Peter Dormer presents a series of lively, clearly argued discussions about the relevance of handcraft in a world whose aesthetics and design are largely determined by technology. Indeed, one of the key questions discussed in the book is what makes the difference between a craft and a modern technology. What role does the craftsperson play in the professional life of the designer? Is the craft of design itself threatened with deskilling by technology? And what are we to make of the emergence this century of that separate arts activity we call 'the studio crafts'. What are the cultural barriers that prevent the studio crafts from being regarded simply as either art of design? Most important of all, what are the values that encourage people to want to make things themselves despite the apparent marginality of crafts? These are among the questions discussed in this collection of essays written by distinguished writers who include T.A. Heslop, Slade Professor of Art, University of Cambridge; Dr Paul Greenhalgh, Head of Research at the Victoria and Albert Museum; and Rosemary Hill, writer and broadcaster and biographer of Pugin.
By:
Peter Dormer
Other:
Bethan Hirst
Imprint: Manchester University Press
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions:
Height: 210mm,
Width: 148mm,
Spine: 14mm
Weight: 295g
ISBN: 9780719046186
ISBN 10: 0719046181
Series: Studies in Design and Material Culture
Pages: 256
Publication Date: 08 May 1997
Audience:
College/higher education
,
Professional and scholarly
,
Professional & Vocational
,
A / AS level
,
Further / Higher Education
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active
Introduction: the salon de refuse?, Peter Dormer. Part 1 The status of craft: the history of craft, Paul Greenhalgh; how strange the change from major to minor, T.A. Heslop; craft and art, culture and biology, Bruce Metcalf; craft within a consuming society, Gloria Hickey; the progress of Captain Ludd, Paul Greenhalgh. Part 2 The challenge of technology: patterns of making, Helen Rees; craft and the Turing test for practical thinking, Peter Dormer; CAD/CAM and the British ceramic industry, Neal French; textiles and technology, Peter Dormer; tornadoes, T-shirts and technology, Jeremy Myerson. Part 3 Writing about the crafts: writing about the crafts, Rosemary Hill; writing about objects we don't understand, Jonathan Meuli; the language and practical philosophy of craft, Peter Dormer.
