craft +design enquiry is currently calling for papers that relate to the theme of ‘relational craft and design’.
Despite the vigorous debate surrounding the disciplinary parameters and practice roles for craft and design in recent years, their relationship is characterised by wildly divergent interpretations. ‘Craft’ has become a significant and weighty word again at a time when the meaning of ‘design’ is shifting both within and outside the visual arts. Today we note everything from drug design to policy design, where ‘design’ indicates a higher level of consideration, conceptual and strategic thinking. Within this context, contemporary craft might appear as specific and cultural, while design’s seeming ubiquity carries certain risks. Curiously, the rise of design and its claims to a social role as a change-agent links contemporary design to earlier and well-understood craft polemics. For example, has design taken over the making of the object from craft? Does this help explain the neglect of craft as practice and description in studio-based art education and the concomitant rise of design within university settings in the past ten years? Art cannot be excluded when addressing these interdisciplinary questions. Might Nicolas Bourriaud’s concepts of ‘relational art and aesthetics’ be used to re-conceptualize these fields, despite, or perhaps in light of, his view that too great an emphasis on craft acts to exclude audiences? Is the legitimacy of craft shifting from the production of objects to the creation of links between people? This issue (craft + design enquiry #4) calls for papers that consider wide-ranging topics: How is ‘craft’ articulated (or elided) in contemporary architecture, fashion, and design generally; as well as film, if one considers the rise of model-making and other visual effects in contemporary culture? What does it mean that certain overlooked aspects of craft have been at work in all of these practices, but were often referred to with different language, through terms such as ‘technique’ and ‘process’ during the years that craft was ‘unfashionable’? Within this trajectory, what is the current understanding of the relationship (and lack thereof) between craft and design in itself? We welcome contributions that access or re-interpret craftsperson’s work as ‘design’ or reconsider the ‘ground’ on which such disciplinary claims have been made in the first place. The guest editors for this issue ofcraft + design enquiry on relational craft and design, and the convenors of this session at the AAANZ 2010 conference, are Professor Peter McNeil and Dr Rosemary Hawker. This issue of craft + design enquiry will be published in mid-2012. The call for papers closes on 30 June 2011. In addition, a special paper session of the Art Association of Australia and New Zealand (AAANZ) Annual Conference in Adelaide 1-3 December 2010 will be devoted to this topic and papers may be considered from that occasion. Call for Papers closing date 30 June 2011 To submit a paper please register online by the closing date of 30 June 2011. Refer to author guidelines for further information. For inquiries relating to this issue or submission of papers, please contact one of the Co-Guest Editors, Peter McNeil or Rosemary Hawker For administrative enquiries, please contact Jenny DevesWebsite
