B24995290 Welch a I V2.Pdf
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
THE AUSTRALIAN NATIONAL UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SOCIAL SCIENCES Research School of Humanities and the Arts SCHOOL OF ART VISUAL ARTS GRADUATE PROGRAM DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY ANDREW IAN WELCH EXEGESIS PRESENTED IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS OF THE DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY 2010 CONTEMPORARY PROCESSES AND HISTORICAL PRECEDENTS FOR HANDMADE CRAFTS PRACTICE IN THE CONTEXT OF TECHNOLOGICAL CHANGE. ABSTRACT This research explores the notions and values attached to the idea of the handmade object. Taking the form of an exhibition of jewellery exhibited at the ANU School of Art Gallery from June 24 to 30, 2010, the study comprises the outcome of the Studio Practice component, together with an Exegesis outlining the results of exploration into the creative potential of combining digital technologies with hand-making, and the Dissertation, which comprises 33% of the Thesis, examining the influence of particular values associated with the handmade object and how this influence has led to a continuous reevaluation of what it means to make something by hand. Declaration of Originality I hereby declare that the thesis here presented is the outcome of the research project undertaken during my candidacy, that I am the sole author unless otherwise indicated, and that I have fully documented the source of ideas, references,^potations and paraphrases attributable to other authors. Andrew Ian Welcnjune 2010 X ^ uiTf,^ X L LIBRARY v) ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS My studio research has proceeded only with the invaluable support of the staff and students in the Gold and Silver Workshop at the ANU School of Art. In particular I would like to thank Johannes Kuhnen, Cinnamon Lee, Roger Hutchinson and Gilbert Riedelbauch. Danyka van Buuren deserves a special mention for her assistance with the layout of my exegesis. CONTENTS i 1 1.1 OBJECTIVE 1 1.2 CONTEXT 1 1.3 THE RESEARCH QUESTIONS 2 1.3.1 PHASE ONE 4 1.3.2 PHASE TWO 6 2 CREATIVE POTENTIAL 7 2.1 DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY 7 2.1.1 MULTIPLES 9 2.2 COMPLEXITY 11 2.2.1 GEOMETRY 11 2.2.2 MODULARITY 12 2.3 ARTISTS 12 2.3.1 DAVID WATKINS 12 2.3.2 FRIEDRICH BECKER 15 2.3.3 SUSAN COHN 16 3 INITIAL EXPLORATION 18 3.1 FOLDED STAINLESS STEEL 19 3.2 EDM PANCAKE DIE 19 V 3.3 TITANIUM CUBE SHAPES 22 3.4 PONOKO 23 3.5 ALUMINIUM ARMBANDS 24 3.6 CNC ROUTER ARMBAND 25 3.7 MULTIPLE UNIT FINGER RINGS 25 3.8 INTERLOCKING FINGER RINGS 26 4 PROJECT FIELD TRIP 27 4.1 FIELD TRIP TO GERMANY 27 5 EXHIBITION WORKS 29 5.1 LASER CUT ARMBANDS 29 5.2 TUBE-RING SERIES 3D 5.3 ALUMINIUM PENDANTS 32 6 PRODUCTION METHODOLOGY 34 6.1 MODULAR COMPONENT DESIGN 34 6.2 ANODISING 36 6.3 BATCH PRODUCTION SYSTEM 37 6.4 ANODISING JIGS 38 6.5 TOOLS. JIGS AND TEMPLATES 41 7 CONCLUSION 42 7.1 TECHNOLOGICAL CHANGE 42 7.2 HYBRID PRACTICE 42 7.3 FURTHER RESEARCH 44 8 APPENDICES 44 8.1 FIELD TRIP ITINERARY 46 8.2 ORIGINAL PROPOSAL 56 8.3 CURRICULUM VITAE 63 9 BIBLIOGRAPHY 67 LIST OF PLATES Figure i R8 Armband, Adobe Illustrator drawing. Figure 2 Leaf Pattern Repeat, bonzai3d drawing. Figure^ David Watkins, Gyro Armband, Aluminium, 1975.1 Figure 4 Friedrich Becker, Bracelet (kinetic), stainless steel, synthetic blue spinel rod, 1982.2 Figure^ Susan Cohn, Bracelets, aluminium, 1984.3 Figure 6 Stainless steel folded forms. Figure j EDM pancake die. Figure 8 Titanium color samples. Figure 9 Titanium cube ring. Figure 10 Titanium and silver cube ring. Figure 11 Ponoko Armband, laser cut plywood. Figure 12 Ponoko Armband, laser cut plywood laser engraving detail. Figure is Armband, handmade prototype, anodised aluminium. Figure 14 Armband, CNC routed, aluminium &c polyethylene composite. Figure 75 Infinity ring, rapid prototyped & lost-wax cast. Figure 16 Interlocking ring, rapid prototyped &Tost-wax cast. Figure i j Herbert and students at METAV. 1 Wendy Ramshaw, Wendy Ramshaw, David Watkins: Schmuck = Jewellery (Pforzheim: Schmuckmuseum, 1987). p 41. 2 Fritz Falk, Schmuck Der Moderne 1960-1998 = Modern Jewellery 1960-1998 (Stuttgart: Arnoldsche, 1999). p 72. 3 Susan Cohn, Cohn (Melbourne: S. Cohn, 1989). p 14. via Figure 18 Museum Brandhorst under construction. Figure 19 Drop forge dies. Figure 20 R7 Armband, laser cut aluminium, anodised. Figure 21 Metal masters, rapid prototyped &c lost-wax cast. Figure 22 RTV silicon moulds. Figure 23 Tube ring, lost-wax cast, waxes from RTV moulds. Figure 24 Drilling holes using the indexing head on the mill. Figure 23 Aluminium pendant, aluminium anodised 8c silver rapid prototyped 8c lost-wax cast. Figure 26 Axle/bearing/lug, stainless steel and aluminium. Figure 2j Handmade prototype detail. Figure 28 Color tests, aluminium anodised. Figure 29 Master swatches, aluminium anodised. Figure 30 Custom jig, titanium, laser welded. Figure 31 Jig with holes, titanium, laser welded. Figure 32 Universal jig, titanium, laser welded. Figure 33 Octopus and Baby Octopus jigs, titanium, laser welded. Figure 34 Drill jigs, steel. 1 INTRODUCTION 1.1 OBJECTIVE The studio practice component of my PhD research examines the creative potential of combining digital technologies with hand-making techniques typical of studio scale manufacture with a focus on production of multiples. This report outlines the results of my technical and design exploration including details of the studio work and working methods. Artists who have influenced my approach to serial production are examined in short case studies of three jewellers, David Watkins, Friedrich Becker and Susan Cohn. 1.2 CONTEXT In this research I describe the technology used in the studio as traditional, transitional and new. Traditional serial production processes (blanking, pressing, lathe and mill) are typically expensive, or in other words often beyond the means of the studio jeweller. W hat I call transitional serial production processes, hydraulic die-forming and pancake dies (also called RT Blanking), are adaptations of old technologies, perhaps initiated by discoveries of new materials or access to new processes, that in the jeweller’s studio are typically clever approaches to tooling cost. New technologies for the studio jeweller include such processes as rapid prototyping, rapid tooling and computer numeric control (CNC) technologies like profile cutting, wire cutting, laser and water-jet cutting. This research project focuses on new technologies. Conventional wisdom for production in industry is to use new technologies to shortcut the traditional approach to production. However, a creative approach to new technology might be to i utilise it to create forms previously impossible to make with hand making or to make the production of multiples of complex forms viable. The technological age is presenting the crafts with its biggest challenge since the industrial revolution created the idea of the handmade object as an artefact in its own right. New processes, in particular digital technologies, present opportunities for the studio jeweller to explore the creative potential that these technologies offer. The challenge for the studio jeweller is to consider how the traditional notions and assumptions about handmaking might inform making with digital technologies. The dissertation accompanying this exegesis examines the context in more depth, focussing on the ways that meanings and values attributed to the handmade object by the Arts and Crafts Movement have been adapted and reworked by craftspeople to suit the times. 1.3 THE RESEARCH QUESTIONS The studio research was undertaken in two phases. The initial phase investigated a variety of processes and materials that might have potential for creative outcomes. The research question for this phase was: rather than using technology to shortcut the traditional approach to making objects, can we utilize the potential for new methods of producing objects as a tool for creative exploration? O r put simply, what new technologies are available for the studio craftsperson to use in a creative way? This question is based on two assumptions. Firstly that there is such a thing as new technologies and that they are available to the studio craftsperson. Secondly because it is the nature of technological advances that they are usually used to replicate old tasks faster and more accurately, this should be challenged by the studio craftsperson. The second phase of the research project was to identify the most viable technologies in terms of potential for use in combination with hand-making in the studio and apply them to the batch production of objects in a way that takes advantage of this creative potential. This phase might be best summed up by the research question, what can the technology do for me? Figure 1 - R8 Armband, Adobe Illustrator drawing. In both phases of the research it was recognised that digital technologies need digital instructions to drive them. I realised early on that if I were to engage with these technologies directly I would need skills in drawing using two dimensional (2D) computer software, and three dimensional (3D) computer software. I was already familiar with 2D drawing software using Adobe Illustrator software and I was able to sit in on Gilbert Riedelbauch’s undergraduate classes in the 3D software form'Z. Figure 2 - Leaf Pattern Repeat, bonzai1J drawing. After gaining some proficiency with form'Z, I discovered that the creators of form'Z were releasing a software called bonza^d which became my choice of software for 3D. The computer software has enabled me to do a number of things. Adobe Illustrator produces 2D computer drawings that can be exported in file formats suitable for processes that cut shapes from sheet material. Figure 1 is the Adobe Illustrator drawing sent to the laser-cutter to have parts cut. The software form'Z and bonza^d draws in 3D, producing drawings that can be exported in formats suitable for processes that build or sculpt objects in 3D.