This practice-based research investigates how interdisciplinary collaborations can help
creative practitioners overcome perceived barriers and the notion of risk when approaching
emerging technologies. This research aims to present an understanding of methods and
theory that focuses on the exploration of technology within creative, collaborative contexts.
More specifically, makers and craftspeople using desktop 3D printing in Scotland. The fluidity
and unique qualities of this technology challenges established notions of expertise, labour
and materiality. I explore the rhetorical notion of ’disruptive technologies’ through
contextual research, collaborative workshops, one-to-one experiments and reflective
practice.
Information and communication technologies are blurring the roles and participation of
audiences and producers (Gauntlett, 2011; Ritzer and Jurgenson, 2010; Toffler, 1980); as a
consequence, online communities are becoming centres of development and innovation.
These communities share some traits with Von Hippel´s definition of creative communities
in which “user-led innovation” emerges (Von Hippel, 2005). However, the role that these
communities of practice play, such as hackers, makers and users on the fringes of
technological adoption, remains under studied. The debate on how to analyse these
environments is split between Science Technology Studies (STS) Scholarship and design-centred
approaches (Pinch and Oudshoorn, 2008). STS scholarship is dominated by the
argument that technological development is not independent of social factors (e.g. Pinch and
Bijker, 1984). However, cultural explanations remain anthropocentric and fail to recognise
the role of the industrial drive in engineering and design (Sporton, 2015). This thesis explores
this divide by proposing a framework developed through case studies, workshops,
ethnographic research methods and participatory action research.
Craft-related practices are exemplary for their relation to process and material exploration
(Adamson, 2007a). The modernisation of local economies and the models of post-industrial
production could displace the role of those practitioners who lack opportunities to explore
emerging technologies (Atkinson et al., 2009; Bunnell, 2004; Marshall, 1999, 2008a). In an
increasingly digital era, the relationship between collaborative creative practice, direct
material manipulation and digital fabrication technologies need to be the subject to analysis.
As an example of an emerging and purportedly ‘disruptive’ technology, 3D printing has been
touted as a revolution in manufacturing, allegedly captivating the mind of consumers and
creatives (Anderson, 2012; Berman, 2012). 3D printing and the online communities
coalescing around it are creating new territories through collaboration, and this emerging
technology brings to material practice a fluidity that belonged to the digital alone. Early
adopters and artists, such as Michael Eden, Neri Oxman and Geoffrey Mann (Johnston, 2015),
contributed to the development of a narrative that is still being contested by creative
practitioners. This context offers a fertile environment for understanding the role of creative
practitioners in technological dissemination. This relation is explored through hybrid
research methodologies in which I act as a facilitator, a hacker, collaborator and sometimes
as a technical service provider. This thesis sets out to question the materiality of 3D printing,
its role as a creative tool, and challenge the perception of its impact on handmade practices.
From this body of creative practice and reflection, longitudinal collaborations are presented
that analyse different stages in creative, collaborative relationships mediated by technology
- that is when a technology is at the centre of the creative relationship. Case study one
focuses on the development of a method for creating a hybrid between 3D printing and
textile design. Case study two examines the development of an image-based approach
towards generating geometry that amalgamates painting, 3D modelling and printing. Case
study three focuses on the potential use of 3D printers for generating media to accelerate
processes within embroidery. These case studies and workshops have provided an
opportunity to develop digitally mediated collaborations, leading to insights into
collaborative practice and perceptions around emerging technologies within craft-based
practices; thus, providing a creative context for the research and positioning this project
within the field.
Reflective practice is used as the primary mode of inquiry. This offers a unique insight into
the development of a reflexive approach towards collaboration. The original contribution to
knowledge of this research project lies in the proposal of a method for creating and analysing
digitally mediated creative collaborations, as well as challenging techno-deterministic
conceptions of technological dissemination. I propose to ‘bend technology’ as a low-level
approach towards emerging technologies. This thesis includes a series of workshops, a
portfolio of creative experiments, case studies and a body of 3D printed samples and works
that range from conceptual artistic interventions to novel methods for 3D printing
