jamesjarkwright

[jamesjarkwright]

[jamesjarkwright]

[jamesjarkwright]

[jamesjarkwright]

[jamesjarkwright]

[jamesjarkwright]

[jamesjarkwright]

[jamesjarkwright]

[jamesjarkwright]

[jamesjarkwright]

[jamesjarkwright]

[jamesjarkwright]

[jamesjarkwright]

[jamesjarkwright]

[jamesjarkwright]

[jamesjarkwright]

Introduction

I am interested in interrogating the Situationist concept of the Spectacle through the lens of craft and design, and exploring how traditional symbols of wealth and status as conveyed through image can be deconstructed. I am critical of design which is intended to convey luxury, and I would be interested in exploring how artisanal making techniques and material honesty can impact our understanding of the value of objects. I want to ask what it means to be a designer while also criticising a society where humanness is increasingly mediated through objects, images and appearances. 

Asking what it means to own something will be an important part of my Final Major Project. I would like to experiment with methods of distribution, and investigate how objects can be made, bought and sold while circumnavigating traditional markets. I find it disheartening and reductive that design projects almost always culminate in a price, and I would like to explore the democratisation of design. I think the common conception is that this democratisation of design is married to unsustainable and unethical means of production, and I would like to question this. I think the best design speaks to the common humanity of those experiencing it, and hence removing restrictions on who can access design is the opposite of a hindrance. I would like to ask whether open-source and freely distributed objects are integral parts of a more equitable future, and whether consumers of design are entitled to collective ownership of said design.

I think material ageing, patina, and objects becoming relics to their users will be a critical part of the answer to this question. I want to understand how generic objects can speak to the people who use them, and further understand the material pathway of objects being manufactured, used and discarded. Materials such as leather, silver, wood and cotton have an immense ability to develop rich patinas over time, and I want to understand the impact this has on our perception of their value. 

Part of the further research for this project will include investigating the anthropological and cultural history of designed objects. I am interested in how objects came to be, and the subsequent transformation from object to artefact. My project will most likely deal with the concept of subversion, and therefore will have to be underpinned by an in-depth understanding of the concepts I am interested in subverting.

One aspect of researching the history of object design which intrigues me is the idea of designing for a fictional/historical character. I think there is mileage in designing objects as part of a narrative, whether that narrative exists within or merely borrows from real time. 

[jamesjarkwright]

blog presentation feedback

- avoid becoming a tribute to an era/style/visual language. use the aesthetics of 1970s tailoring to push the project forwards, rather than imitating them

- gain a true picture of the era without looking at it simply through rose-tinted glasses

- interrogate the concept of sleaziness and define it as best as possible

- understand why the 1970s is relevant today and find the thread which links the two

- understand the tailoring of different societies and cultures, and explore what formal dress means and looks like in different places

- dig into historical sartorial codes including heirlooms, cufflinks, signet rings and amulets