'American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (AAIDD)'
Abstract
What is it about ornament that made it so contentious for influential Modernist thinkers and practitioners such as Adolf Loos and le Corbusier? According to Loos (1908) it was a sign of degeneracy, for le Corbusier best suited to ‘simple races, peasants and savages’ (1925). By championing the use of ornament as a vital tool for ‘resistance’ in the sense that Michel de Certeau used the word (1984; 1998) the practice-led research featured in this article seeks to interrogate some of these myths. Rather than being a passive adornment to an environment the visual artworks presented here tested the potential of decoration and ornament to offer a resistive, critical interruption to everyday spaces. The particular space addressed was that of the workplace, with bespoke artworks being made for three different work-related locations
