TAD2201

Criticism of furniture

6 points
* 3 hours lecture and tutorial contact and 9 independent study hours
* First semester
* Caulfield
* Prerequisites: TAD1101 and TAD1102

Objectives On successful completion of this subject, students should be able to understand the impact of cultural issues on furniture design and production, the importance of fashion and the values and spiritual factors which inform it; maintain a critical awareness of the supremacy of modernist design in twentieth-century furniture and possess informed opinions concerning its impact on the traditional definition of categories of furniture; have an understanding of the types and taxonomy of western and eastern furniture and have an appreciation for their traditions; be keen to perceive opportunities in the elaboration, revision or extrapolation of designs past and present; be able to design objects of furniture with deliberateness in order to propose a useful contribution to the canonical forms of furniture.

Synopsis The subject covers the relationship between types of furniture in various epochs, ranging from the `mainstream' history of western development from Egypt to postmodernism, with frequent references to non-European cultures. Comparisons are made between items of furniture and the rituals which they accommodate. The subject seeks the critical evaluation of pieces of furniture in certain historical cases on the basis of how they illuminate the historical values and enthusiasms of the communities which designed them.

Assessment Two class presentations supplemented, where appropriate, with written notes: 40% and 60% respectively

Recommended texts

Robert N Frameworks of furniture Monash University, 1996