3128 research outputs found
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Dissolving the frame: Amy Dickson's film performances and performance films
Get PDFThis essay discusses some of the large body of video work made by Amy Dickson since 2010, working on her own and using a mobile phone camera. All the videos are created in-camera without any post-production. The relationship between camera, body and subject is analysed, as it plays out in different configurations. The work is discussed in terms of its searching, improvisatory character and this character is connected to ideas about non-teleological visual structures
The Bhagavad Gita in the making of conscious capitalism
Get PDFThe article is a critique of arguments outlined by Mackey and Sisodia (2013). This article is divided into two parts. The first part proceeds from a critical analysis of Mackey and Sisodia (2013) and their narratives of conscious capitalism as manifested in its theological foundations in response to capitalist contradictions, conflicts and challenges. The second part deals with the relationship between Hindu religious consciousness in the making of conscious capitalism. This article argues that Hindu religious consciousness provides philosophical solutions to internal contradictions and challenges of capitalism by outsourcing its systemic problems to individual work ethics, which is Karma (duty) in Hindu religion as outlined in the Bhagavad Gita (the songs of god). However, these religious solutions are temporary as everyday life experiences generate human consciousness that questions the power of capitalist systems. It also argues that Hindu religious consciousness is concomitant with requirements of capitalism and its compliant consciousness
Hidden histories: a study of diasporic identity mediated through family photography
No full textThe focus of this paper predominately centres on one photograph, which is used to pivot discussions around the power of vernacular photographic images as a form of knowledge production. I draw from my PhD research that looks at the emergence of transcultural identity through family photographs and recount an interview with one participant - Jan, who arrived in England fourteen years prior to my meeting her and do a close reading of her photographs.
Jan who initially identifies as English, then Turkish and later on during our encounter reveals her Kurdish heritage, discusses the importance of her family photographs in locating her diasporic identity. I look at the mnemonic value of her photographs, drawing reference from, amongst others, Annette Kuhn (1995, 2001), Martha Langford (2001), in evoking critical memories and examine how this photograph enables generational transference from memory to post-memory (Marianne Hirsch 1997). I examine the photograph not as evidence of ‘truth’ but as material though which anecdotes, fragments and feelings can be elicited. In doing this, I pay attention not only the photograph and the narrative but the social performance of Jan (Erving Goffman 1959) as shown through specific gestures, expressions, practices and think through how this informs my understanding of the photograph. In sharing a close ethnographic reading of the photograph (which this paper intends to do), a hidden history which would otherwise have passed unnoticed is revealed. The account that accompanies this photograph takes the reader beyond the visual surface and reveals a traumatic familial narrative. With the exception of the older man in the photograph, all the people depicted in the photograph died being illegally smuggled from Turkey to Britain. The meaning of this photograph is not anchored in its construction, instead it is ignited by the shared narrative, that sits within the wider cultural context of migration, death and bereavement. In sharing the narrative, the photograph simultaneously offers private and public insight into its meaning. It becomes a testament to the violent nature of death and plays an important role in mitigating the finality of death for Jan and her family. In doing so, it also speaks to a broader cultural narrative that hints at the fragility and rupture of families in migration. The narrative account is told and retold. Through this process details are forgotten and the memory shifts, the past is re-negotiated in the present as the memory shifts from mother to daughter
Detection of intelligibility leaps using isovist-waves; joining the dots to map potential ‘aha moment’ locations
Get PDFOur paper describes the exploration of and progress towards a new computational method to detect the location of potential ‘aha moments’ during the learning of a novel spatial configuration. ‘Aha moments’ refer to instances of sudden reorientation where the overall understanding of spatial configuration suddenly, and often unexpectedly, increases. We developed a novel computational approach to detect such a phenomenon, by spawning isovists from initial random points within the navigable space, then iteratively seeding new isovist points from the occluding edges of the latest iteration. When new isovists are able to reconnect with previously generated ones, the connection is held to be particularly advantageous (to a navigator) and the new link’s attributes, such as location, are noted. With our method, the spatial configuration is ‘explored’ progressively, simultaneously allowing the detection of changes in integration and intelligibility of the configuration as a whole.
We present the outcomes of applying our method to three case-studies; Hillier’s legible world/town, van der Rohe’s Barcelona Pavilion, and Hertzberger’s Beheer Centraal Offices. The results show that isovist-derived, potential ‘aha locations’ are systematic, and appear at the intersections between large spatial and informational units. As such, the measure is assumed to have similarities with other, existing space syntax concepts (clustering coefficients, e- and s- spaces, revelation) but is also appears distinct in its focus on pairwise-connections with previously seen locations. We hypothesise that our measure is highly sensitive to locations where people identify shortcuts during spatial exploration or learning. The paper concludes with a discussion of future research directions
WEAR: wearable technologists engage with artists for responsible innovation: analysis, insights, outcomes and impact
No full textIn the first two decades of the 21st century, computing and e-textiles were increasingly used in couture and high street fashion to create wearable interfaces. In this rush to experiment many overlooked and often ignored the societal, environmental, and ethical implications of integrating data collection and processing into the fabric that makes the clothing we wear.
WEAR Sustain (wearsustain.eu) was a two-year EU funded Horizon 2020 Innovation Action project (2017-2019) that engaged art, design and creative industries in working with technologists and engineers to shift the design, development and manufacturing of the wearables and e-textiles towards more sustainable and ethical approaches. Through WEAR Sustain, 46 project teams were funded €50,000 for six months between April 2017 and December 2018 to develop their sustainable and ethical wearable or e-textile prototypes, towards market readiness within the rich European landscape of fashion and textiles. The projects ranged from engineering more recyclable electronic textiles (e-textiles), to ethically sourced components for prototyping wearable technology, devices and products that aimed to improve wellbeing and personal health.
WEAR Sustain extended the European dialogue on wearables and e-textiles, while developing a vast online network, ecosystem, and resource bank for future innovators to learn from. The consortium, from the UK, Belgium, Germany, Italy and Bulgaria, examined participants’ submission for creating and funding wearable and e-textile projects and found that designers and artists prioritised social sustainability, environmental sustainability, and ethical labour practices, whereas engineers and technologists focused on economic sustainability. Researching our network, we found that prototyping was considered the most important stage of wearable and e-textile development, and securing follow-on funding was the biggest challenge for those working in the field. Another key challenge was the lack of information and resources available at the time, on issues ranging from possible business models to environmental, social, and economical impact, as well as lack of access to ethical data, and information about ethical labour practices when creating wearables and e-textiles.
The overall results of the project and its outcomes (among them a Sustainability Strategy Toolkit) are addressed elsewhere (Baker et al., 2018; Bryan-Kinns et al., 2018). This chapter provides an illustrative account of funded projects’ progress, with case studies to highlight key outcomes
Exploring education for sustainable development in creative disciplines
Get PDFThis article reviews literature to investigate the importance and wide benefits of fully integrating sustainability throughout Higher Education in creative disciplines. It looks at some ways that Education for Sustainable Development is proposed or already incorporated in creative education. It looks at how ESD can be integrated, particularly on Fashion Business courses, supported by Discovery Learning Theory. The research highlights many positive benefits of ESD and individual education initiatives. It sees the opportunity and support to incorporate EDS fully throughout creative disciplines. Suggesting there is now an opportunity to reset the curriculum and see the benefits of integrating ESD in creative disciplines via creative education to develop new industry models for the future
Fashion design research
No full textEvery fashion collection begins with research. But how do you start? How do you use that research? Fashion Design Research answers these questions and demystifies the process. The book begins with the basics of primary and secondary research sources and shows students how and where to gather information. Chapters on colour, fabric and market research are followed by the final chapter on concept development, which shows how to gather all the information together, featuring one research project from beginning to end. This revised edition includes updated images and new case studies, plus more on ethics, sustainability and research methods
Political economy of development and business: towards decolonisation, transformation and alternative perspectives
No full textThis book presents an alternative, critical perspective on the political economy of development and business. The everyday issues experienced by those on the margins are examined to highlight the Eurocentric bias at the centre of development theory, public policy, and business practices. Ruling class projects within these areas are critically evaluated in order to present a vision of development that recognises pluralistic traditions and people’s everyday experiences. Eurocentric liberal myopia and its praxis are outlined in development theory, public policy, and business practices. Particular focus is given to tribal planning, needs based development, public private partnerships, modes of capital accumulation, conscious capitalism, and creative business education
The instability of the pillar
No full textIn this paper I will discuss the Importance of the pillar and curtain as visual tropes seen in studio photography both historically and in a contemporary case study - high street studio photography in north-London (2012-16). I look at how this history is unstable by firstly drawing from an art historical discourse (Wilton 1992, Pointon 1993), that locates the meaning of the background in portrait painting, such as the pillar and curtain, was to signify of wealth and status. I build on this by referring to Linkman (1993) who writes that early studio photography adopted similar strategies to express the aspirations of the sitter. I then complicate this reading by placing the history of the pillar/column within a post-colonial Orientalist framework, drawing from Nochlin (1989) via Said (1972). This opposing perspective of reading the pillar through the prism of Orientalism offers another way of understanding the allegoric language of studio photography. In offering an alternative reading of the pillar, I complicate Western art historical reading of the pillar-column and curtain and in doing so raise questions about its presence in the studio photograph. This raises the question of who actually claims ownership of the pillar-column and curtain as an historical object in visual culture. In fact, I argue it is more useful to question whether the use of the pillar-column and curtain as props in early studio photography, although ubiquitous had at this point lost their art historical referent. If the photographic Victorian studio was a fashionable place to be seen in as Di Bello (2007) suggests, perhaps it should be considered that the pillar-column and curtain had transcended their original meanings? I put forward the idea that instead of signifying aspiration and status, the pillar-column and curtain within the context of the studio photograph becomes a figurative representation of the photographic studio itself
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