Surface tensions: Surface, finish and the meaning of objects (Studies in Design and Material Culture) - Hardcover

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0719087511 ISBN 13: 9780719087516

Publisher: Manchester University Press, 2013

Synopsis

Surfaces are often held to be of lesser consequence than ‘deeper’ or more ‘substantive’ aspects of artworks and objects. Yet it is also possible to conceive of the surface in more positive terms: as a site where complex forces meet. Surfaces can be theorized as membranes, protective shells, sensitive skins, even thicknesses in their own right. The surface is not so much a barrier to content as an opportunity for encounter: in new objects, the surface is the site of qualities of finish, texture, the site of tactile interaction, the last point of contact between object and maker, and the first point of contact between object and user.

Surface tensions includes sixteen essays that explore this theoretically uncharted terrain. The subjects range widely: domestic maintenance; avant-garde fashion; the faking of antiques; postmodern architecture and design; contemporary film costume. Of particular emphasis within the volume are textiles, which are among the most complex and culturally rich materialisations of surface. As a whole, the book provides insights into the whole lifecycle of objects, not just their condition when new.

About this title

About the Authors

Glenn Adamson is Head of Research at the Victoria and Albert Museum

Victoria Kelley is Reader in Design and Material Culture History at University for the Creative Arts, and teaches in the School of Fashion and Textile Design, Central Saint Saint Martins College of Art and Design

From the Back Cover

Surfaces are often held to be of lesser consequence than ‘deeper’ or more ‘substantive’ aspects of artworks and objects. Yet it is also possible to conceive of the surface in more positive terms: as a site where complex forces meet. Surfaces can be theorized as membranes, protective shells, sensitive skins, even thicknesses in their own right. The surface is not so much a barrier to content as an opportunity for encounter.

Surface tensions includes sixteen essays that explore this theoretically uncharted terrain. The subjects range widely: domestic maintenance; avant-garde fashion; the faking of antiques; postmodern architecture and design; contemporary film costume. Of particular emphasis within the volume are textiles, which are among the most complex and culturally rich materializations of surface. As a whole, the book provides insights into the whole lifecycle of objects, not just their condition when new.

The contents will be of interest to any practitioner or scholar who considers the surface within their work, whether from the perspective of fine art, craft, design, history or anthropology.

Edition details

• Publisher: Manchester University Press
• Publication date: 2013
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0719087511
• ISBN 13: 9780719087516
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 232
• Editor: Adamson Glenn, Kelley Victoria