Date of Award

2011

Document Type

Thesis

Publisher

Edith Cowan University

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy

School

School of Communication and Arts

Faculty

Faculty of Education and Arts

First Supervisor

Dr Christopher Crouch

Second Supervisor

Dr Nicola Kaye

Abstract

This thesis frames the significance of traditional textile hand production as a means of furthering the concept of aesthetic socio-cultural development. It approaches the traditional textile crafts in relation to the proposition that contemporary society is post-traditional and has broken away from nature. By examining the concept of tradition and the processes by which society transforms from the pre-modern context into the late modern, the changing nature of the crafts is explained. The research also examines wider social losses, gains and unforeseen consequences that occur in the continuous process of social transformation. My art praxis is contextualised within the framework of reflexivity, the idea that creative art practice and theory build on one another. Two research methods are used. The first is a reflection on my situation as a maker. Integral to my work is the actual experience of traditional textile hand production. The second, in drawing on the literature from critical theory, proposes the concept of reflexivity as a means by which to rethink the position of the traditional textile crafts, particularly in relation to questions concerning tradition, culture, society, identity, nature and responsible human action.

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