TAD2206*

Ornament, meaning and design 2A

6 points - 3 hours lecture/tutorial and 9 independent study hours per week - Second semester - Caulfield, Gippsland, Prerequisites: TAD1101 and TAD1102. Prohibitions: TAD2216 - Elective

Objectives On successful completion of this subject, students should have a critical appreciation of the historical development of ornamental design from pre-classical times to art deco; appreciate the diversity of the origins of ornamental motifs, whether derived from engineering or ritual, as in tattooing or body-piercing and be able to speculate about their historical sustainability; be able freely to obtain access to resources of ornamental traditions and information concerning their aptness with respect to historical and cultural background; be able to speculate critically on the meaning of pattern-making, repetition, abstraction and figuration in the context of a variety of practical objects and biological interventions; possess an informed opinion concerning the fortunes of ornament during modernism and the likely place of decorative design in contemporary discourses and practices.

Synopsis Themes in the understanding of decorative design are initially structured historically; however, once a basic framework is established, discussions move to the philosophical issues concerned with the ritual and ideological values of objects and the design ethos which is 'proper' to them. The subject examines a great range of manifestations: the difference in habit between tensile members and compressive members in architecture is compared to the respective ornamental expressions; ornament and the modes of construction in timber (as in furniture) are examined, as are those in textile (such as weaving, crochet, knitting) or clay (throwing and hand-building) and glass (hot and cold). Theorists from antiquity to the twentieth century are read alongside this scrutiny of objects, their materials and assembly; and textual recommendations are judged for their internal logic, cultural implications and acceptability in the context of contemporary theory.

Assessment Two essays: 40% and 60% respectively

Recommended texts

Nelson R Ornament: An essay concerning the meaning of ornamental design Craft Victoria, 1992

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