New Approaches to Design History, volume 8 of Writing Visual Culture

The TVAD Research Group hosts an online open access double-blind peer reviewed journal, Writing Visual Culture (WVC). We are proud to launch volume 8 of the journal today, entitled 'New Approaches to Design History'. It celebrates 40 years of the Design History Society, and the 30th annual volume of the Journal of Design History, both anniversaries being celebrated in 2017. The articles are developed from papers presented in a special anniversary strand convened by WVC Series Editor Prof Grace Lees-Maffei at the Design History Society annual conference, 'Making and Unmaking the Environment', hosted by TVAD Visiting Researcher Prof Kjetil Fallan at the University of Oslo in September this year. Another TVAD Visiting Researcher, Dr Javier Gimeno Martínez, is one of the article co-authors. Read the new issue here: http://www.herts.ac.uk/research/centres-and-groups/tvad-theorising-visual-art-and-design/writing-visual-culture/volume-8

Celebrating the Design History Society at 40, and the Journal of Design History at 30

In 2017, the Design History Society (DHS) is celebrating its 40^th anniversary. At the same time, the Society’s journal, the Journal of Design History, is in its 30^th annual volume. Rather than reflecting on these landmarks with reference to canonical or well-known work from the past, the DHS agreed to mark these occasions through a call for new work which examines design history, past, present and future. This work was presented in a dedicated anniversary strand at the Society’s annual conference, Making and Unmaking the Environment, which took place from 7^th-9^th September at the University of Oslo in Norway. The conference was convened by Prof Kjetil Fallan who, among his many activities, was one of our annual TVAD Visiting Researchers. TVAD researcher Claire Jamieson attended the conference to give a paper about her research into NATØ. The anniversary strand comprised three panels, each with three presentations.

Making and Unmaking the Environment Conference brochure.  Photograph: Kjetil Fallan.

The first panel, ‘New Approaches to Design History’, began with Professor Ben Highmore (University of Sussex) recuperating connoisseurship for design history in his paper ‘Design History and Cultural Studies: Conjunctures, Tensions and Potentials’. Connoisseurship has been associated with art history and the decorative arts, but it has a function within contemporary design history, Highmore argued. Søren Rosenbak, a student at Umeå University, followed this with a short report on his project Design Research Failures, and asked what design historians might have to contribute to this work. Rosenbak assumes that design research has failed as a field, but the audience in Oslo were keen to recommend reflection on its successes as well.

The strand attendees. Photo: DHS Ambassadors, twitter.

The final paper in this first panel ‘The Environment as “Context” in Design Historiography’ saw Joana Meroz, of the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, seek to move design history beyond regarding politics as a human affair, to capture the workings of a broader notion of politics and its sites including, especially, the political agency of materials and things. She explained how the inherent qualities of objects may determine the histories we share about them. For example, heavy machinery which cannot physically fit into galleries exhibiting examples of Dutch design may be erased from the history of Dutch design as a result of such exhibitions. This panel offered three quite different presentations which contribute in different ways to how we think about design history now. As the panel progressed, each paper appeared to engage around points of tension. For Highmore, the distinction between criticism and connoisseurship was key. Rosenbak’s talk engaged distinctions between success and failure and design research and design history. For Meroz, the relationships between people and things, and things natural and man-made, were salient.

Our second panel explored the ‘Places and Spaces of Design History’. Trond Klevgaard (Royal College of Art) shared some of his doctoral research in a presentation entitled ‘On Writing about New Typography from the Margins: Problems and Approaches’. He looked at how modernism in design resonates differently in different regions, and how it has been negotiated and adapted. Next, Dr Fredie Floré (University of Leuven) and Dr Javier Gimeno Martínez (Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam) presented jointly their call for ‘Making Room for Design History in Belgium’. Javier was a TVAD Visiting Researcher when he was preparing his book Design and National Identity (Bloomsbury 2016). His paper with Fredie Floré shared many parallels with the following one, ‘Learning from History – but how? Design History in Swiss Design Education’ by Meret Ernst (Hochschule für Gestaltung und Kunst, Basel). Both were concerned about the lack of a strong and distributed national base for design history, in Belgium and Switzerland respectively, and how this might impact on the development of design history in those nations. 

Sorcha O'Brien introducing her work on Irish design history. Photo: Grace Lees-Maffei.

The strand’s last panel, ‘Making and Unmaking National Identity: Design “In”, “Of” and "From" Ireland’ continued and increased the focus of the examination of national design histories with a trio of presentations. ‘Made in Ireland’? National Narratives and Global Networks in Irish Design History’ by Dr Sorcha O’Brien (Kingston University) explored the ways in which one lamp has been presented as part of the canons of both Irish and Scandinavian design, and what that might tell us about the importance of mediation in ascribing national identity in design. Dr Lisa Godson (National College of Art and Design, Dublin) shared her project work on ‘Irish Design in Africa: Practices of the Transnational National’, with a case study of churches built in Africa to Irish designs and specifications. Godson countered the idea that Ireland has simply absorbed external notions of modernity with a case study of a design dialogue between Ireland and Nigeria. These churches contribute to the histories of architecture in Ireland and Nigeria at once. The final presentation in this panel, and the strand, was ‘Putting the “Irish” into Irish Design 1950-2015’ by Mary Ann Bolger (Dublin Institute of Technology). Bolger examined the ways in which Irish design and manufacturing have been promoted overseas. For example, she outlined the decision-making process to name the butter known as Kerrygold and its associated imagery.

Mary Ann Bolger discussing Irish stamps. Photo: Grace Lees-Maffei.

The strand as a whole told us that the geography of design history remains critically important as a focus for the development of the field. It was a privilege to chair such a rich strand at the Design History Society’s 2017 conference. The audience were engaged and contributed many useful questions and comments for developing the research we heard still further. This anniversary strand showed that design history’s future is bright.

Prof Grace Lees-Maffei, University of Hertfordshire, UK.

We have never been naked: insulation as a performing surface

On 30 January 2016, Eva Sopeoglou [1], Matina Kousidi [2] and Joanna Pierce [3] organised a multi-disciplinary collaborative workshop titled “We Have Never Been Naked: Insulation as a Performing Surface”. The workshop was part of Unfrozen – First Swiss Design Network Research Winter Summit symposium, held at Grandhotel Giessbach Brienz, Switzerland between 28-31 January 2016.

This Textile and Architectural multi-disciplinary international collaboration came together to explore the boundaries between space and insulation materials relating to both buildings and bodies. Set in the beautiful but cold environment of the Swiss Alps with snow capped peaks in the background, the workshop explored the subject of insulation properties through environmental installation, material exploration, collage, situation and action, as well as a range of senses; to formulate, experience and respond to sub-zero temperatures. 

Each presenter shared their expertise on the topic. Eva Sopeoglou’s research on human thermal comfort juxtaposed the physical need to protect the body from cold with the perplexing delight in experiencing a variety of temperatures, reminding that feeling cold and warm is a state of mind.

Matina Kousidi delved into the rich history of links between architecture and fashion and their overlapping interest to cover, house and protect the body, concluding that 'environments may be fit for human beings by any number of means'. 

Joanna Pierce introduced the processes that textile designers employ in order to manipulate and transform textile surfaces – folding, wrapping, knotting – and explained the many ways that textiles can perform in fulfilling ritualistic, technical and ecological purposes.

Participants were asked to address the research question of the role of insulation for the body and the built environment. They were prompted to respond with a piece of ‘performance architecture’, for example, a piece of clothing or a site-specific architectural enclosure – to be worn by one or many. The performances included a piece of spoken word, text narration, discussion, acting, staging. 

The proposals considered insulation alongside the collective or the sublime experience of cold environments. For example, body warmth can become social, a shared means to spend time outdoors, even among strangers. A ‘duvet wall’ can facilitate conversation between people at a bus stop. A site-specific outfit which includes built-in insulation, furniture, a garment and goggle accessories can allow one to delight in a multi-sensory panorama of a wintery landscape. 

The workshop prompted everyone to continue their pursuit to design fit environments for human activities. At the same time, this winter symposium was excellent excuse to delight in the cold.

This workshop was partly funded by a University of Hertfordshire - Santander Small Grant for Multi-disciplinary Research.

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[1] Eva Sopeoglou is Lecturer of Architecture and Interior Architecture and Design at the University of Hertfordshire.

[2] Dr. Matina Kousidi is a Research Fellow in Architecture and Urban Studies at the Politecnico di Milano.

[3] Joanna Pierce is Senior Lecturer, Print Pathway Leader and Researcher at the Textile Futures Research Centre, Central St Martins, University of the Arts London.