Preview	PDF (Front matter) front-_usimiami...pdf | Download (102kB) Available under University of Tasmania Standard License.
Preview	PDF (Whole thesis) usimiami-whole-...pdf | Download (5MB) Available under University of Tasmania Standard License.
	Other (Photos of art installations (zip file)) Photos.zip | Download (11MB) Available under University of Tasmania Standard License.

Abstract

This research investigates the aesthetic of the multiple with an emphasis on
material and process. Through a series of artworks both formal and informal
displays of repetition are explored, focusing on the three dimensional object in
multiple and investigating links to repeat surface pattern.
The project is placed in context with art practices that employ the use of the
multiple, exploit the value of banal objects and demonstrate a labour intensive
approach in the making process. These artists include Tom Friedman, Donna
Marcus, Fiona Hall, Leonardo Drew and Do-Ho Suh. The theoretical
investigation into pattern and ornament, installation, order and mass production
and modernism includes a reflection on the writings of E.H.Gombrich, Debra
Schafter, James Trilling, Claire Bishop, Brigitta Olubas, Z. Kracauer, Ray
Batchelor, Susan Stewart and Nicolas Bourriaud.
Strong influencing factors from primary experiences impact on the process.
Factory work embedded the effects of repetitive labour and its accumulative
outcome on production and the body. A life-long interest in decorative domestic
crafts has established direct repetitive processes in the art making. Memories of
these experiences are reflected in the final aesthetic.
The art making is approached systematically involving the separation of the
different stages of fabrication. Attention is focused on one stage at a time which
then develops into a repetitive task. This way of working ensures a degree of
uniformity, and produces an accumulation of component parts that motivates the
labour by regulating the progress. The activity of the assembly line is replicated
in the multiple arrangement of units and the monotonous tasks of the process.
Used and discarded objects are transformed through a labour intensive process
in an attempt to relocate the hand-made in contemporary art making practice and question our engagement with single~use products. Each object is reduced
to an unfamiliar form and treated as pure material. Although alien in
appearance, the material is familiar enough for recognition to play a part in the
spectator's engagement with the work.
The artworks and installations in this thesis align the aesthetic outcomes of mass
production with the visual codes of pattern and decoration. It situates vernacular
making processes in contemporary art practice and exploits the notion of
repetition and the multiple through actions and choice of material. This aesthetic
is based on simple elements, the use of everyday objects and a sense of
playfulness with an aim of delivering the experience of mass.

Item Type:	Thesis - PhD
Authors/Creators:	Usmiani, L
Additional Information:	Copyright 2006 the Author
Item Statistics:	View statistics for this item

Actions (login required)

Item Control Page