OpenAIR@RGU The Open Access Institutional Repository at Robert Gordon University http://openair.rgu.ac.uk Citation Details Citation for the version of the work held in ‘OpenAIR@RGU’: MARSHALL, J. J., 2008. An exploration of hybrid art and design practice using computer-based design and fabrication tools. Available from OpenAIR@RGU. [online]. Available from: http://openair.rgu.ac.uk Copyright Items in ‘OpenAIR@RGU’, Robert Gordon University Open Access Institutional Repository, are protected by copyright and intellectual property law. If you believe that any material held in ‘OpenAIR@RGU’ infringes copyright, please contact [email protected] with details. The item will be removed from the repository while the claim is investigated. AN EXPLORATION OF HYBRID ART AND DESIGN PRACTICE USING COMPUTER-BASED DESIGN AND FABRICATION TOOLS. JOHN JAMES MARSHALL A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements of The Robert Gordon University for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy February 2008. - 1 - Table of contents Table of contents..........................................................................................................................2 Table of tables...............................................................................................................................4 Table of figures.............................................................................................................................4 Image credits.................................................................................................................................6 Keywords .......................................................................................................................................8 Abstract ..........................................................................................................................................8 Acknowledgements .....................................................................................................................9 1.0 Introduction .........................................................................................................................10 1.1 Researcher’s previous experience...............................................................................10 1.2 Rationale for the research............................................................................................. 12 2.0 Critical and contextual review ........................................................................................ 15 2.1 Technological context..................................................................................................... 15 2.2 A brief history of art and (industrial) technology .................................................. 17 2.2.1 Early developments..................................................................................................20 2.2.2 1960s............................................................................................................................22 2.2.3 1970s ............................................................................................................................23 2.2.4 1980s ...........................................................................................................................23 2.2.5 1990s............................................................................................................................24 2.2.6 21st Century ................................................................................................................25 2.3 CAD/CAM and RP&M in sculpture (practitioner-led activity)............................26 2.3.1 CAD/CAM and RP&M in sculpture (beyond practitioner-led activity) ......30 2.4 Developing critical discourse.......................................................................................34 2.5 Developments in architectural practice....................................................................40 2.6 A re-examination of object making from a cross-disciplinary perspective.....44 2.6.1 From productivity tools to opportunities for design experimentation .....52 2.7 Ontologies of production: 21st Century transformations in manufacturing ...58 2.7.1 Desktop manufacturing ..........................................................................................58 2.7.2 Personal fabrication ............................................................................................... 60 2.7.3 Mass-customised production................................................................................63 2.7.4 Design to order (DTO) ............................................................................................63 2.7.5 Individualised production .....................................................................................64 2.7.6 Democratised production ......................................................................................65 2.7.7 Open Source and crowd-sourced design............................................................67 2.8 A critical challenge to disciplinary domains............................................................68 2.8.1 Modes of knowledge production..........................................................................69 2.8.2 Modes of disciplinarity........................................................................................... 71 2.8.3 Boundary objects .....................................................................................................73 2.9 A critical examination of hybrid forms of practice................................................74 2.9.1 Art’s ontological privileges ....................................................................................79 2.9.2 Beyond binary classification................................................................................ 80 2.9.3 Postmodern reappraisals of Modernist ideologies.........................................84 2.9.4 New forms of design practice ...............................................................................87 2.9.5 Implications for audiences and users ................................................................89 2.9.6 Re-examining the relationship between art and design................................ 91 2.9.7 Other hybrid forms of art and design practice.................................................95 2.10 Summary of critical and contextual review ...........................................................99 3.0 Methodology.......................................................................................................................104 3.1 An engaged practitioner ..............................................................................................106 3.1.1 Live discourse ..........................................................................................................106 3.2 A critical review of designed objects........................................................................ 107 3.3 A survey of international practitioners...................................................................109 3.4 Development of a curatorial framework ................................................................ 110 3.5 A public exhibition and symposium..........................................................................113 3.5.1 Practitioner interviews ..........................................................................................115 3.5.2 Audience survey ......................................................................................................116 3.5.3 Partner interviews ..................................................................................................117 3.6 Development of analytical models............................................................................ 118 3.6.1 Technology adoption models .............................................................................. 118 3.6.2 Klein group model ................................................................................................. 123 3.7 Summary of methodology ........................................................................................... 125 - 2 - 4.0 Results ................................................................................................................................. 127 4.1 An engaged practitioner .............................................................................................. 127 4.1.1 Live discourse ..........................................................................................................128 4.2 A critical review of designed objects........................................................................129 4.2.1 Database categories ...............................................................................................129 4.2.2 Application of database categories. ..................................................................148 4.3 A survey of international practitioners................................................................... 155 4.4 Development of a curatorial framework ................................................................ 167 4.5 A public exhibition and symposium.........................................................................182 4.5.1 New work commissioned .....................................................................................185 4.5.2 Works selected from open call ............................................................................191 4.5.3 Symposium