PAD Edition 1:

 

The first issue of PAD (Perspectives in Art & Design) focuses on a broad range of issues regarding creativity, and how it can be viewed through the dialects of visual and material language. Lecturing staff and students have contributed to this first edition, and the breadth of discussion topics portray a range of research interests. 

 

Alyson Agar has focused on How Cindy Sherman’s Instagram Works are Making Contributions to the Art Historical Canon. Alyson argues that Sherman’s shift in practice must be located within a contemporary critical and theoretical framework in an endeavour to understand her positioning. In doing so, this work reveals how Sherman had negotiated her fine art photographic practice within the realms of the selfie. Alyson is a lecturer in Visual and Material Culture, and is The Northern School of Art’s Research Champion.

 

Claire Baker provides us with An Anthropological Investigation of the Chernobyl Babushka – a Photographic Response, which is a result of an analysis into the textile practices of the self-settlers of Chernobyl, Ukraine. Her anthropological approach to embroidery and practice reveals how the Babushkas; self-sufficient through need and isolation, are fighting for survival on a daily basis, and at the same time, rediscovering their social and cultural past through creativity. Clare is both a lecturer in Textiles and Surface Design, and a practicing artist whose work explores the boundaries of art, embroidery, and product.

 

Lucy Cairns’ work, To what extent are the Narratives of Femininity Represented in the Medium of Print in Japan During the Tokugawa period (1603-1868) and Meiji period (1868-1912)?, explores visual and textual descriptions of Japanese femininity, and how this was portrayed in woodblock prints and stories. Her inquiry was influenced by her interests and subsequent research into Japan and its culture, which came about due to studies on gendered ideals, and the exploration of Japanese arts, whilst in Material Culture lectures. Lucy recently graduated with a degree in Production Design for Stage and Screen.

 

Malcolm Clements provides us with a study of eighteenth-century interior display in his paper, Makers, Buyers, and Users: Sir Lawrence Dundas and his Town House: 19, Arlington Street, London (1763-1780). This paper focuses not on the creative geniuses of Georgian design, but on a man who commissioned, bought, and displayed the goods that were exhibited within his London town house. This research allows us to understand the visual language of material display in the house of a notorious social climber, and questions perceived ideas that Dundas was merely a commissioner of goods rather than a man with his own creative ideas. Malcolm is a lecturer in Material & Creative Cultures, and the Coordinator of Scholarly Activity & Research.

 

Aliya Jefferson recently interviewed fashion historian and writer Amber Butchart, during her visit to The Northern School of Art, and this paper is a report of her interview with Amber. Aliya provides an illuminating glimpse into Amber’s career, where she offers advice to those wishing to enter employment in the world of creativity. Aliya is a second year student of Textiles and Surface Design, and is an active member of The Northern School of Art community.

 

Kirsty Milnes explores the importance of cultural symbols in her study of Japan and the cherry blossom in her work Enduring Japan: Craft, Culture, and Symbols of National Identity. In this paper, she reveals the ever present links to Japanese tradition and culture, in a national whose presence is clearly located in both modernity and the past. Her work exposes the deep cultural value symbols have in societies that are in a constant state of flux. Kirsty is a final year Textiles and Surface Design student.

 

Graham Panico focuses on the traditions, modernities, and the semiosis of style in his A Reading of Diversity in the Synagogue Architecture of the Moorish Revival. Graham attempts to come to terms with the dichotomy of synagogue building in nineteenth-century, and the adoption of the Moorish taste within the Jewish communities of Europe. His work is a valuable discussion of architecture, hybridity, and religious/cultural needs at a time of vast change. Graham is a lecturer in Visual & Material Culture, and also works in the antiques industry.

 

Tony Shaw’s paper How can the Development of Textures and Material Maps in Computer Generated Models help to Enhance Professional Practice?, links his interest in textures and patterns in 3D computer models, to the needs of students wishing to enter the production design industry. His work here provides a model which can be applied to teaching and learning, and to the development of studio and industrial practice. Tony is the Programme Leader for Production Design for Stage and Screen.