Arts University Bournemouth
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Resemblance to other animals: Dispossessed beings, recounted journeys and other memories
Get PDFResemblance to Other Animals (16 mins, HD, 2019) is a memory work that considers locational effect and its recollection. Its key elements, images of encased taxidermy and a traveller’s voice, offer different temporal plains and positions. The images were shot in the Horniman Museum’s, London, natural history gallery and the recordings were inspired by work related travel, time away from home. These combined sensory streams, conjoined by narrative’s reason, suggest temporal and spatial complexity and the partialness of remembrance.
The Horniman Museum is a testament to the Victorian mania for collecting, which was also the time of the ‘memory crisis’ when Bergson, Freud, Proust and later Benjamin were proposing a new intuitive, individuated, understanding of memory. A museum collection creates history, a vision of the past, that is in itself a product of history. Resemblance to Other Animals juxtaposes this site with personal recollection, which relates a sense of place to identity and can challenge institutionalised positions, examining how this correlation can be conceptualised and represented.
This examination considers whether the artistic engagement with form and content can formulate a place of creative reckoning, were an imaginative exploration can occur and a different past can be discovered, and if these sensory and conceptual elements can create a memorious investigation that generates new readings
Stitching Together: Participatory textile making as an emerging methodological approach to research
Get PDFArising from a recently formed research network, Stitching Together, this article introduces a collection of case studies that critically examine participatory textile making as an emerging methodological approach to research. The twenty-first century resurgence of interest in textile processes such as knitting, sewing and weaving, whether as individual practice or community- based initiative, builds on a long and culturally diverse history of collaborative textile-making activity. This resurgence, combined with the familiarity, accessibility and flexibility of textile practices, has influenced a recent growth in the use of such activities as a means of inquiry within diverse research contexts.
The article considers the ways in which collective textile making projects privilege social encounter as a format for learning skills, creating friendships and consolidating shared interests. It goes on to discuss how researchers are drawing on these characteristics when devising new projects, highlighting the quality of experience afforded by textile making, the diverse forms of data generated and the variety of ways in which these participatory activities can be set up. Recognising that this research approach is far from straightforward, three key methodological themes are then considered: the multifaceted nature of the researcher’s role and the complexities of relationships with participants and other stakeholders; the difficulties that can arise when using such familiar textile processes; and the opportunities, and complexities, of co-producing knowledge with participants through collaborative textile activity
Fashion and Class
No full textIn what ways do changing notions of social class correspond with key developments in the history of fashion? Focusing on examples ranging from 18th-century Britain to aspects of the global fashion industry in the early 21st century, 'Fashion and Class' examines the meaning and evolution of the term 'class', from its Marxist origins to modern day interpretations. Did industrialisation, technological change and developments in fashion retailing bring about a degree of 'class levelling' or in fact intensify class antagonism? And to what extent does modern mass consumption and cheap labour revive some of the ethical issues faced in 19th-century British textile factories? Exploring a variety of case studies that examine the changing relationships between fashion and class in different historical contexts, from the French revolutionaries of the 1780-90s through to the changing relationships between couture, designer and high-street fashion in the mid-20th century and onwards, this book is essential reading for those wishing to understand the ways in which the fashion system is closely connected with ideas of class
The Life and Times of Plastic Chairs: A qualitative research inquiry into the active interplay of design poetry with users, designers and the objects of design
Get PDFqualitative research inquiry sets out to investigate the active interplay of design
poetry with users, designers and the objects of design. The outcome of this thesis has
contributed to the field of design by expanding the concept of design poetics and
developing design poetry as another dimension of design writing. It examines the
relationship between poetry and design against the backdrop of a growing interest in
the ways in which we write about the designed world. It proposes design poetry as a
compelling and immersive form of design engagement, one which is as yet underresearched.
This research has also shown that, with its capacity to encompass social, political and
cultural factors, design poetry can be a significant vehicle in shaping our view of the
objects of design. The plastic chair became a focus for this research gaze, as an
object of design importance, with both social and cultural relevance; as an object that
is mundane and quotidian but one that can achieve iconic status as a design classic.
The research adopts methods that support the critical-creative approach which
underpins an arts-based inquiry. A significant outcome of the research is in the
development and synthesis of new creative research methods: the creative
conversations facilitating a dynamic collaborative dialogue with the key protagonists
i.e. designers, poets and users who remain at the heart of this inquiry; the synthesis of
individual and group critique on design poetry practice, employed as a method to both
share, evaluate and contribute to the development of the researcher’s creative work;
the creative output itself, a book of original poetry that reflects the research endeavour
and captures the dynamic interplay of making, consuming and narrating
Non-representational theory and the creative arts
No full textThis book presents distinct perspectives from both geographically-oriented creative practices and geographers working with arts-based processes. In doing so, it fills a significant gap in the already sizeable body of non-representational discourse by bringing together images and reflections on performances, art practice, theatre, dance, and sound production alongside theoretical contributions and examples of creative writing. It considers how contemporary art making is being shaped by spatial enquiry and how geographical research has been influenced by artistic practice. It provides a clear and concise overview of the principles of non-representational theory for researchers and practitioners in the creative arts and, across its four sections, demonstrates the potential for non-representational theory to bring cultural geography and contemporary art closer than ever before
Urban Gypsies
No full textThe research captured in this publication builds on Wenham-Clarke’s photographic project The Westway: a portrait of the community, exhibited at St Martin’s in the Fields, Trafalgar Square, London in 2013, which included 15 Traveller images. Further ethnographic research into this community resulted in 2019 of a new publication Urban Gypsies.
The research explores the immense socio-political and economic pressures exerted upon a community of Irish Travellers sheltering beneath the A40, a major highway leading into central London. Today very few Travellers in the UK are able to maintain their traditional nomadic lifestyle. Most are restricted to official sites. Over many months Wenham-Clarke gained the Travellers confidence and was granted unprecedented access, immersing himself in the community and becoming a trusted member, invited to attend weddings and christenings. The images provide a unique insight into a community that rarely gives access to outsiders.
Not intended as a survey, the research draws on narrative history, oral history and qualitative research methodologies and explores the experiences of the Travellers over a 40-year period.
Few academic practitioners have been able to conduct such detailed research: the outcomes, negotiated entirely with the community, reveal uncensored views of the Traveller community, a marginalised subjugated group struggling to retain its cultural identity as it is gradually assimilated into the wider population. The project set out to challenge stereotypical views perpetuated by the popular media and highlights what is now perceived to be one of the last forms of ‘acceptable’ racism in Britain today.
The images were disseminated internationally through news websites such as CNN and News.com.au, Marie Claire Magazine and BBC Radio London, reaching a global audience, actively challenging and informing public perceptions, engendering debate and promoting inclusivity
Animated documentary: Viewer engagement, emotion, and performativity
No full textThe chapter examines the ways in which affect and emotion are channelled and challenged through animated documentary. Murray Smith (1995) usefully distinguishes between alignment and allegiance in his discussion of how viewers identify with what is on the screen when viewing fictional characters and scenes. But there are clearly different moral and ethical registers at play in how such feelings and alliances are mobilised in nonfiction. Once we start talking about how films make us feel, alongside how they try and persuade us to root for particular (real) people, or find their specific arguments convincing, we are also in the realm of rhetoric.
But a further problem arises if we are watching something whilst knowing that elements of it are not real, that is, that there are certain fabrications involved: the long-standing debates about how dramatisation and re-enactment can be mingled with documentary are evidence of such a problem. I have discussed elsewhere (in the anthology Drawn From Life, forthcoming, 2017) the specific problems of thinking about animated documentary as a form of re-enactment, but there is a more fundamental way in which animation foregrounds its constructed nature. Various philosophers of literature, drama and film have discussed the ‘paradox of fiction’ – that viewers will respond emotionally and authentically to something or someone they know does not exist – but animated documentary is a special case of a ‘paradox of nonfiction’: an expressive act, directly connected to real events and people, but peculiarly attenuated by its constructedness.
The idea of animated documentary as an expressive act is something I connect to a discussion of philosopher and linguist J. L. Austin’s concept of ‘illocutionary force’ in his ‘performative’ model of language. The illocutionary force of a speech act is concerned with effect and intention: it points to what something means and what you mean by saying it (in the way that you do). Animated documentary’s power, poetry and potential can therefore be understood by thinking about its illocutionary force – how it communicates and expresses certain things in certain ways. Central to the deeper understanding of animated documentary proposed by this chapter is an interrogation of how the emotional ‘charge’ of viewing something we know to be real-yet-fabricated is underpinned by a series of paradoxes that are built on belief, emotion and affect
Anthropomorphizing nature through costume design: A visual essay
Get PDFThe United Nations Sustainable Development Goals 14 and 15 outline a broad concern for us to take better care for our lands and oceans and act on the negative anthropogenic impact that we, as humans, are having on this planet. However, I propose that many of us see ourselves as separate from nature and lack a connection with it. This, in turn, affects the way we treat it. In this research I explore how we can frame our futures by telling visual stories about the land and sea and the geological foundation of the world we live in. This is achieved by exploring the relationship between natural landscapes, earth sciences and the ‘bodily’ canvas. By presenting examples of costume and textile design in response to a specific brief this visual essay introduces the notion that by anthropomorphizing nature through costume design a sense of connectivity between humans and nature can be bridged. Although there are many examples of how nature has been used as a springboard for garment design this article draws attention to theories explored in social science that claim if we attribute human characteristics to natural forms we feel greater connectivity towards it. I present ideas that using the visual detail of the landscape and by exploring the opportunities of how these can be embedded into costume design we can create a playful public engagement performance tool. This approach has the potential to, not only investigate new ways of interpreting landscape and geology through a costume-design-led performance model, but also challenge the way people think about the natural world with the potential to foster pro-environmental behaviour
Aftermath in the Visual Arts: the centenary commemoration of war 2014-2018
Get PDFThe commemorative period between 2014 and 2018 was marked globally by numerous exhibitions of original artworks that had been commissioned and created during and immediately after World War 1. Most national and state museums and galleries also curated comprehensive survey shows of original work from the period; some curators took a thematic approach, some designed new permanent exhibits, and a significant number created innovative opportunities for contemporary artists to reflect on the centenary through the creation of bespoke artefacts, installations and exhibitions
Making an Argument in the Arts: Using Genre Analysis to Inform Embedded Academic Writing Support in a UK Arts University
Get PDFStudents entering art and design courses in UK higher education come from a range of educational and cultural backgrounds. These students frequently report finding academic writing challenging. Expectations as to the nature of description, analysis and criticality can also differ across subject areas. As a result, students need support in developing their ability to communicate appropriately within their disciplines – their academic literacies. This study applies genre analysis to identify ways in which students express critical thinking in undergraduate Visual Effects Design and Production essays. The findings highlight common ways of linking ideas through exemplification, drawing conclusions from grounds, and challenging the validity of assumptions. Ways of expressing the strength of claims and indicating the writer’s attitude are also frequently used in the sample. The findings are then integrated into a practical model for impromptu teaching of writing by subject lecturers. The article confirms understandings of the way students express criticality in essays, and aligns insights from genre analysis and academic literacies in a novel way. The outcome is a proposal for a practical, low-preparation approach to teaching academic writing within the disciplines