning practices.
Karen’s career spans over 25 years as a studio jeweler, including a former master jeweler role at Tiffany & Co. She was an artist and scholar in residence at the Morbid Anatomy Museum in Brooklyn and has exhibited internationally. Her work is featured in public and private collections globally.
