{{Short description|American artist (1951–2024)}} {{Use American English|date = March 2020}} {{Use mdy dates|date=March 2020}} {{Infobox artist | name = Jan Yager | image = Jan Yager in Studio (cropped).jpg | caption = Yager in 2001 | birth_date = {{birth date|mf=yes|1951|10|09}}<ref name="Portfolio"/> | birth_place = Detroit, Michigan, U.S. | death_date = {{death date and age|mf=yes|2024|08|14|1951|10|09}} | death_place = Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S. | nationality = | occupation = Artist | spouse = Rick Shnitzler | children = | parents = | signature = | alma_mater = Western Michigan University, Rhode Island School of Design | awards = Pew Fellowship in the Arts, Anonymous Was A Woman Award, National Endowment for the Arts }}
'''Jan Yager''' (October 9, 1951 – August 14, 2024) was an American artist who made mixed media jewelry. She drew inspiration from both the natural world and the lived-in human environment of her neighborhood in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, emphasizing that art is a reflection of both time and place. She incorporated rocks, bullet casings, and crack cocaine vials into her works, and found beauty in the resilience of urban plants that some would consider weeds.
Yager's design vocabulary is unusual in invoking "vast and collective networks of reference" that include the historic, the artistic, and the political.<ref name="Rosolowski"/> Her work is included in the permanent collections of the Philadelphia Museum of Art,<ref name="Ruff"/><ref name="Breastplate">{{cite news |title=American Breastplate Jan Yager, American, born 1951 |url=http://artmuseumofphiladelphia.org/collections/permanent/269861.html |accessdate=May 18, 2019 |work=Philadelphia Museum of Art }}</ref> the Smithsonian American Art Museum,<ref name="Rock">{{cite web |title=Rock Necklace with Ridge |url=https://americanart.si.edu/artwork/rock-necklace-ridge-33549 |website=Smithsonian American Art Museum |accessdate=May 18, 2019}}</ref> the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston,<ref name="Zilber">{{cite web |title=American Collar II |last1=Zilber |first1= Emily |url=https://www.mfa.org/entry/2016/american-collar-ii |website=Museum of Fine Arts, Boston |date=September 15, 2016 |accessdate=May 20, 2019}}</ref><ref name="L'Ecuyer">{{cite news |last1= L'Ecuyer |first1=Kelly Hays |title= The Daphne Farago Collection at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston |url=https://artjewelryforum.org/collector-profiles/daphne-farago-collection-museum-fine-arts-boston |accessdate=January 26, 2020 |work=Art Jewelry Forum |date=October 14, 2011}}</ref> the National Museum of Scotland,<ref name="Watban">{{cite news |last1= Watban |first1=Rose |title=Collector's Choice |url=https://artjewelryforum.org/rose-watban |accessdate=January 26, 2020 |work=Art Jewelry Forum }}</ref> and the Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A) in London, United Kingdom,<ref name="Inglesby">{{cite news |last1=Inglesby |first1=Roisin |title=Magpies, rejoice – the V&A has revamped its jewellery gallery |url=https://www.apollo-magazine.com/victoria-albert-museum-jewellery/ |accessdate=May 18, 2019 |work=Apollo Magazine |date=April 29, 2019}}</ref> which featured fifty of Yager's pieces in a solo show in 2001 entitled "Jan Yager: City Flora/City Flotsam".<ref name="Findings"/><ref name="Wilson"/><ref name="Heller">{{cite news |last1=Heller |first1=Karen |title=Craft is where she finds it |url=https://www.philly.com/philly/entertainment/20070530_Craft_is_where_she_finds_it.html |accessdate=May 18, 2019 |work=Philadelphia Inquirer |date=May 30, 2007}}</ref> In 2002, her ''Invasive Species American Mourning Tiara'' was chosen for "Tiaras", an exhibition of 200 tiaras at the V&A, and was featured on the back cover of the accompanying book.<ref name="Munn"/> In 2007, Yager was featured in the PBS documentary series "Craft in America: Memory, Landscape, Community".<ref name="Haithman"/><ref name="Lauria"/>
==Background== Janice A. Yager was born to Mary Linda (Parrish) Yager and Casper Yager Jr<ref name="Obituary">{{cite web |title=Janice A. Yager - View Obituary & Service Information |url=https://www.dinanfuneralhome.com/obituaries/Janice-Yager/#!/Obituary |website=Shelly-Dinan Funeral Home |access-date=19 August 2024 |language=en}}</ref> in 1951 in Detroit, Michigan.<ref name="SAAM">{{cite web |title=Jan Yager |url=https://americanart.si.edu/artist/jan-yager-6205 |website=Smithsonian American Art Museum |accessdate=May 18, 2019}}</ref><ref name="Blauer"/>She graduated from Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo, Michigan, earning a B.F.A. in jewelry and metalsmithing in 1974.
She later attended the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD), earning an M.F.A. in 1981.<ref name="Blauer">{{cite news |last1=Blauer |first1=Ettagale |title=A basic palette: the fine jewelry of Jan Yager |work=Ornament |date=1987|volume=10|issue=4|pages=48–55, 68}}</ref><ref name="Portfolio"/><ref name="Ruttinger"/> She moved to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1983.<ref name="Ruttinger">{{cite news |last1=Ruttinger |first1=Jackie |title=Three art alumni to be first inductees in new academy |url=https://www.wmich.edu/wmu/news/2002/0203/0102-ae077.html |accessdate=May 18, 2019 |work=WMU News |publisher=Western Michigan University |date=March 18, 2002}}</ref>
Yager established a studio at 915 Spring Garden Street, at that time the oldest and largest artist studio building in Philadelphia. Housing over 100 artists' studios, it was closed in 2015 after a small fire, and numerous code violations were discovered.<ref name="Crimmins">{{cite news |last1=Crimmins |first1=Peter |title=Building housing 100 artists closed in Philadelphia over fire code violations |url=https://whyy.org/articles/building-housing-100-artists-closed-in-philadelphia-over-fire-code-violations/ |accessdate=February 12, 2020 |work=WHYY |date=September 9, 2015}}</ref><ref name="Salisbury">{{cite news |last1=Salisbury |first1=Stephan |title=Artists must leave Spring Garden St. building after fire |url=https://www.inquirer.com/philly/entertainment/20150905_Artists_evacuated_after_minor_fire_closes_iconic_studios_on_Spring_Garden_Street.html |accessdate=February 12, 2020 |work=Philadelphia Inquirer |date=September 4, 2015}}</ref>
Janice A. Yager died from breast cancer in Philadelphia, on August 14, 2024, at the age of 72. She was predeceased by her husband Rick Shnitzler, and was survived by her daughter, Julia.<ref name="Obituary"/>
==Development of Yager's work==
=== Whomp and Puff === During graduate school Yager was introduced to industrial machinery and began to combine machine and hand techniques to create "objects to hold".<ref name="Satterfield"/> The surface texture of each piece was pressed into the metal initially with a drop hammer, and later a high-tonnage hobbing or coining press. Then the textured metal was puffed out into pillow shapes using a small hydraulic press. Each half-piece was sawed, soldered together, and finished by hand. Pieces in this "Whomp and Puff" series were praised for both their inviting forms and their patterned and textured surfaces.<ref name="Satterfield"/> They were described as evoking the feeling of clay or fabric,<ref name="Donohoe">{{cite news |last1=Donohoe |first1=Victoria |title=Art |work=Philadelphia Inquirer |date=June 8, 1984|page=42|quote="Jan Yager's jewelry and small metal objects, set out to convey the soft, tactile surfaces and shapes of clay and fabrics. What's unusual is that she does this by using precious metals, yet her results often look like satin pillows."}}</ref> and having a "contemplative spirit".<ref name="Satterfield"/> Next, Yager began to combine forms as freely moving elements on distinctive thick segmented chains. These pieces were seen as interesting and playful, inviting "the wearer to participate in the piece by deciding the positions of the various components".<ref name="Satterfield">{{cite journal |last1=Satterfield |first1=Barbara |title=Metalsmith '85 Winter: Exhibition Reviews: Jan Yager Swan Galleries, Philadelphia, PA May 23-June 23, 1984 |journal=Metalsmith |date=1985 |url=https://www.ganoksin.com/article/metalsmith-85-winter-exhibition-reviews/ |accessdate=May 23, 2019}}</ref><ref name="Blauer"/>
===Rock Necklaces=== thumb|right|''Rock Necklace'', 1984, by Jan Yager Yager gained national acclaim in the 1980s by combining her uniquely textured pillow-forms of 18k gold and sterling silver with water-polished natural stones,<ref name="Brown"/><ref name="Rosolowski"/> a juxtaposition that shocked some viewers.<ref name="Pepich">{{cite journal |last1=Pepich |first1=Bruce |title=Craft: the Discerning Eye I, Wustum Museum of Fine Arts, Racine, Wisconsin |date= 1991 |quote="Jan Yager's classically elegant jewelry is somewhat shocking in its combinations of fine metals such as gold and sterling with natural stones and objects including beach pebbles and quartz stones."}}</ref> Many of the rocks and pebbles were collected while she was a student at RISD.<ref name="Rosolowski"/> Initially she used the rocks that she found as inspirations for the forms she was creating for her jewelry. In 1983, recognizing the "incomparable beauty found in nature", she began to include the rocks themselves in her "Rock Necklace" series.<ref name="Portfolio">{{cite journal |last1=Yager |first1=Jan |title=Portfolio No 73: Jan Yager |journal=Craft Arts International |date=1990 |issue=18 |pages=88}}</ref> An example of this work is ''Rock Necklace with Ridge'' (1987), made of sterling silver and a gray beach rock, now in the permanent collection of the Smithsonian.<ref name="Rock"/> Yager's jewelry of this period was exhibited and sold in both the New York trade shows and the American Craft Council wholesale/retail shows. It was published widely and commercially successful,<ref name="Nakashima">{{cite journal |last1=Nakashima |first1=Mira |title=Jan Yager |journal=Craft in America: Landscape: Natural Connections |date=2007 |publisher=Craft in America, Inc. |page=7 |url=http://pbs.bento.storage.s3.amazonaws.com/hostedbento-prod/filer_public/craftinamerica/education/pdfs/naturalconnections.pdf |accessdate=May 19, 2019 |archive-date=September 3, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190903181606/http://pbs.bento.storage.s3.amazonaws.com/hostedbento-prod/filer_public/craftinamerica/education/pdfs/naturalconnections.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref> and popularized tools and techniques by influencing other artists.<ref name="Rosolowski"/><ref name="Gold">{{cite news |last1=Gold |first1=Annalee |title=Silver and Gold Co-exist|page=26 |work=Accent |issue=February |date=1987|quote="Jan Yager, . . . whose puffed pillow shapes have been so widely copied, . . . Yager's necklaces with moveable elements were the forerunner of those popular gooseneck chains with moveable slides."}}</ref><ref name="Ettagale">{{cite news |last1=Blauer |first1=Ettagale |title=1987 Baltimore Craft Show : So big but not so fine|work=Ornament |date=1987|volume=10|issue=4 |page=20 |quote="Jan Yager, untouchable in design concept, has seen the roller printing revolution sweep in oceans of cookie cutter jewelry, yet her pillow forms, now combined with pebbles, remain as fresh and innovative as ever . . . Jan Yager has brought an entirely new vocabulary to this part of the jewelry business, while remaining true to her artistic concept."}}</ref>
=== Time and Place === thumb|right|''Crack Vial Neck Strand'', 1990, by Jan Yager with Prehistoric Bone Neck Strand
In 1990 Yager gave herself a sabbatical.<ref name="sabbatical">{{cite journal |last1=Yager |first1=Jan |title=Beyond the Bench On Sabbaticals for Studio Jewelers |journal=Metalsmith |date=1991 |issue=Summer }}</ref> She took time off to study and rethink her approach, asking herself the question, "What makes art authentic?" She spent the next two years studying the history, philosophy, and practices of jewelry making, thinking about the ways in which an artwork is connected to the history of art, as well as the time and place in which it is made.<ref name="Jensen">{{cite book |last1=Jensen |first1=Amy Petersen |last2=Draper |first2=Roni Jo |last3=Barney|chapter=5. Creating |first3=Daniel T. |title=Arts education and literacies |date=July 20, 2015 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1138806979 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fckBCgAAQBAJ&pg=PT55 |accessdate=May 19, 2019}}</ref><ref name="Brown"/> Her goal became the creation of work that was "rooted in history, yet undeniably of its place and time."<ref name="Wilson"/>
A prehistoric Native American bone necklace inspired her to examine her own environment for readily available materials.<ref name="Brown"/> After a wide search for inspiration, Yager narrowed her focus to the sidewalk outside her studio in North Philadelphia. Yager began to “beachcomb” the area in a search for inspiration in the things she saw every day. She found spent bullet casings, broken auto glass, and plastic crack vials and caps. Then she began to notice and closely study the plants that persisted in growing in cracks in the sidewalks.<ref name="Wilson"/><ref name="Brown">{{cite journal |last1=Brown |first1=G. |title=Jan Yager: Urban Stigmata |journal=Ornament |date=1999 |volume=23 |issue=2 |pages=19–22}}</ref><ref name="Sharpe">{{cite journal |last1=Sharpe |first1=Shannon |title=Philadelphia: Craft City |journal=American Craft Magazine |date=January 7, 2009 |volume=February/March |url=https://craftcouncil.org/magazine/article/philadelphia-craft-city |archive-date=March 21, 2020 |access-date=March 21, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200321103604/https://craftcouncil.org/magazine/article/philadelphia-craft-city |url-status=dead }}</ref>
=== City Flotsam === thumb|right|''American Collar II'', 1999, by Jan Yager Eventually this ten year exploration grew into the body of work entitled "City Flora/City Flotsam." The materials used for her "City Flotsam" series seem light and ephemeral, though culturally loaded. Brightly colored crack vials and caps suggest the pieces of a child's necklace, but also the trade beads used by seventeenth-century traders and slavers. Yager combines these materials into intricately arranged patterns that pay tribute to Native Americans and enslaved Africans.<ref name="Dubin">{{cite book |last1=Dubin |first1=Lois Sherr |title=The history of beads : from 100,000 B.C. to the present |date=2009 |publisher=Abrams |location=New York |isbn=978-0-8109-5174-7 |edition=Rev. and expanded}}</ref><ref name="Lois">{{cite journal |last1=Dubin |first1=Lois Sherr |title=Contemporary beads and jewelry: Bridging the past and the future |date=2009 |journal=Ornament |volume=33 |issue=2 |pages=40–47 }}</ref><ref name="Phillips">{{cite book |last1=Phillips |first1=Clare |title=Jewels and jewellery |date=2008 |publisher=V & A Publishing |location=London, UK |isbn=9781851775354 |edition=Rev.|pages=154–155}}</ref><ref name="Ilse-Neuman">{{cite book |last= |first= |author-link=Ursula Ilse-Neuman |title=Seed to Silver: 4-6 February 2011, New Delhi, India |date=August 3, 2017 |publisher=World Crafts Council North America |editor-last=Ilse-Neuman |editor-first=Ursula |pages=50–51 |chapter=Jan Yager |work= Issuu|chapter-url=https://issuu.com/franklinbernalmontenegro/docs/seed_to_silver |accessdate=May 19, 2019}}</ref><ref name="Rosolowski">{{cite journal |last1=Rosolowski |first1=T. |title=Intervening in amnesia: Jan Yager's mnemonic adornment |journal=Metalsmith |date=2001 |volume=21 |issue=1 |pages=16–25}}</ref><ref name="Flannery">{{cite journal |last1=Flannery |first1=M. C. |title=Weeds on the Lapel: Biology and Jewelry |journal=The American Biology Teacher |date=January 1, 2007 |volume=69 |issue=1 |pages=44–47 |doi=10.2307/4452081 |jstor=4452081 |doi-access=free }}</ref> <ref name="Wilson">{{cite journal |last1=Wilson |first1=Ian |title=JAN YAGER |journal=American Craft |date=October 1, 2001|location=New York |volume=61 |issue=5 |pages=88–89}}</ref> Underlying each piece is "all the richness that went into its making", the workbench and tools that were used in the process of its formation, the cultural residue of crack vials and other objects that provided inspiration and materials for the work, and its historical and cultural context.<ref name="Wiggers">{{cite news |last1=Wiggers |first1=Namita Gupta |title=Curatorial Conundrums: Exhibiting Contemporary Art Jewelry in a Museum |url=https://artjewelryforum.org/articles/curatorial-conundrums-exhibiting-contemporary-art-jewelry-museum |accessdate=January 26, 2020 |work=Art Jewelry Forum |date=October 19, 2010}}</ref>
Balancing "the historical continuity of factors such as scale and form on the one hand and the historical discontinuity between materials, techniques and style on the other", Yager creates "thoroughly modern" counterparts of traditional jewelry forms.<ref name="Brown"/> Through the combination of historical context and materials Yager articulates her feelings of loss and mourning, so it is not surprising that she was also influenced by mourning jewelry. At the same time, the intentional transformation of "degraded materials" into works of art is redemptive and hopeful.<ref name="Brown"/> Pieces such as ''Bullet Worry Strand'' (1995-1999) which incorporates spent bullet casings<ref name="Le Van"/> and ''American Ruff'' (2000) which is made from discarded crack vials and caps,<ref name="Ruff">{{cite web |title=American Ruff from the "City Flotsam" Series Jan Yager, American, born 1951 |url=http://artmuseumofphiladelphia.org/collections/permanent/258359.html |website=Philadelphia Museum of Art |accessdate=May 19, 2019}}</ref> are considered exemplars of found-material jewelry.<ref name="Le Van">{{cite book |last1=Le Van |first1=Marthe |title=Fabulous jewelry from found objects : creative projects, simple techniques |date=2007 |publisher=Lark Books/Sterling Publishing Co. |location=New York |isbn=978-1600591334 |pages=19, 46 |edition=1st |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OfVcYfgqHbgC&pg=PA46 |accessdate=May 19, 2019}}</ref> ''American Ruff'' is now part of the Philadelphia Museum of Art's permanent collection.<ref name="Ruff"/>
{{blockquote|"This work is not for the individual. It's totally about larger issues," she says. "I create authentic art that is of its time and of its place, of my place. I subscribe to the theory that whatever you're looking for, it's right there."<ref name="Heller"/>}}
{{Gallery |title= |width=200 | height= |align=center |footer= |File:American Ruff in Progress by Jan Yager.jpg |alt1=American Ruff in Progress by Jan Yager |''American Ruff – City Flotsam'' by Jan Yager, as a work in progress |File:American Ruff- City Flotsam by Jan Yager.jpg |alt2=American Ruff by Jan Yager |''American Ruff – City Flotsam'', 2000, by Jan Yager, finished work }}
=== City Flora === In contrast, Yager's "City Flora" pieces recreate in metals the shapes of plants that persist in living even in a dilapidated urban environment. Yager recreates the leaves of plants such as purslane, chicory and dandelion in finely detailed silver and gold. In ''American Sidewalk Brooch'' (1999) Yager embodies purslane in blackened sterling silver. The piece has been described as evoking both "glimmers of beauty" and sadness.<ref name="Purslane">{{cite web |title=American Sidewalk Brooch |url=http://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O63056/american-sidewalk-brooch-brooch-yager-jan/ |website=V&A Search the Collections |date=1999 |accessdate=May 19, 2019}}</ref> Pieces such as ''Dandelion leaf with tire tread texture'' (1997) have been described as both poignant and serene.<ref name="Wilson"/> The organic forms and enduring materials used in Yager's floral pieces can be seen as providing a necessary balance to the sadness of the "urban stigmata" that she constructs from fragile city flotsam. Together they suggest cycles of decay, death, and renewal.<ref name="Brown"/>
{{Gallery |title= |width=200 | height= |align=center |footer= |File:Dandelion Brooch w Auto Glass by Jan Yager.jpg |alt1=Dandelion Brooch w Auto Glass by Jan Yager |''Dandelion Brooch w Auto Glass'', 2001, by Jan Yager |File:Chicory Strand Necklaces by Jan Yager.jpg |alt2=Chicory Strand Necklaces |''Chicory Strand Necklaces'', 2009, by Jan Yager, finished work }}
=== Tiaras: Useful and Invasive === Some of her most elaborate pieces are tiaras. As Yager researched the plants she saw in her neighborhood, she was surprised to find that most of them were not native to the United States. This led her to create ''American Tiara: Invasive Species'' (2001), a tangle of urban weeds built from sterling silver and gold. The tiara consists of individual pieces of jewelry that can be worn together or separately. It was part of her solo show at the Victoria and Albert Museum in 2001.<ref name="Wilson"/><ref name="Munn">{{cite book |last1=Munn |first1=Geoffrey |title=Tiaras : past and present |date=29 March 2002 |publisher=V & A Publications |isbn=978-1851773596}}</ref> The following year, it was included in the major "Tiaras" exhibition at the V&A, among 200 pieces ranging from the 18th century to the present, from punk rock to royalty.<ref name="Wilson"/><ref name="Munn"/> It is now part of the Philadelphia Museum of Art's permanent collection.<ref name="Invasive">{{cite web |title=Invasive Species: American Tiara |url=https://www.philamuseum.org/collections/permanent/258356.html |website=Philadelphia Museum of Art |accessdate=May 19, 2019}}</ref>
thumb|right|''Tiara of Useful Knowledge'', 2006, Jan Yager Yager's ''Tiara of Useful Knowledge'' (2006) echoes the purpose of the American Philosophical Society, defined in its charter of 1743 as "Promoting Useful Knowledge".<ref name="Heller"/> The tiara consists of ten plants, an ant, and a pebble, each of them wearable as separate pieces, as well as together. The plants include ragweed, a potato leaf, clover, crab grass, lamb's quarters and a tobacco blossom. Each plant has its own story of historical and economic significance. The pieces celebrate new world biodiversity at the same time that they raise issues of monoculture, colonial trade and intercultural domination.<ref name="Ilse-Neuman"/>
Of her interest in history, Yager said "the farther you look back, the farther you can see forward".<ref name="Rosolowski"/> By invoking historic, artistic and political networks of reference, Yager creates objects of both beauty and an unusual depth of meaning. Her pieces go beyond the "trouvaille", or found object. She herself has described them as "mnemonic devices", reminiscent of Pierre Nora's concept of a "lieu de mémoire" or site of memory.<ref name="Rosolowski"/><ref name="Fashion">{{cite web |title=Jan Yager, Invasive Species Tiara |url=http://fashionarticle.blogspot.com/2008/01/jan-yager-invasive-species-tiara.html |website=Fashion |accessdate=May 20, 2019|date=2008}}</ref>
==The history of artists and objects==
Yager regarded jewelry as an art form, and attributed its lack of inclusion in art history and art publications, among other reasons, to "plain old sexism".<ref name="Mitchell">{{cite news |last1=Mitchell |first1=Judith |title=New Art Forms |url=https://www.ganoksin.com/article/new-art-forms/ |accessdate=May 23, 2019 |work=Metalsmith Magazine |issue=Summer |publisher=Ganoksin |date=1992}}</ref>
{{blockquote|"The lack of status that we in the jewelry field must contend with is, I believe, deeply entwined with the lack of status of women in our culture. As a result, 'female things,' things like jewelry, and in a broader sense things like art, are diminished in their value... it is my belief we must confront and address these issues in order to understand and go beyond them."<ref name="Mitchell"/>}}
Yager was a member of the American Craft Council and the Society of North American Goldsmiths (SNAG)<ref>{{cite book |title=SNAG Membership Directory |date=1998 |publisher=Society of North American Goldsmiths |page=56 }}</ref> and served on the advisory board of the Association for the Study of Jewelry and Related Arts (ASJRA).<ref name="ASJRA">{{cite web |title=ASJRA's Advisory Board |url=http://www.asjra.net/directors.html |website=Association for the Study of Jewelry and Related Arts |accessdate=May 20, 2019}}</ref> She has written numerous articles for art metal publications, on topics including the work of metalsmith Phillip Fike,<ref name="Fike">{{cite news |last1= Yager |first1=Jan |title=Phillip Fike, American Metalsmith 1927-1997 |url=https://www.ganoksin.com/article/phillip-fike/ |accessdate=March 20, 2020 |work=Metalsmith Magazine |volume=18|issue=2 |publisher=Ganoksin |date=1998 |pages=16–25 }}</ref> the importance of sabbaticals for studio jewelers,<ref name="sabbatical"/> and "the powerful and complementary needs of the patron and the artist".<ref name="Patrons">{{cite news |last1= Yager |first1=Jan |title= Patrons who make history |url=https://artjewelryforum.org/sites/default/files/Fall%201998%20web.pdf |accessdate=26 January 2020 |work=Art Jewelry Forum |date=1998|number=4}}</ref>
She has been involved in documenting jewelry designers such as Betty Cooke,<ref name="AAA2004">{{cite web|last1=Yager |first1=Jan | title=Oral history interview with Betty Cooke, 2004 July 1-2|url=https://www.aaa.si.edu/collections/interviews/oral-history-interview-betty-cooke-11731|website=Archives of American Art, Smithsonian|date= July 1, 2004}}</ref> John Paul Miller<ref name="Miller">{{cite web|last1=Yager |first1=Jan | title=Oral history interview with John Paul Miller, 2004 August 22-23|url=https://www.aaa.si.edu/collections/interviews/oral-history-interview-john-paul-miller-12877 |website=Archives of American Art, Smithsonian|date= August 22–23, 2004}}</ref> and Earl Krentzin by gathering oral histories as part of the Archives of American Art's Nanette L. Laitman Documentation Project for Craft and Decorative Arts in America.<ref name="Krentzin">{{cite web|last1=Yager |first1=Jan | title=Oral history interview with Earl Krentzin, 2002 August 30-31 |url=https://www.aaa.si.edu/collections/interviews/oral-history-interview-earl-krentzin-11615 |website=Archives of American Art, Smithsonian|date= August 30–31, 2002}}</ref>
In 2007, Yager was featured in the Peabody Award-winning and Emmy-nominated PBS documentary series "Craft in America: Memory, Landscape, Community", created by executive co-producer Carol Sauvion. The multi-year series was accompanied by the publication of an illustrated book. "Craft in America: Celebrating Two Centuries of Artists and Objects", and a national eight-city touring exhibition, "Craft in America: Expanding Traditions".<ref name="Haithman"/><ref name="Lauria">{{cite book |last1=Lauria |first1=Jo |last2=Fenton |first2=Steve |title=Craft in America : celebrating two centuries of artists and objects |date=2007 |publisher=Clarkson Potter |location=New York |isbn=9780307346476 |edition=1st |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1ZODLvOgzR4C}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Featured in Landscape Episode |url=http://www.pbs.org/craft-in-america/artists/landscape/ |website=Craft in America |accessdate=May 23, 2019}}</ref><ref name="Neuman">{{cite news |last1=Neuman |first1=Maria |title=A Handmade Tale |url=https://www.emmys.com/news/mix/handmade-tale |accessdate=February 12, 2020 |work=emmy magazine|issue=11 |date=November 19, 2018}}</ref>
==Exhibitions== Exhibitions involving Yager's work include: * 2019: The William and Judith Bollinger Jewellery Gallery, The Victoria and Albert Museum, London, UK<ref name="Findings">{{cite journal |title=City Flora/City Flotsam Jewellery by Jan Yager |journal=Findings |date=2001 |issue=July |pages=9–10 |url=https://www.acj.org.uk/images/pdf/findings/findings16-July01.pdf |accessdate=21 March 2020}}</ref><ref name="Inglesby"/> * 2017: "Inspired by Nature", National Museum of Scotland, Edinburgh, Scotland, UK<ref>{{cite web |title=American Collar III |url=https://www.nms.ac.uk/explore-our-collections/collection-search-results/?item_id=600039 |website=National Museums Scotland |accessdate=21 March 2020}}</ref> * 2009–2010: "Wrought and Crafted: Jewelry and Metalwork 1900–Present", Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia, PA, USA<ref name="PMA2010">{{cite web |title=Wrought and Crafted: Jewelry and Metalwork 1900–Present May 9, 2009 - February 7, 2010 |url=http://www.artmuseumofphiladelphia.com/exhibitions/2010/358.html |website=Philadelphia Museum of Art |accessdate=May 22, 2019}}</ref> * 2007: Jewelry by Artists: The Daphne Farago Collection, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, MA<ref name="L'Ecuyer"/> * 2007: "Craft in America: Expanding Traditions," Group show, national eight-city touring exhibition, companion to the PBS documentary series "Craft in America"<ref name="Haithman">{{cite news |last1=Haithman |first1=Diane |title=Hommage to hand and heritage |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2007-may-27-ca-craft27-story.html |accessdate=May 22, 2019 |work=Los Angeles Times |date=May 27, 2007}}</ref> * 2006: Celebrating American Craft: 30 Years of the Philadelphia Museum of Art Craft Show, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA<ref>{{cite web |title=Museum Celebrates Three Decades of Renowned Craft Show with Exhibition of Dazzling Decorative Arts |url=https://philamuseum.org/press/releases/2006/539.html |website=Philadelphia Museum of Art|date= September 19, 2006 |accessdate=February 12, 2020}}</ref> * 2003: "Jewels & Gems," Renwick Gallery of the Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington, DC * 2002: "Tiaras", Victoria and Albert Museum, London, United Kingdom<ref name="Munn"/> * 2001: "Jan Yager: City Flora/City Flotsam", Solo show, Victoria and Albert Museum, London, United Kingdom<ref name="Inglesby"/><ref name="Heller"/> * 2000: "Beadz! New Work by Contemporary Artists", American Craft Museum, New York, NY * 1997: "Hello, Again! A New Wave of Recycled Art and Design", Oakland Museum of California, USA, touring group show, curated by Susan Subtle Dintenfass<ref name="Greil">{{cite book |last1=Marcus |first1=Greil |title=Real Life Rock: The Complete Top Ten Columns, 1986-2014 |publisher=Yale University Press|date= October 20, 2015 |page=154 |isbn=9780300218596 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0XWhCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA154}}</ref> * 1990: Contemporary Philadelphia Artists: A Juried Exhibition, Philadelphia Museum of Art, Pennsylvania, USA * 1989: "Craft Today USA", Group show, Musee des Arts Decoratifs, Paris France<ref name="Portfolio"/> * 1989: "Jewelry Design Show", Group show, Indianapolis Museum of Art, Indianapolis, Indiana, USA<ref name="Hamaker">{{cite journal |last1=Hamaker |first1=Barbara |title=Shellie Bender, Sandra Enterline, Stuart Golder, Didi Suydam and Jan Yager |journal=Ornament |date=December 1989 |volume=13 |issue=2 |page=27 |url=http://connection.ebscohost.com/c/entertainment-reviews/32626021/shellie-bender-sandra-enterline-stuart-golder-didi-suydam-jan-yager |accessdate=May 22, 2019}}{{dead link|date=November 2020|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref> * 1984: "Jan Yager", Swan Galleries, Philadelphia, PA, USA<ref name="Satterfield"/> * 1982: "16th International Jewellery Exhibition", Celje Regional Museum, Celje, Yugoslavia<ref name="Portfolio"/>
==Awards== Yager has received a number of awards including the following: * 2007: Interdisciplinary Professional Development Grant (IPDG), Philadelphia Center for Arts and Heritage<ref name="PCAH">{{cite news |title=PCAH's interdisciplinary Professional Development Grants Take Artists 'Across the Divide' |url=https://issuu.com/philadelphia_music_project/docs/pmp_magazine_2008-2009_ |accessdate=May 22, 2019 |work=PMP The Annual Magazine of the Philadelphia Music Project 2008-2009 |publisher=Philadelphia Music Project |page=31 |date=October 27, 2009}}</ref> * 2003: Pew Fellowship in the Arts, Pew Center for Arts & Heritage<ref>{{cite web |title=2003 Grants |url=https://www.pewcenterarts.org/grant/2003-grants |website=The Pew Center For Arts & Heritage |date=November 30, 2016 |accessdate=May 20, 2019}}</ref> * 2003: & 1986 Pennsylvania Council on the Arts fellowships<ref name="Portfolio"/> * 2002: one of three inaugural inductees to the Western Michigan University Art Alumni Academy<ref name="Ruttinger"/> * 2001: Anonymous Was A Woman Award,<ref>{{cite web |title=Anonymous Was A Woman : Award Recipients |url=http://www.philanthropyadvisorsny.org/uploads/6/8/6/9/6869785/winners_total_in_alpha_order.pdf |website= Philanthropy Advisors, LLC |accessdate=May 18, 2019}}</ref> established by Susan Unterberg, for women artists who are over 40 years of age<ref name="Pogrebin">{{cite news |last1=Pogrebin |first1=Robin |title=She Gave Millions to Artists Without Credit. Until Now |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/20/arts/design/susan-unterberg-artist-grant.html |accessdate=May 18, 2019 |work=The New York Times |date=July 20, 2018}}</ref> * 2000: The Peter S. Reed Foundation grant, New York City, New York State, USA<ref name="Rosolowski"/><ref name="Reed">{{cite web |title=List of grant recipients |url=https://www.petersreedfoundation.com/2000.html |accessdate=May 20, 2019 |website=The Peter S. Reed Foundation}}</ref> * 2000: Window of Opportunity Grant, The Leeway Foundation, Philadelphia, PA<ref>{{cite web |title=Jan Yager |url=https://www.leeway.org/grantees/jan_yager_woo_00/ |website=Leeway Foundation |accessdate=May 20, 2019}}</ref> * 1990: William Penn Foundation Award in 'Contemporary Philadelphia Artists', Philadelphia Museum of Art, Pennsylvania, USA * 1984: National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship, United States Federal Government<ref name="Portfolio"/> * 1985: Michael Bondanza Prize for Excellence in Jewelry Design<ref name="Portfolio"/> * 1982: Rhode Island State Council on the Arts, Grant-in-Aid: for Crafts, * 1982: Elected: Distinguished Member, Society of North American Goldsmiths, * 1982: Classic Jewelry, Merit Award, World Gold Council, New York, NY.
==References == {{reflist}}
==External links== *{{commons category-inline}} {{external media | width = 210px | float = right | headerimage= | video1 = [https://www.craftinamerica.org/short/jan-yager-segment Jewelry artist Jan Yager], LANDSCAPE, Craft in America |video2= [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MZXSL3DnqWI Jeweler Jan Yager makes the "Tiara of Useful Knowledge"], Craft in America | video3 = [https://www.pbs.org/video/craft-in-america-jan-yager/ Jeweler & Mixed-Media artist Jan Yager], Craft in America, PBS}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Yager, Jan}} Category:1951 births Category:2024 deaths Category:20th-century American artists Category:21st-century American artists Category:Rhode Island School of Design alumni Category:Western Michigan University alumni Category:Artists from Philadelphia Category:Artists from Detroit Category:American jewelry designers Category:Pew Fellows in the Arts Category:National Endowment for the Arts Fellows Category:American women artists