Abstract
ABSTRACTFrom rocks to clay, a shared interest in natural materials and their physical transformation provided the initial common ground for an interdisciplinary art-geoscience collaborative project that also opened up a novel and engaging public communication channel. Scientific data collected for a location-based geomorphology mapping project was collaboratively re-interpreted and re-presented as a craft installation by using digital technologies and hand-crafted processes. The project explored how creative practice can uncover and broaden narratives, layering interpretations whilst respecting and embracing the need for accurate visual representation of scientific data. As the practice-based element of a broader digital craft PhD research programme, the project effectively demonstrated an enlarged field of practice for digital craft. The collaboration resulted in a large-scale, porcelain panelled, wall-mounted installation for public exhibition and has led to subsequent significant unforeseen developments in the scope and outlook of research work undertaken by the collaborators. This paper reflects on the synergies between disciplines that were uncovered and how project challenges were met. We conclude that the project work acted as a ‘boundary object’ for the two collaborating parties, able to represent different values and fulfil different objectives for each party at the same time, while also moving forward practice for both.
Highlights
The initial impetus for this collaboration arose from a PhD research project, undertaken by Risner and supervised by Marshall, that investigated changes in crafts practice resulting from makers using digital tools (Risner, 2013)
Our collaboration demonstrates the interdisciplinary potential of placing craft, through digital means, in a direct conversation with other fields
Against a backdrop of growing formal links between arts/creative practice and science (e.g. see Hawkins’s (2017, pp. 307–312) account of art–geomorphology projects), our collaboration enriches this portfolio of activity
Summary
The initial impetus for this collaboration arose from a PhD research project, undertaken by Risner and supervised by Marshall, that investigated changes in crafts practice resulting from makers using digital tools (Risner, 2013). Risner’s PhD argued that a new strand of craft practice has emerged from digital engagement, one that embraces the collaborative nature of the ‘digital proposition’ for craft This strand has shifted practitioners away from productive autonomy – control over their own tools and materials in an ‘in the moment’ engagement – towards a more extended engagement mediated through software, digital making technologies, and a wider field of expertise. The PhD research examined, identified, and defended the existence of craft process within digitally enhanced practice It looked at engaged, complex, and iterative yet digitally-enabled work, and described such work as a new craft genre titled technepractice For Naylor, this first art-geoscience collaboration has been a springboard into the world of creative practice, where she has since consistently worked with designers and makers on externally-funded projects
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
