Curriculum evaluation for graphic arts in secondary education in the Monroe County area of New York State

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ICS Materials. Towards a re-Interpretation of material qualities through interactive, connected, and smart materials.

The domain of materials for design is changing under the influence of an increased technological advancement, miniaturization and democratization. Materials are becoming connected, augmented, computational, interactive, active, responsive, and dynamic. These are ICS Materials, an acronym that stands for Interactive, Connected and Smart. While labs around the world are experimenting with these new materials, there is the need to reflect on their potentials and impact on design. This paper is a first step in this direction: to interpret and describe the qualities of ICS materials, considering their experiential pattern, their expressive sensorial dimension, and their aesthetic of interaction. Through case studies, we analyse and classify these emerging ICS Materials and identified common characteristics, and challenges, e.g. the ability to change over time or their programmability by the designers and users. On that basis, we argue there is the need to reframe and redesign existing models to describe ICS materials, making their qualities emerge

Textile Society of America- Seventh Biennial Symposium 2000 WHOLE ISSUE

Approaching Textiles, Varying Viewpoints Proceedings of the Seventh Biennial Symposium of the Textile Society of America Santa Fe, New Mexico 2000 The papers are unedited and reproduced as submitted. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means without written permission from the author. Students and researchers wishing to cite specific authors are encouraged to contact those individuals, as many of these papers represent work in progress, or work which has been committed for publication elsewhere. Contents Prefac

Gestural patterns: a new method of printed textile design using motion capture technology

The aim of this research is to develop a new method, Hybrid Printing System (HPS) to explore digital craft methods to create surface patterns for printed textile design. This novel method of creating ‘handcrafted’ prints is a result of the integration of two technologies such as motion-capture (MOCAP) and digital textile printing (DTP). The research towards such an innovation required a current, historical, contextual and experimental study of use of motion capture in Art &Design. The research contextualises the hand and its relationship to digital crafting methods in printed textile design, the digital medium and the process of audience participation in printed textile design to create a new conceptual framework balanced in practice and theory. The practical research then develops three new methods of motion capture such as, motion tracing, motion sensing and motion tracking to generate gestural motifs and gestural patterns. This thesis and the accompanying set of experimental work demonstrates that HPS culminates in developing new aesthetics through a new mode of creation in a new medium, which will impact the user, the designer and the product as a part of the cyclical process. HPS is an advancement of printed textile design, centred in active participation of its audience at the generative stage of design. This results in a shifting role of a designer and subverts the current model of printed textile design practice. HPS is a democratic design process where the participants design for themselves, have their own voice, which induces a sense of community, togetherness and harmony in the creative process

Transforming shape: hybrid practice as group activity

Printed textile and garment design are generally taught and practised as separate disciplines. Integrated CAD software enables textile and clothing designers to envisage printed garments by assimilating graphic imagery with 2D garment shapes and 3D visualizations. Digital fabric printing can be employed to transpose print-filled garment shapes directly onto cloth. During a recently completed practice-led PhD (1998-2003), I researched the aesthetic design potential of combining new CAD technology with garment modelling methods to create new innovative printed textiles/garments. The merging of physical and screen-based making resulted in a hybrid 3D approach to the body, cloth and print referred to as the 'simultaneous design method'. In 2001 this hybrid practice provided the catalyst for a collaborative textile research project at the Nottingham Trent University, UK. The group included surface, shape and multimedia designers. The key group aim was to explore the transforming effects of computer-aided textile design through dialogues between two and three dimensions. In parallel with my own practice, print and embroidery were considered from a 3D starting-point through the relating of geometric cloth shapes to the form. Each designer took an idiosyncratic approach to the selection and integration of imagery with the shapes. The novel consideration of the final modelled textile at the start of the designing process influenced each designer in different ways, leading to a collection of contrasting, original outcomes that were displayed in the exhibition Transforming Shape (UK 2001, Denmark 2003). The exhibition demonstrated the design opportunities (and limitations) of new and existing technologies, specifically the relationship between innovative textile imagery and three-dimensional form. The designs illustrated the premise that surface designs can be engineered through different pattern shapes and that engineer-printed shapes transform the body

Transforming shape: a simultaneous approach to the body, cloth and print for garment and textile design (synthesising CAD with manual methods)

Printed textile and garment design are generally taught and practised as separate disciplines. Integrated CAD software enables textile and clothing designers to envisage printed garments by assimilating graphic imagery with 2D garment shapes, and 3D visualisations. Digital printing can be enlisted to transpose print-filled garment shapes directly onto cloth. This research challenges existing 2D practice by synthesising manual and CAD technologies, to explore the integration of print design and garment shape from a simultaneous, 3D perspective. This research has identified three fundamental archetypes of printed garment styles from Twentieth Century fashion: 'sculptural', 'architectural' and 'crossover'. The contrasting spatial characteristics and surface patterning inherent in these models provided tlýe theoretical and practical framework for the research. Design approaches such as'textile-led', 'garment-led'and 'the garment as canvas' highlighted the originality of the simultaneous design method, which embraces all of these concepts. This research recognises the body form as a positive influence within the printed textile and printed garment designing process, whereby modelled fabric shapes can be enlisted to determine mark making. The aim of the practice, to create printed garment designs from a 3D perspective, was facilitated by an original method of image capture, resulting in blueprinted toiles, or cyanoforms, that formed the basis of engineer-printed garments and textiles. Integrated CAD software provided the interface between manual modelling, design development and realisation, where draping software was employed to digitally craft 3D textiles. The practical and aesthetic characteristics of digital printing were tested through the printing of photographic-style, integrated garment prototypes. The design outcomes demonstrate that a simultaneous approach to the body, cloth and print can result in innovative textile vocabulary, that'plays a proactive role within the design equation, through its aesthetic integration with garment and form. The integration of print directly with the garment contour can result in a 3D orientated approach to printed garment design that is empathetic with the natural body shape

Re-constructing the past in post-genocide Rwanda: an archaeological contribution

A particular version of Rwanda’s pre-colonial Iron Age past was constructed during colonial rule and influenced by a racial world-view. This ethnicised and racialised past was used by successive Rwandan rulers to divide the population along newcomer/latecomer lines and eventually became a central tenet of the propaganda that contributed to the genocide in Rwanda in 1994. More recently this racial presentation of Rwanda’s past has since been successfully deconstructed by social historians such as Mamdani (2002), Chrétien (2003), Eltringham (2004) Vansina (2004 and Newbury (2009), and has been shown to be a heavily biased construction based on colonial values. Yet, the ethno-racial presentation of the past continues to be problematic for history education in Rwanda. This thesis follows on from the work of these authors. It suggests that archaeology can usefully engage with contemporary political contexts, involving the deconstruction and reconstruction of Rwanda’s pre-colonial past in a climate of reconciliation. Following this introduction this thesis explores the concept of ethnicity in relation to Rwandan archaeology before reconsidering the tangible evidence for the Iron Age in Rwanda through a critical review of the existing literature. Furthermore, through the application of a politically aware and sensitive theoretical and methodological framework, this thesis explores non-ethno-racial historical narratives in pre-colonial Rwanda through a new body of archaeological data generated during twelve months of recent fieldwork in southern, central and northern Rwanda. Finally this thesis concludes with a summary of the archaeological outcomes of this research and some speculation on future research directions

An exploration of painting aesthetics, signs, symbols, motifs and patterns of coastal Yoruba land of Nigeria

This research project is based on action production - a studio art practice involving painting and drawing. The different outcomes form the basis for identifying, investigating, analysing and documenting artistic tendencies found among the coastal Yoruba of Nigeria. The primary subject of research, namely, aesthetics, symbols, signs, patterns and motifs are drawn from Yoruba myths, folklore, legends and ‘woodcarvings’, some of which are similar to the abstract stylization found in modern European art. This study explores analytical cubism, avant-garde and Clive Bell’s theory of aesthetic emotion and interrogates the pictorial characteristics, patterns, motifs, signs and artistic styles found among the indigeneous population of the coastal Yoruba areas of Nigeria. The resulting studio practice focuses on experimentation with lines, patterns, and the geometric shapes that seem to dominate Yoruba artistic forms and crafts such as woodcarving and adire (textile design). The research also seeks to interrogate forms and information found in the data or artefacts as basis for contextual analysis. The nature and number of paintings that constitute the studio practice component of the research are informed and determined by the research questions, through experimenting with analytical cubism, avant-garde and Bell’s theory of aesthetic emotion, forms, materials, found objects and from work derived from the researcher’s interpretations of designs, patterns, signs and motifs. The research project is thus, located within the broader context of contemporary Yoruba, Nigerian, and African art practices

Digital laser-dyeing: coloration and patterning techniques for polyester textiles

This research explored a Digital Laser Dye (DLD) patterning process as an alternative coloration method within a textile design practice context. An interdisciplinary framework employed to carry out the study involved Optical Engineering, Dyeing Chemistry, Textile Design and Industry Interaction through collaboration with the Society of Dyers and Colourists. In doing so, combined creative, scientific and technical methods facilitated design innovation. Standardized polyester (PET) knitted jersey and plain, woven fabrics were modified with CO2 laser technology in order to engineer dye onto the fabric with high-resolution graphics. The work considered the aesthetic possibilities, production opportunities and environmental potential of the process compared to traditional and existing surface design techniques. Laser-dyed patterns were generated by a digital dyeing technique involving CAD, laser technology and dye practices to enable textile coloration and patterning. An understanding of energy density was used to define the tone of a dye in terms of colour depth in relation to the textile. In doing so, a system for calibrating levels of colour against laser energy in order to build a tonal image was found. Central to the investigation was the consideration of the laser beam spot as a dots-per-inch tool, drawing on the principles used in digital printing processes. It was therefore possible to utilise the beam as an image making instrument for modifying textile fibres with controlled laser energy. Qualitative approaches employed enabled data gathering to incorporate verbal and written dialogue based on first-hand interactions. Documented notes encompassed individual thought and expression which facilitated the ability to reflect when engaged in practical activity. As such, tacit knowledge and designerly intuition, which is implicit by nature, informed extended design experiments and the thematic documentation of samples towards a textile design collection. Quantitative measurement and analysis of the outcomes alongside creative exploration aided both a tacit understanding of, and ability to control processing parameters. This enabled repeatability of results parallel to design development and has established the potential to commercially apply the technique. Sportswear and intimate apparel prototypes produced in the study suggest suitable markets for processing polyester garments in this way