1 IN TEXTASIS: MATRIXIAL NARRATIVES OF TEXTILE DESIGN ELAINE IGOE A thesis submitted in partial fulflment of the requirements of the Royal College of Art for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy September 2013 Funded by Te University of Portsmouth 2 3 COPYRIGHT STATEMENT Tis text represents the submission for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at the Royal College of Art. Tis copy has been supplied for the purpose of research for private study, on the understanding that it is copyright material, and that no quotation from the thesis may be published without proper acknowledgment. BLANK 4 5 ABSTRACT Since its inception in the late 1970s, the academic feld of design research has lacked signifcant input from textile design. Textile design inhabits a liminal space that spans art, design, craf; the decorative and functional; from handiwork to industrial manufacture. Tis PhD by thesis, although recognizing this particularity, asserts textile design as a design discipline and seeks to address key questions that defne a design discipline (Archer 1979). Specifc factors have prevented the participation of textile design in the development of design theory: the universalism of the Modernist age decried many of the innate characteristics of textiles despite the fact that the versatility of textiles has made it one of the most appropriate mediums for its message. Tis suppression points to the femininely gendered nature of textiles and how this afected the participation of textile designers in the development of design research. Addressing this historical and cultural context necessitated the utilization of feminist qualitative research methods in a methodology that references matrixial theory (Ettinger 2006) and relationality. Encounters, conversations, stories, drawings, metaphor, meshing and restorying are all key research methods used in this study. In its autoethnographic approach, my position as a textile designer and as the researcher is frequently foregrounded, and is also blended with the experiences of other textile designers. Te study unfolds and expands in a non-linear way, structure and outcome co-evolving through my contingent thinking and activity. Teory and texts are montaged from anthropology, philosophy, literature, cognitive psychology and psychoanalysis to defne key characteristics of textile design and its associated thinking, both tacit and explicit. Tese characteristics are then placed into the context of the design research agenda, with particular reference to design thinking and problem-solving. Tis both strengthens the position of textiles as a design discipline and highlights its anomalies. Trough analysing the articulation of textile design practice and thinking, this study proposes an alternative perspective on design BLANK thinking and problem-solving in design which contrasts with the notions of divergence followed by convergence which are predominant in design research literature. It suggests that textile design thinking is fundamentally dimensionally expansive yet set in tense relation to external forces of folding and rhizomatic breakage (Deleuze 1993/1999, Deleuze & Guattari 1987/2008). Tis paradigm of design thinking rests upon the signifcance of long-established textile metaphors for the embodied and interconnected activities of cognition and action, and is indicative of particular views of post- Postmodernist thought. Based on this, as well as on other key characteristics of textile design process and thinking that have been defned, pedagogic implications are discussed and specifc areas of current design research discourse which would beneft from greater involvement from textile designers and theorists are explored. 6 7 SCHEMA Abstract (5) Enmeshing (57-58) Ex planare (15-23) Translating, transformation and representation (58-66) Critique of the commentary (25-31) Les belles infdèles (67-80) Matrixial meaning (33-39) Playing with paraphernalia (81-90) Te hard and the sof (39-46) Problems and pleasures (91-103) Storytelling (47-56) Unfolding (105-115) - Autoethnography References (117-127) - Conversation - Stories - Talking textiles - Metaphor 8 9 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS All images, tables, illustrations and photography are by the author with the exception of Figures 8, 10, 11, 12, 13, 16, 18 and 19. Figure 1: Teacup and saucer focked with yak and pig hair and rayon fbre (2005). Figure 2: ‘Labfock’. Bioadhesive focked with rayon fbre in Petri dish (2007). Figure 3: Cactus focked with rayon fbre (2008). Photography by the author. Figure 4: Scanned fock fbre (2008). Figure 5: Drawing and conceptualisations of ‘future’ fock applications. Envisaging particles trapped in a focked surface (2008). Figure 6: Four screen shots (clockwise) from an animation depicting the way that fock fbres gradually and randomly inhabit and obliterate a surface (2008). Figure 7: ‘I Am Flock’. A short piece of creative writing using focked surfaces and processes as a metaphor for my relationship with my research project and process (2008). Figure 8: Te basic structure of the textile design industry and process. Redrafed from Studd (2002). Figure 9: Table illustrating contemporary textile design activity (2013) Adapted from Studd (2002). Figure 10: Drawing of a textile designer by University of Portsmouth student (2009). Figure 11: Drawing of a textile designer by University of Portsmouth student (2009). Figure 12: Drawing of a textile designer by a member of the fashion and textiles research group at the Royal College of Art. (2010). Figure 13: Drawing of a textile designer by a member of the fashion and textiles research group at the Royal College of Art. (2010). BLANK Figure 14: Royal College of Art MA Textiles student in their workspace (2009). Figure 15: Royal College of Art MA Textiles student in their workspace (2009). Figure 16: A textile designer selling ‘garment front’ textile swatches at Indigo Paris 12th -14th February 2013 (2013) Courtesy of Première Vision Pluriel. [online] Available at: <http://www.indigo-salon.com/fashion-paris/Press/Film-photos> [Accessed September 4th 2013] Figure 17: ‘House of cards’. Exhibited at Royal College of Art Fashion and Textiles Work in Progress show (2008) Figure 18: Ten challenges for design education. Adapted from Friedman (2012) Figure 19: Topography of design research in 2006. Redrafed from Sanders & Stappers (2008). 10 11 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I am grateful to my employer, the University of Portsmouth, and to previous and current line managers for funding this study and for approving my applications for teaching remission. I would like to specifcally acknowledge Sarah Turner and Serena Coleman’s facilitation of the administration required. My deeply valued colleagues, in particular Susan Noble and Christine Field and in more recent years Rachel Homewood and Katie Lenton, have been wholeheartedly encouraging toward my research, and never less than supportive at times when it took me away from my teaching. I would like to thank Steve Rosenthal and his colleagues at the American Flock Association who gave me opportunities to address and propose my ideas to the professional fock industry in the United States. I am thankful to the Lord Reilly Memorial Fund for providing me with the means to travel to the United States to take up those opportunities. To the textile designers who welcomed me into their homes, workplaces, workspaces and stories, giving freely of their time, I am indebted. Of-the-record comments and conversation with these individuals has been as essential to this study as those compiled in the appendices. Te support my fellow research students in fashion and textiles at the Royal College of Art have ofered, despite my geographical location and part-time status, has been indispensable. I have been fortunate to develop good friendships with several members of the group and I am particularly grateful to Dr Rachel Philpott, her partner Michael (and their futon) for playing host to me on more than a few occasions. Graphic designer Marie Cleaver, from hellomarie, who has designed the thesis, has been a pleasure to work with, responding to its theoretical content and concepts with creativity, sensitivity and utmost BLANK professionalism. Cathy Johns and her swif and meticulous work proof-reading this document is also to be thanked, although any errors that remain are all my own work. During the span of my enrolment period at the Royal College of Art, a number of individuals have tutored me and have therefore lef some imprint on the work I have produced. However, my supervisors, Dr Claire Pajaczkowska and Dr Prue Bramwell-Davis, have lef a lasting impact on my thinking and my knowledge in a great many ways. At a crisis point, they foresaw that I had more to ofer and gently revealed it to me, allowing me to take ownership and authorship. Both have been extremely generous with their knowledge, guidance and encouragement. I thank Claire in particular for putting me forward for research presentations, book reviews and other research opportunities, and Prue for her focus on research skills, methods and methodology, an aspect I initially shied away from. Te practical support, patience and understanding ofered by extended family have been crucial, particularly in the latter stages. I have unending gratitude and thankfulness for the loving support of my father James, my mother Victorine, my sisters Joanne and Catherine and my brother James, who are my absolute and literal foundation. My parents’ utter selfessness, extraordinary energy and work ethic will always be my exemplar. Te birth of my daughter Nara confrmed my tendency to question norms and her vibrant and joyful personality enhances my life immeasurably. Becoming her mother has given my life new focus and drive. Lastly, to husband Simon Peter Mobbs. My rock. A man who now knows far more about focking and textile design than he ever dreamt he would. Simply put, this research could not have happened without him. I only hope that I can ofer back to him what he has provided me. 12 13 AUTHOR’S DECLARATION During the period of registered study in which this thesis was prepared the author has not been registered for any other academic award or qualifcation.