In LithoMania, the Department of Gemstones and Jewellery at the Trier University of Applied Arts/Campus Idar-Oberstein explores new perspectives in the artistic engagement with precious stones.Here the students address ethical issues regarding the mining of materials and develop approachesthat place the highly traditional stones in a modern context.The ambivalence of themes such as ecology, consumption, value, identity, and time are debatedand then integrated into the creative process. The lithomania of the title is expressed not only in thefascination with the luminous and colorful appearance of the precious stones but also in the obsessionwith how they are worked.The students’ poetic contributions restore a lightness to the material with which new inroads anda freedom in artistic expression become possible. The associative processes are presented in photosof experiments, documentation of objects, views of the workshops, and photographs of the jewelrybeing worn.
