conTEXT issue 4

issue

four

a student-led journal on contemporary practice and critical questions in art and design

Welcome to the fourth issue of conTEXT! Following a two year break, the journal makes its return with the 2022 Foundation Art and Design cohort at Bristol School of Art. The content of this journal features students’ object studies; investigations into specific items and artworks, varying from Botticelli’s Venus, to the digital printer and hand knitted socks. This contrast between modern day personal possessions and objects from art history provides us with a multitude of responses. Through analysis of these objects using a range of critical theories, a vast range of perspectives are proposed to the reader.

For many, writing an object study was a novel experience yet a challenge which expanded and enriched our ways of approaching the creative process. These allegories are transformed substantially, depending on the combination of theory and the individual. The team have identified gripping themes and issues that interweave together to create three compelling categories: ‘Possessions of Innocence’, ‘Exploring Empowerment’ and ‘Slow Down!’. We felt through categorising the essays into these sections, the reader was able to gain an insight that offered connections across different communities and histories. The team of editors, as with previous issues, are fellow students at the Bristol School of Art who would like to give special thanks to all those who contributed their essays and artworks.

Although written individually, the object studies bear a sense of collaboration, with many of the authors bringing the same pressing issues to the fore. As young students, the topics discussed in our essays seem to question certain aspects of society. This is explicitly presented through the object studies concerning consumerism and the climate crisis, but is also communicated implicitly through reponses to female figures and the hidden meaning behind objects of our infancy.

Our first category ‘Possessions of Innocence’, exposes the stories behind the material attachments of our childhood, revealing disturbing insights and offering psychological analysis. The second section, ‘Exploring Empowerment’, includes work which considers gendered forms of oppression throughout art history, investigating representations and responses to the female figure as well as challenging stigmas associated with crafts that are deemed feminine. Finally, ‘Slow Down!’ provides ways of creating a sustainable future, with emphasis on the significance of appreciating craft work created by the individual in relation to the corruption of consumerism.

We hope you enjoy issue four!

Madeleine Davies

Elizabeth Hare, Series, (2022)

Cont ent s The Digital Printer and The Death of The Author Lauren Clifford-Keane

Possessions of Innocence The Significance of Childhood Toys Ren Blews Attraction vs Aversion Nina Courtney Kewpie, Barbie: The Feminist Toy-box Jessie-Mae Buers & Eleanor Blake

Exploring Empowerment Why is Presenting Nudity in Public so Controversial?

Ruby Thresher The Relationship between Corsetry and the Feminine Harrison Fletcher High Heeled Shoes are No Symbol of Gender Tia Carden Punch Needle Embroidery, Femininity and the Feminist Movement Elizabeth Hare Embroidery and Entrapment Iris Norton Female Figures Behind the Lens Lilah Culliford Depictions of Woman and Child Emily Burgess

Slow Down!

Beauty and Consumerism in American Beauty Maria Wilson Consumerism and the Value of the Handmade Emily Brooker Adapting your Dining Habits: The Ultimate Rebellion Isobel Slocombe Community Quilting Esme Tagg-Foster Knitted Socks as a Rejection of Society Bettine Harris

issue four

The Digital Printer and The Death of the Author ‘The Digital Printer and The Death of the Author’ commences issue 4 of conTEXT, investigating how the replication and distribution of work can connect creator and viewer by contemplating the accessibility and technological advancement the printer has provided, specifically the Epson ET-2720. The use of Barthes’ ‘The Death of the Author’ theory contributes a deeply insightful reflection on how we receive and digest printed work, dependent on our circumstances including both our immediate and distant surroundings as well as personal experiences. In short, we are offered a thought provoking foundation for our journal, enlightening the reading process for essays to follow.

Lauren Clifford-Keane

Print is ‘an impression made by any method involving transfer from one surface to another’ (Tate, 2022).

In the preface of Adjusted Margin: Xerography, Art, and Activism in the Late Twentieth Century, Kate Eichhorn describes visiting an exhibition ‘ACT UP New York: Activism, Art, and the AIDS Crisis, 1987-1993’ in New York with a group of students. The posters on view made her notice that she had not only seen these before but had also helped to photocopy and distribute without even being in New York at that time. She realised ‘without giving much thought to who had originally produced the poster (usually already photocopies of photocopies by the time I encountered them), I felt a responsibility to reproduce and distribute these materials’ (Eichhorn, 2016).

The ability to mass-produce posters, pamphlets and leaflets hugely benefits activism and social justice, as activists are able to utilise the printer so efficiently. In response, the public is able to access information so easily.

The Epson ET-2720 is a black, plastic, medium-sized EcoTank printer that is lightweight. It can be connected wirelessly to a laptop and can print using its ink tank. As the Epson website states ‘An EcoTank printer is different to most printers – it features a large ink tank that you fill with the included ink bottles instead of cartridges. From the start, you have enough ink to print up to 14,000 pages’ (Epson, 2022). The inks are black, magenta and yellow.

Extremely small droplets of ink are applied to the surface of the paper to create an image or shape. The dots can vary in colour mixed to create an image. It takes 5 minutes from source to print.

A printer is an accessible tool for redistributing and copying information. Roland Barthes’s 1967 essay ‘The Death of The Author’, focuses on the idea that the author does not control the meaning of their text. As the text is published, the author’s original meanings are likely to be seen differently in contextual and subjective ways depending on the readers’ cultural and personal background. Therefore, the author does not control the reader’s experience of the text. As Barthes states, ‘the birth of the reader must be ransomed by the death of the Author’ (Barthes, 1967). This essay focuses on text and literature but this concept can be applied to artistic practice. Artists continually borrow from their surroundings.

Post-modern appropriation artists [...] believe that in borrowing existing imagery […] they are re-contextualising or appropriating the original imagery, allowing the viewer to renegotiate the meaning of the original in a different, more relevant, or more current context.

(Rowe 2011, p.1)

How much importance does originality have? Barbara Kruger takes pre-existing works and reproduces them into something else. In her 1981 piece, Untitled (Your Comfort is My Silence), she uses collage to connect pre-made imagery with imposing language. This leads to the notion that the key to a piece of art is not the originality but the artist’s intention. As Kruger states, ‘I’m interested in coupling the ingratiation of wishful thinking with the criticality of knowing better. To use the device to get people to look at the picture, and then to displace the conventional meaning that an image usually carries with perhaps a number of different readings’ (Barbara Kruger quoted by Stiles and Pelz, 1987).

Isha Rawlinson, Hidden Messages, (2022)

If the artist is irrelevant, what gives purpose and power to the image? lends itself to the artist’s vision being involved but once the work is the artist disappears, leaving the finished work contained for the discover. Barthes says that ‘the reader is the very space in which are without any being lost, all the citations a writing consists of; the text is not in its origin, it is in its destination’ (Barthes, 1967).

This still completed, viewer to inscribed, unity of a

Your Comfort is My Silence invites the viewer to create meaning from its statement within their own selves. The printer has no authorship over what it prints, it is a producer, not a creator. The printer isn’t reinventing like an artist does, but replicates. By copying the work and distributing it, it is a medium of connection between the work and the viewer, much like how the canvas is between the artwork and the spectator. Following Barthes’ critical approach, it can be argued the reproduction of work using the digital printer removes the author entirely. This undoes the outdated concept of the artist as genius and instead creates a sense of community rather than individuality.

Isha Rawlinson, Hidden Messages, (2022)

Isabel Webb, Spirituaity in the 21st Century, (2022)

issue four

Possessions of Innocence A significant outcome post-lockdown was the overwhelming sense of re-connecting with our childhoods. In a period of uncertainty and self-reflection, no wonder our minds wondered back to nostalgia. Sentimental keepsakes kept us company in times of isolation. Despite the changes in our external world, internal memories represented stability; we were either dreaming of the future or regressing to the past.

In this section, we are going to consider the boundaries of innocence and how attachment to possessions in our youth reveal our identities. Using psychological theory and the consumer’s subconscious, we study the use of childhood objects in early development.

The Significance of

Childhood Toys Ren Blews

To support these lines of questioning, I have studied the work of Donald Winnicott, a paediatrician and a psychoanalyst. His essays outlines the role developing internal object play in child and adolescent development, and how they relate to the concept of play – both as a way of exploring the external universe and a means of counter factually denying the failure of omnipotence (Winnicott, 1953). Internal objects, otherwise known as ‘transitional objects’, are initially internalised representations of physiological aspects of our caregivers.

My interpretation of Winnicott’s theories will loosely follow the layout of his essays, with the addition of a personal anecdote.

As far as childhood goes, all of us have a different recollection of what it was like to be little: you may remember it as a golden era, or a time where you’d rather not linger, or perhaps you do not remember it very well at all. Either way it is a collective experience we have all encountered and as part of growing up it is likely you also shared it with toys, more specifically your favourite toy. This short essay aims to offer insight into the importance of our childhood toys: why they were so crucial to us as children and why they may still hold relevance to us in our adult lives.

Winnicott’s ‘transitional object’ refers to the shift every infant must make.

This shift can be explained as moving from a state of being merged with the primary caregiver, to a state of being in relation to the primary caregiver as something outside and separate. From the infant’s point of view, there is initially little distinction between the self and the other. It is a very merged-in space. But as infants develop and their body, memory, and interests in the objects and people around them mature, many children choose something that becomes special to them, which is used in times of separation from the primary caregiver.

Madeline Simmons, Tea Party, (2022)

This is when we choose a childhood toy (around the first six months of life,) they tend to have qualities reminiscent of the primary caregiver e.g. soft and cuddly.

It symbolically links to parental care, to soothe the edges when our caregivers are absent from us. The chosen object helps infants navigate the experience of difference and separation from their caregivers: the objects often represent stability and durability. Things may change in the home environment, but the objects will not – they become a comfort when times are difficult.

My childhood toy still sits close to where I sleep even now, its presence offers a subconscious comfort to me like it did when I was a child. My childhood toy was given to me by my godparents as a birth present, and quickly became special to me. Her qualities were what made her so special. Baby, the inventive name I gave her, was soft to touch which offered comfort. She was initially a dusty pink colour, although I have no recollection of this and only know her to be a worn, faded beige caused from constant handling. Baby has a rattle in her head which, I think, reminded me of the metal bracelets my mother wears – the rattle inside her head would make a similar sound to that of delicate metal chiming together. She was decorated with gentle embroidered features in the shape of kind eyes, a button nose, and a loving smile. Admittedly, I think this aspect of her encouraged me to believe that even though she was a toy, she was also my friend. So as friends, we did everything together. I know this to be true although I do not remember it, apart from one distressing memory of when I dropped her in a river whilst on a boat that continued to sail away. Unknowingly, I had just lost a part of me. It is only because of extreme luck, coincidence and the kindness of a stranger that she was returned to me.

Ren Blews, Alcohol Print, (2022)

Winnicott’s theories explain that every individual has an inner reality, an inner world which can be rich or poor and can be at peace or in a state of war. They also have an outer reality, one in which it is hard to control and impossible to distance oneself from but that can have a strong influence on the inner reality.

However, there is also a third reality, an intermediate state where the inner and outer realities meet and collide. One of Winnicott’s essays, ‘Theory of IllusionDisillusion’, assumes that as humans we can never truly accept reality, that no human is provided an intermediate area of experience which is not challenged like that of art, religion or in infancy a childhood toy etc. The intermediate area (transitional object – childhood toy) is needed in infancy for initiation of a relationship between the child and the world (Winnicott cited by Stack, 2013).

Winnicott seeks to outline an area of experience and fantasy that links inner reality with outer reality – a point where a persistent relationship develops with a physical object. This provides the possibility for real relationships with individuals and society.

It is difficult to try and understand this broad subject from the brief explanation I have given, but I can only hope that it gives you insight into why our childhood toys are so invaluable. From my own understanding of Winnicott’s works, our childhood toys are chosen by us because of the symbolic qualities they possess.

They remind us of our primary caregivers. These objects and possessions then become a ‘channel’ in a sense, which help us navigate the gradually growing prolonged separation from our caregivers as we grow up. Whilst, simultaneously, providing us with the first crucial link in which we can relate to the world and develop a sense of belonging to it. I hope you are encouraged to take a closer look at what your own childhood toy means to you.

Attraction vs Aversion Nina Courtney

Named after Theodore (Teddy) Roosevelt, the teddy bear became not only a children’s toy but also an iconic symbol of security, comfort and a guardian for children.

A teddy bear is an anthropomorphised object of attachment that possesses human characteristics and attributes. Although its origin derives from wild bears, these qualities make this toy attractive and more appealing to children. This transformation of the bear’s image from terrifying beast into a cute and cuddly toy supports abject theory and the concept of attraction versus aversion, in which conventional concepts have been modified to fit a disturbing and grotesque theme.

The etymology of the word bear originates from the Proto-Indo-European word for ‘the brown one’. Bears were so feared that you could not say their name and were not spoken about. In 1902, President Roosevelt famously rescued a trapped bear, refusing to shoot it. When this story rapidly spread across the newspapers, cartoons were produced helping depict the ‘sorrowful’ and ‘helpless’ bear into lovable and endearing creature. The production of the toy fed into the marketing standpoint of change where these beasts suddenly symbolised innocence and purity.

Danella Kisanga, Left: Solace, Right: Fred, (2022)

The commercialisation of the teddy bear grew increasingly apparent in 1997, where workshops and stores such as BuildA-Bear opened; an interactive approach designed to sell stuffed animals to the masses. Now that teddy bears are mass-produced and come in various shapes and sizes, it is common to also see a variety of colourful styles and modern designs. As a result, these toys are made from a range of materials, such as synthetic fur and polyester stuffing, available in the latest and most popular outfits in order to appeal to everyone’s preference. In contrast, the original teddy bears were made from materials like mohair fabric and wood shavings. However, these vintage soft toys have been, and still are, commonly used as a horror motif in movies and video games, where they are usually portrayed as ‘haunted’, worn out and mutilated.

The attraction towards the macabre, in this case, is pure shock horror where we are simultaneously repelled and transfixed. The juxtaposition of extreme contrasts such as horror and humour, or the cuteness and monstrosity of a teddy bear in horror visual arts and film, is made to subdue our responses of aversion and attraction to the unknown.

The discomfort of abject visuals such as a dismembered and bloody teddy bear, for example, threatens our sense of propriety, particularly in terms of body and bodily functions. Therefore, turning a harmless, children’s toy back into a gruesome emblem of aversion and abjection can be explored in terms of our own repulsion and fascination. This has a distorting and disturbing effect on reactions. I believe that this topic will always be relevant to us as artists, as we constantly question our encounter with the grotesque.

Niamh Fox, Untitled, (2022)

The Feminist Toy Box: Kewpie & Barbie Jessie-Mae Buers & Eleanor Blake Before there was Barbie, the Kewpie doll was birthed in Rose O’ Neill’s dreams.

In 1909, these ‘innocent, unspoiled little souls’, started to appear in pages for Good Housekeeping and Woman’s Home Companion. As O’Neill states, ‘the world needs to laugh or at least smile more than it does’ (O’Neill, 1997).

Pre-Kewpie, O’Neill already identified as a feminist artist. An 1896 comic strip by her, named The Old Subscriber Calls, became the first published comic strip created by a woman. She was America’s first female cartoonist, despite publishers encouraging her to hide her gender.

The Kewpie defines a striking narrative - the act of capitalising on female illustration and idea within an evergrowing merchandising phenomenon. There is stress on love when discussing the Kewpie, the name even alluding to Cupid, the god of romance. In a time of industrialisation, migration and new technology, perhaps America was trying to find comfort.

The androgynous appearance of Kewpie adopts a universal and timeless face for any cause. As a child, O’Neill lived in poverty, so the character represented an icon of hope and joy to campaign for these experiences. O’Neill used the Kewpie to illustrate the 1910s Suffragette movement, proclaiming ‘I have a thrilling hope that women are going to do something glorious in the arts. It is my passionate conviction’ (O’Neill quoted by The National Women’s Hall of Fame, 2019).

After outstanding success, the remainder of the 20th century saw public demand for the Kewpie. There were several models of varying material when manufacturing began, but O’Neill was clear ‘to take the most care with the tiniest of the tiniest of Kewpies because those will be the Kewpies that poor children can afford to buy’ (Scott quoted by Sain, 2012).

The most popular development of Kewpie is Nakajima Enterprises’ Kewpie Mayonnaise produced in Japan, 1925. The founder, Toichiro Nakashima, sourced inspiration when tasting Mayo on a trip abroad to the United States. This can also be another source of where the obsession with the Kawaii (meaning ‘cute’) came from in Japan. As Natalie Angier states in ‘The Cute Factor’,‘cute cues are those that indicate extreme youth, vulnerability, harmlessness, and need’ (Angier, 2006).

Kawaii has been seen to emphasise a sense of pathos that a helpless object inspires an observer’s mind. O’Neill used this powerless design in her favour to evoke power in her Suffragette work. This also builds on the psychological theory, ‘The Kewpie Effect.’ In 1943, Konrad Lorenz saw how a child’s physical features, reminiscent of the rounded Kewpie face, changed how they developed. The more ‘attractive’ and ‘cute’ a child’s face, saw an increase in better treatment from a caregiver.

The relevance here of both the Kawaii and ‘Kewpie Effect’ proves a level of objectification. There is reclaiming in this, like in the example of O’Neill’s successes, but also damage from a patriarchal perspective. In the 1958 song Kewpie Doll, the lyrics objectify a female love interest to the level of the doll, both infantilising and creating an act of purchase. The correlation here is clearly not in O’Neill’s favour because of her genderless depiction of the characters in their early development, but merely an effect of patriarchal capital. The face for Betty Boop, known as ‘The Animated Sex Symbol’ looks uncannily similar to Kewpie’s design. This steers a sexualisation of innocence, all because there is no threat in the round, childlike features. This is disturbing, but only a beginning to the Nabokov Lolita infested fetishism of modern media.

The lovable legacy of Kewpie and O’Neill’s work has stood out as the first icon of merchandise. The late 1950s saw a true consumer image, collections appeared with Mattel, targeting what would become gender politics in childhood fun.

When the Barbie doll first hit toy shop shelves in 1959, the idea that young girls could grow up and have other options than being a homemaker seemed almost radical to women at the time. Despite this, Barbie’s main purpose was to show girls from a young age that they too, could aspire for a career or way of life other than being a homemaker.

In recent years, Barbie’s slogan has been the phrase, ‘you can be anything.’ Many feminists praise this emphasised part of Barbie’s branding, however many critique the brand for reasons such as ‘promoting unrealistic body measurements’, ‘lack of diversity’ as well as the abundance of pink outfits Barbie is regularly seen dressed in – which some see as reinforcing sexist stereotypes (Zhou, 2021).

The character of Barbie herself has canonically had over 200 jobs, a majority of which are traditionally male dominated - such as an astronaut, a pilot and a computer engineer. This feature in Barbie’s history continues to show their audience that there are a wide variety of careers which they could possibly aspire to. During the 1990s, a line of dolls were released showing Barbie running for president of the United States. This was at a time before a female candidate had even made it onto the voting ballot. This is an extremely important part of Barbie’s legacy – however, critics overlook these points and tend to focus on the doll’s ‘perpetuation of sexist stereotypes’ (Zhou, 2021). Many continue to see the doll as the typical pink and overtly feminine, glittery clothing, ‘dumb blonde’ stereotype, leading her to be painted as a brainless sex symbol within society.

This claim sees that women need to renounce their femininity and sexuality in order to be respected in both the workforce and society.

Barbie is actively combatting this idea through her identity, as the doll continues to show its audience that you don’t need to ‘tone down’ your femininity to achieve great things. Notable examples of this are the release of 1986’s Astronaut Barbie, who sported a bright pink ruffled spacesuit whilst landing on the moon, or Barbie’s character of Annika, in the film Barbie and the Magic of Pegasus who defeats an evil warlock - all whilst wearing a glittery purple ballgown in the process. In these films, there are often male love interests that help Barbie’s characters with their journey or quest. She is not dependent on male figures to ‘rescue’ her or ‘save the day’ – a common trope seen in early Walt Disney Princess films. Instead, Barbie’s films put a great importance on the power of friendship and working together to achieve shared goals. Barbie has also received a critique of ‘lack of diversity’ within doll production.

It is undeniable that this was true in the early years of Barbie production, but in recent years Barbie has arguably become the most diverse doll line in the world. Today, Barbie is seen as inclusive through a range of body types, a wide variety of skin tones, eye colours and hairstyles – including dolls with vitiligo, alopecia, albinism and missing or prosthetic limbs. Barbie’s feminist ethos continues to adapt, standing as an admirable role model today.

Freya Utaboon, Waxed Jacket, (2022)

issue four

Exploring Empowerment The body is a vessel that carries our human experiences, so there is no doubt that the large proportion of students this year wanted to examine topics relating to autonomy. The politics of how we use our bodies is an extensively discussed debate, specifically through a feminist lens.

In this section, we will investigate receptions of the body. We will showcase a collection of articles that focus on specific instances, that we hope act as a prompt for continued conversation. From accessorising ourselves to repel or welcome expression, or being a leader of impact from simple bodily changes, we want to explore the relationship between empowerment and the body.

Emily Taverner, Still Motion, (2022)

Why is Presenting Nudity in Public so Controversial?

Ruby Thresher

Art depicting the nude female form has always been a controversial topic. Even today, nude art is removed to ‘prompt conversation’ (Clare Gannaway, 2018).

Throughout history, nude imagery has been censored for a multitude of disputable reasons, the most prevalent being the naked figure of the woman causing ‘anxiety’ (Mary Beard, 2022) for its viewers. Due to our patriarchal society, we could interpret that male viewers who receive ‘anxiety’ as a result of the image, experience a lack of sexual control, perceiving nude art as ‘pornographic’ (Eck, 2001). This backlash has been responded to by reiterating the importance for nude bodies of all types to be presented within the mass media to normalise stigmas for today’s society, particularly on influenced groups including women and young people.

In August 1991, the cover of Vanity Fair featured a heavily pregnant Demi Moore photographed by Annie Liebowitz. This was extremely controversial due to the presence of a female nude figure receiving such status and exposure with the front cover. Some distributors chose to sell the magazine in a brown paper wrap while others refused to sell it at all, these publishers chose to remain anonymous. The photograph prompted 33 published letters to the editor, Tina Brown.

One reader wrote ‘like sex, pregnancy is a wonderful experience, but when observed by someone else becomes repulsive and pornographic’ whereas another reader questioned ‘Why has the world gone crazy over this artistic, tasteful photo of a lovely pregnant woman?’ (Eck, 2001). The context of the image can be perceived to be the source of the outrage. When viewing a nude female figure in a new space; for example not within an art gallery where expected, readers of the mainstream magazine were unaccustomed, unsure what they were receiving was truly an attempt at high art or soft pornography. Pornography’s intention is often received as a source of sexual stimulation. However, the nude image as the work of artists and photographers and within the fashion scene, is there to evoke admiration and respect.

Bettine Harris, Life Drawing, (2022)

Ruby Thresher, Everyone Needs a Bosom for a Pillow, (2021)

After its publication, Vanity Fair received an influx of media attention as people felt that the nudity was forced upon them, as opposed to when the naked figure is presented to them in an art gallery, where it is optional to enter.

Multiple readers wrote angry letters to the magazine stating the inappropriate placement of the picture. The placement and the context of the photographs are the cause for controversy, not the images themselves. Therefore, we are presented with the fact that circumstance and perspective play a vital role when examining nudity.

Seven images of Moore sporting black lace underwear and spiked high heels were published within the magazine, so why did the nude shot make the front cover? On the day of the shoot multiple dresses were supplied as Liebowitz’s vision for the shoot was ‘glamorous and sexy’ (Pip Lincolne, 2018). The nude images were intended for Moore’s private collection to compare with the images from her first pregnancy (also shot by Liebowitz). Upon editing, Moore agreed that the tasteful image was the best and it most effectively showed the beauty of a pregnant woman.

The cover influenced the #FreeTheBump movement which remains relevant today, allowing those who are pregnant to show off their body without criticism. Currently, Rihanna’s pregnancy and fashion choices have been deemed by multiple newspapers as ‘bold choices’ (Dorking, 2022) with negative connotations as the clothes she wears align with her previous style, as an influential celebrity in today’s society she uses her pregnancy to represent any woman who does not feel comfortable in their own body when pregnant. As recent as the 1950s, pregnancy was supposed to be a private matter and kept hidden, the big round belly is ‘an indicator that sex had taken place [which] was simply considered too risqué for polite company’ (Cramer, 2015).

Moore’s hands are specifically placed over her breast and underneath her belly, a pose frequently adopted by pregnant women. I believe the image represents the beauty aligned with the natural process of giving birth, in comparison to the erotic, sexual pleasure that some readers claimed the image evoked. Moore revealed she only received compliments from women; ‘I have people who still come up to me saying how much it moved them but yet at that time many of the reviews (often from men) were ‘horrible’ and claimed that the images were pornographic’ (Moore, 2019).

Nudity presented through artistic means allows it not to be deemed inappropriate or pornographic. There is a line between what art is defined as, so when displayed to the community in a public forum, many do not appreciate the image as a result of the artist’s intention, they just see a naked body which harvests the potential to cause offence.

The Relationship between Corsetr y and the Feminine

Harrison Fletcher

Feminine aesthetics and identity have been challenged as far back as the 19th century, yet remain a prevalent symbol of femininity. Despite often being viewed as the embodiment of patriarchal ideals and control held over women, corsetry has remained an iconic staple in women’s fashion for centuries with evidence of such shape-wear emerging in the late 16th century. With many adaptations created over time, the appearance of the garment has adapted to a variety of uses and functions.

These have included different forms and lengths, aiming to accentuate targeted areas of the figure, particularly the hips and waist.

However, tight lacing is argued to be a rarity which was over-represented in medical journals of the time and cannot be taken at face value. Due to the fact it was so shocking and extreme, it is believed this practice was more centred around fetish and does not represent everyday wear.

Many argue the corset to be a sign of women’s oppression. The fashion industry and mainstream media are constantly under criticism for presenting body types as trends. Smaller sizes and the ‘hour-glass’ figure are often primarily the only body types represented, leading us to contemplate whether the nature of the feminine identity has been truly relaxed. Does the culture surrounding corsetry shape feminine ideals or do the pressures and expectations of women define the art of corsetry?

It is believed the first corsets were ‘a tortuous device of steel’ (Steele quoted by Bass-Kreuger and Timms, 2021), made to stress and reduce the waist.

Harrison Fletcher, Sketchbook Page, (2022)

They also claim that although ‘corseted women may have indeed suffered from depleted lung volume and changes in breathing patterns, this would not have necessarily led to respiratory disease, though it may have caused fainting and lowered vitality’ (Steele and Gau quoted by Bass-Kreuger and Timms, 2021).

During the boom in popularity in the 19th century, corsets became available in a wide range of prices for women of all social backgrounds. However, the upper-class women would begin to sport highly decorated, restrictive corsets.

This lack of movement became a large factor of the upper-class feminine identity, where such restriction removed women from laborious household tasks due to physical inability. Post World War II saw a rise in popularity once again where restricted codes of femininity were enforced to discourage the labour women completed whilst their husbands had been at war. This corseted female figure once again returned to put women’s fashion in the hands of patriarchal control.

Harrison Fletcher, Sketchbook Pages, (2022)

As our society has progressed towards genderless clothing, the corset has lost its necessity in women’s fashion. Instead, it is now perceived as an art object seen on runways and in subcultural fashion trends thanks to designers such as Jean Paul Gaultier, Thierry Mugler and Vivienne Westwood. These designers often use what can be interpreted as a hyper-feminine silhouette to empower and celebrate femininity and represent art and agency over identity due to its much more eclectic image.

The corset has been taken from its original context and has thus been given new meaning in a contemporary society, no longer a token of patriarchal control over the expression of femininity. This transformation of meaning has consequently affected not just women but also individuals and wider communities. From personal experience, the queer community can find much euphoria exploring gender and one’s own femininity. Garments such as these can be so important for exploring identity.

Despite being left in the past, the societal expectation for a certain expression of femininity is still very present today. With undergarments such as the corset no longer seen as a fundamental part of women’s fashion, it begs the question as to why there remains so much emphasis on the female figure. Many could argue the patriarchy now polices the female aesthetics even more harshly. Instead of achieving a desirable silhouette through the corset, women are expected to naturally conform to a feminine identity of certain celebrated, often unattainable, body types.

Contemporary feminist critic, Naomi Wolf, argues that ‘the corset is now replaced by the new control device of patriarchal culture such as plastic surgery, diet and extreme physical exercise’ (Wolf, 2002). Corsetry and feminine identity have a complex relationship. A garment once deemed restrictive can now be reclaimed as an art object, symbolic of femininity but the wider problems of restriction and identity corsetry has contributed to still remain.

Harrison Fletcher, Corsetry and Femininity, (2022)

High Heeled Shoes are No Symbol of Gender Tia Carden

Within modern western culture, high heels are associated as being female shoes, designed to increase height and influence attractiveness. However, their history shows how societal perception of heels have fluctuated over time and will continue to indefinitely.

High heeled shoes date back to ancient Iran in the 10th century (Love Happens Magazine, 2021), designed for Persian men in the cavalry. The shoes would provide extra grip within the stirrup, giving stability to shoot arrows while riding.

Heeled shoes symbolised wealth and power and were considered a status symbol on and off the horse. European aristocrats adopted this trend as a symbol for ‘virility and military prowess’, often posing with coloured tights in ways to emphasis the calf and leg muscles. In 1670 King Louis XIV passed a law making high heels exclusive to nobles. The higher the heel, the more noble you were.

One of the first depictions of women wearing heels can be seen on the Ramappa temple in India (12th century). By 15th century Europe, women had started to wear ‘Chopines’, a type of clog. Chopines were originally used to keep the wearer out of the unclean streets, over time the shoe became fashionable and in the 17th century upper class women began to wear them for status. Women’s shoes became higher and more ‘ornamental’ whilst the men’s shoe became more practical, and the high heel was generally abandoned with both cowboy boots and the ‘Cuban heel’ being exceptions to the rule.

It wasn’t until post-World War II when high heeled shoes came to represent ‘professionalism’ for many women in the west. This representation contradicted the high heels seen on pin up girls which become an ‘emblem for female sexuality’.

Research by Justin Mogilski suggests that heels were used to increase sexual appeal by altering the lumbar curve, which is the ‘feminine’ shape of the body.

Thus making ‘legs look longer, muscles more toned’ (Mogilski, 2017). In response to this, feminism in the 1970s began to stray from the heel. However, it was also around this time that major shoe designers started to appear on the scene and celebrities like Madonna and Freddie Mercury started to popularise them once more.

Christian Louboutin’s heels were originally inspired by a sign in the Musée National des Arts d’Afrique et d’Oceanie ‘forbidding women from wearing stilettos as they damaged the wooden flooring’. As a response, his shoes were designed to break the rules and empower women. He helped bring stilettos back into fashion, creating heels starting from 4.72 inches upwards with a goal of trying to make women’s legs look as sexy and long as possible. He’d use his assistants red nail varnish to paint the bottom of a shoe which is where he got his staple trademark. Despite Louboutin stating that he doesn’t believe in women wearing his shoes to cater for male audiences, he is consciously making his shoes ‘4.72 inches upwards’, resulting in an uncomfortable shoe to wear. It’s hard for him to comment on his intentions for the consumer when his designs perpetuate male desire.

Jessie-Mae Buers, TROPE, (2022)

Many influential male pop figures have since reclaimed the heel. Most notably, David Bowie, who wore anything from stilettos to regular platforms. He was constantly subverting stereotypical gender roles, and in 1990 heels became once again associated with a rock style.

The history of high heels have shown a fluctuation in views and audiences overtime, having both been a reflection of power and status to then sexualising the wearer and being an image of female empowerment.

Punch Needle Embroidery, Femininity and the Feminist Movement

Elizabeth Hare

The components of fine art, painting and sculpture, have been viewed as the highest forms of art throughout history whilst crafts such as cross stitch and dressmaking have been regarded as merely past times or unpaid work. This clear differentiation has been the result of gender norms within society (Parker, 2010). This essay will explore how craft yarn, particularly used in punch needle embroidery, symbolises the feminist movement and femininity.

Painting and sculpture have historically been viewed as superior to craft with the idea of the artist as an individual and as a genius beginning in the renaissance era (15th and 16th centuries). What does this mean for textiles? The different forms of art were linked with social class and hierarchy. Fine art was associated with privileged classes and crafts and applied arts were associated with the working class and women. Rozsika Parker’s work in The Subversive Stitch looks at how ‘the development of an ideology of femininity coincided historically with the emergence of a clearly defined separation of art and craft. This diversion emerged in the renaissance at a time when embroidery was increasingly becoming the province of women amateurs, working from home without pay’ (Parker, 2010).

Punch needle embroidery is a ‘form of embroidery that’s also related to rug hooking’ (Johanson, 2022). However, ‘instead of stitching through the fabric, punch needle pushes thread or yarn into the fabric, while keeping the needle on the surface. The result of punch needle embroidering is a highly textured design made of loops that shows off its connection to rug making’ (Johanson, 2022). Despite the craft of punch rug embroidery being hundreds of years old the technique has become increasingly popular with ‘double the number of daily search queries compared with just two years ago, the punch needle trend seems to have spiked around September of 2017, and has remained steady ever since’ (Dollar, 2022).

Craft yarn symbolises the feminist movement as punch rug embroidery is primarily done by women. Additionally, this form of craft has allowed many women to make money from craft, contributing to gender equality. This has been made possible by the feminist movement as womens’ work is now viewed as such, rather than as past times that cannot be monetised. Fine art and craft are becoming more balanced as they provide more equal financial opportunities than those available in the past (Feminism and Women’s Rights Movement, 2022).

Embroidery craft yarn is also associated with femininity.

This is because ‘sewing is a domestic activity and as such, has generally been in the domain of women’s responsibilities’ (Sewing and Feminism 101, 2022). Therefore, we perceive yarn, knitting needles and fabric as feminine objects as it is ingrained into us from a young age by society. Many women artists have chosen to take ownership of needlework and its stereotype rather than avoid needlework altogether (Parker, 2010).

To summarise, embroidery craft yarn is a symbol of the feminist movement and femininity. This is because punch rug embroidery has allowed women to benefit financially from craft, an aim of the feminist movement to achieve full gender equality including financial equality (Feminism and Women’s Rights Movement, 2022). Lastly, craft yarn is associated with femininity due to women’s domestic role within the family and many women artists have taken ownership of this stereotype. Thus, all objects associated with embroidery and craft symbolise the feminist movement and femininity itself.

Martha Gooding, Rugged Room, (2022)

Embroidery and Entrapment

Iris Norton

Embroidery has deep roots in the lives of women and the wider construction of femininity. The embroidery hoop itself is symbolic of both its constraints and ability to allow expression and rebellion. How was the pastime, so entrenched in patriarchal values and control, reclaimed and celebrated as the artform it always has been? I want to explore both the history and the current cultural relevance of the embroidery hoop to examine both the power and fragility of gender and textiles.

From a western perspective, the skills associated with patience, delicacy, and quietness, have been viewed as innate feminine qualities. The same way strength is a connotation of masculinity. It was assumed a fact that women are born with soft, delicate hands and pure unwavering patience to dedicate their time to this slow painstaking practice, even the motifs depicted in embroidery center around positive attributes that made women desirable at the time. For example, the many different flowers worked into fabric, each having a different meaning such as youth, gentleness, purity, love and most importantly, women. This attitude towards embroidery and needle work as being an instinctive behavior of women over the centuries has led to the lack of appreciation of the craft as an artform. 17th century European society would have been horrified to find that hundreds of years later that artists like Alice Kettle are creating work to be displayed as art in exhibitions, a celebration of once domestic submission and a complete freedom to depict the world we live in. The modern-day embroidery hoop was invented and patented in 1903 by Helen A. Harmes. This is the circular adjustable hoop we see today. Of course, there were many precursors to this design such as the tambour frame from the early 18th century. The two interlocking hoops used to keep the fabric taught and in place, suggestive of the incarceration of women in the home and little social mobility without the approval of a man and marriage.

Embroidery is a delicate and harmless pastime, women sit silently head bent, eyes lowered as they adorn their prison of dresses and soft furnishings. Women of all classes could not escape the intrinsic expectation of needle in fabric, lower class women darning and re-darning husband and children’s socks to the extent that darning, a merely practical procedure, became beautiful with patterns and new methods being sampled. It is not impossible to imagine that such a mundane task would have had to have been made artistic just to break the cycle as your hands become machine-like with the daily onslaught of domestic duties. Female education was centered around needlework, with girls seemingly only learning the alphabet to stitch initials into clothes and handkerchiefs to stop things getting lost in the laundry process, for many girls this would have been their only opportunity to become somewhat literate. Two samplers from a young girl in 1668 show the progression over a year from simpler patterns to a beautiful example of complex needle lace.

For the upper-class women of the 20th century, embroidery was a sign of their devotion to their husbands, giving up outside activities of their youth such as riding and archery to be the gentle wife waiting patiently for her husband.

Embroidery was an unavoidable part of womanhood; the submissive, mysterious silence of the woman bent over her work was deeply desirable and even sexualized.

As Parker states, in The Subversive Stitch, ‘embroidery symbolizes both an escape and freedom of expression but is only acceptable because of its unbreakable link to the patriarchy and women’s utter lack of power’ (Parker, 1984:10).

Maria Wilson, Sea Scapes, (2022)

In more recent years many women seem to have reacquainted themselves with needlework, finding comfort in the feminine traditions of past generations thinking of passed grandmothers and great grandmothers whose work is kept in sacred family places, treasured as pieces of history. However, the oppression and connotations of domestic work are inescapable, and the silent work of women can feel like a step backwards for feminism no matter what the subject depicted in the embroidery.

However, the practice can also be viewed as a subversive act. On the one hand it brings a sense of community, women working and socializing together, creating a connection of divine femininity. On the flip side, a betrayal to the women before who fought so hard to bring us out of the home.

The world we live in does so much to uphold archaic patriarchal views that the act of coming back to these feminine crafts is a powerful rebellion. We do not have to adhere to male standards of creativity and grind culture.

Thomas Pierre Jean, an artist who conveys the fragility of masculinity in his work by using the feminine craft, depicts queer and gay men undergoing sexual acts in the form of lace. His work is a refreshing using an ancient practice, criticizing with sharp focus our society and how we view femininity and queer culture. Once again, coming back to the embroidery hoop and the many symbols it conveys, the feminine is a comfort not only to women.

As modern women we go round and round trying to unpick femininity trying to understand what we really are and what has been forced upon us by society as innate parts of our biology. The beauty of crafts and the solace we find in them cannot be lost or forgotten in the name of rejecting our history with them, but we must find a way to reclaim and not waste the century’s old practice of working with needle and embroidery hoop.

Female Figures

Behind the Lens Lilah Culliford

The camera is a form of self-expression you can use to tell a story for others and for yourself. Although photography and the accessibility to a camera was very male orientated from the beginning of its invention, the new rise of this technology in the ‘19th century coincided with feminist challenges to prevailing gender relations’ (Latimer and Riches, 2006). Accessibility is one thing to take into account as access to cameras in the 19th and early 20th century were only available to upper and middle class women, but if you had the money it was easy to learn through manuals or short classes. These women such as Julia Margret Cameron who started photography in 1863 had prints in The Victoria and Albert Museum which are still on display today and she is still considered as one of the most important portraitists of the 19th century (Rinn, 2021).

In contrast to her male counterparts, Cameron embraced and incorporated irregularities in her work. She scratched on her negatives and used a soft focus to create the look she wanted. Being behind the camera for her acted as ‘a tool of self-determination’ (Latimer and Riches, 2006). This made her work unique and led to her recognition as a pioneer in early photography. She and other female photographers paved the way for women. However, the cost of equipment and education meant that photography, as a discipline, was only accessible to a small section of society.

Developments in photography led to initiatives such as ‘The Kodak Girl’, which created strong, independent female icons based around the discipline (Keane and Quinn, 2010). This campaign consequently became an ‘important tool of second wave feminism’ as women could use a camera to visually communicate and break previous conventions made by men such as gender and sexuality (Latimer and Riches, 2006).

Advertising jumped on the opportunity to have women photographers in front of the lens. This could be read as a sign of female empowerment. However, women often posed with cameras rather than actively taking pictures. Could this perpetuate the tendency to objectify women? This shift towards passive, posing female photographers was an advertising ploy and certainly not the fault of the medium. Despite this, women still continued to use photography to break misconceptions made by men and make their presence known in the art world.

As the 21st century continued, the camera began to be a tool for women to communicate activism. One important pioneer was Hannah Hoch. She was a German photographer and used photography and collage to ‘critique popular culture, failings of the Weimar republic and the socially constructed roles of women’ (Hirschl Orley, 2021). She was an artist navigating a male dominated world. She states, ‘most of our male colleagues continued for a long while to look upon us as charming and gifted amateurs, denying us implicitly any real professional status’ (Hirschl Orley, 2021). Ultimately, her creativity and application of a camera allowed her to make controversial work that made people rethink values, further pushing women’s rights and roles in society in the right direction.

Depictions of Woman and Child

Emily Burgess

Beyoncé’s pregnancy announcement in 2017 was Instagram’s most liked post of the year and since then it has become an iconic image of motherhood. In this article, I explore contemporary and historic depictions of pregnant women. I argue there are similarities between Beyoncé’s Instagram post and the painting, The Madonna in a Rose Garden, from 1473 by the artist Martin Schongauer and The Birth of Venus from 1485–6 by Sandro Botticelli. Throughout this article I will draw comparisons between these paintings and the photograph of Beyoncé to examine the representation of motherhood.

The first painting I will consider in relation to the Instagram-breaking image is Schongauer’s The Madonna in the Rose Garden. This painting is typical of Catholic painting from the medieval period and presents the theme of the virginity within a pastoral setting. Roses are referred to in the Bible as the ‘Rose of Shannon’, ‘lily of valleys’ a lily among thistles’ ‘she is a garden enclosed’ (Dewil, 2007).

Mary sitting in a garden emerges as a recurring theme of medieval painting, sculpture and illustration. In Schongauer’s painting ‘Mary sits in a rose garden with Jesus on her lap, she is sitting like a lily amongst thistles which are rose bush thorns, the roses are red depicting the passion of Christ’ (Dewil, 2007).

Unusually, Mary is in red, differing from the traditional blue robes we associate with the Christian icon. I argue this signals a warmth associated with motherhood and love.

A single white rose indicates her purity. The hair of Mary is untypically free flowing, which I suggest is a rare sign of sensuality. Mary is painted as a pensive young woman, head inclined in thought. As an unmarried maternal figure, Mary was a symbol of strength for ‘women [of Flanders] who remained unmarried’ (Dewil, 2007).

Millar Wyatt, Untitled, (2022)

Comparing Schongauer’s painting of Mary to the image of Beyoncé, I see many parallels. Beyoncé is with her child in a rose garden. Motherhood and the beauty of having a child are reflected in both images. Despite the historic differences, there are clear similarities to draw between the content and composition of the depictions of motherhood. Both images include backgrounds filled with roses: the medieval roses are trained across the support, whilst the roses within Beyoncé’s floral arrangement create a circular frame behind the singer. Furthermore, Beyoncé’s colour choice for the bra also resonates with Schongauer’s unusual colour palette for The Madonna in a Rose Garden. Both images reflect motherhood and warmth for a child. However, both also reflect how women are seen and continue to be perceived within society. Both images contain a single white rose for purity. Beyoncé, seen with a veil over her head, also depicts purity, beauty and fertility. Moreover she is surrounded by flowers and nature which can be read as symbols of fertility and purity. The veil can also show how she is untouchable again like the Madonna.

Venus the Goddess of Love and Fertility is an additional reference I seek to draw with Beyoncé’s photograph. Looking at Beyoncé, she wears light blue, silk, scallopfrilled underwear. I suggest this is a direct reference to Venus emerging from the sea and the scallop shell. Botticelli’s Venus was a symbol of the ideal female form: representing beauty, fertility and female submission. She was a character who men admired, loved and desired. In comparison to the image of Beyoncé, she too is seen as untouchable, beautiful and even an object of envy. ‘Venus is a trinity of divinity intellectualism and physicality all at once’ (Swong, 2012). Botticelli depicted Venus rising from the sea as a fully grown woman. ‘The way she was painted her body, her pose the depiction of nature are impossible in real life making this a fantasy, the scene is overwhelmingly beautiful- touchable drapery, dainty roses, and the Italian renaissance ideal woman as voluptuous, curvy and fair’ (Swong, 2012). However, Beyoncé as a contemporary Venus, represents more than Botticelli’s Venus. She depicts black female strength, alongside the recurring themes of fertility and beauty. This is most clearly shown through Beyoncé’s gaze, directed straight at the viewer.

From my research, I conclude that Beyoncé’s photo announcing her pregnancy makes reference to various religious depictions of women. There are direct comparisons to the Madonna through the rose garden; to purity, through the white rose and embroidered veil; to sensuality, through flowing hair and nudity. This iconic and complex image has many hidden meanings and themes linking with the depiction of women throughout time. Whether Beyoncé was right to carry on promoting such depictions of the female form with such scenes of perfection, beauty, purity and fertility in the 21st century is beyond the scope of this essay and something I would like to explore in the future.

issue four

Slow Down!

Rejecting the fast-paced lifestyle of the 21st century, ‘Slow Down!’ implores its readers to fully immerse themselves in both the macro and the micro of their daily lives.

Throughout the object studies, stigmas around materials and processes are confronted.

Emphasis is placed on the value of work created by individuals whilst embracing an ecologically sound outlook.

The essays tackle the pressing issues of consumerism, exposing the consequences of mass production. By addressing the problematic nature of fast fashion and its contribution to our descent into the climate crisis, we are urged to reflect rigorously on our role as both consumer and creator.

A sense of community is formed around the appreciation of time and the environment.

Esme Tagg-Foster, Colours and Stories, (2022)

Beauty and Consumerism in American Beauty Maria Wilson

American Beauty (1999) describes the futility of the American middle-class lifestyle. On the surface there is a façade of perfection. In the opening scenes we see a grand house with a neat lawn and a vast number of roses, ultimately depicting an idealistic family life. As the film progresses, the ironic film title is gradually torn down as we see how each character is struggling due to societal pressures and how happiness is interpreted as consumerism. In this review I will be focusing on the scenes and character development of two key figures Lester and Ricky.

Through the film we see the stereotypical characters gradually being peeled down to reveal their true pain and suffering . This is a result of chasing unrealistic standards and therefore losing their sense of identity. Carolyn, Lester’s wife, seems to be in control of the household, put together in public but breaks down when alone. There is a strong sense of turmoil in the family household and overall, a lack of love. This seems to be due to each character longing for unrealistic standards, particularly the protagonist, Lester. Throughout the film we see Lester fantasizing about his daughter’s friend, Angela. He first sees her at his daughter’s netball match and is instantly infatuated by her.

This obsession blinds Lester from all the beauty he already has in his life, ultimately draining him of happiness due to his longing for more.

This scene depicts my favorite moment in the movie. In this image we can see Jane (Lester’s daughter) sat with Ricky watching his film videos. For me it is a vital moment in the movie, as Ricky (who throughout the movie is portrayed as an outcast) voices a speech explaining why he filmed the plastic bag to Jane.

I think it’s interesting how Ricky was made to be an outcast in the movie, yet he is the most genuine and happy character of them all. This is due to the lack of care for perfection and society’s high standards. Overall Ricky’s character in comparison to Lester, is demonstrating how the modern-day norm is built around unrealistic standards and using consumerism as a mechanism to achieve happiness. However, this happiness is fake and results in dismal feelings, as shown by Lester’s character in American Beauty.

In the plastic bag scene, Ricky states the bag is ‘dancing with him’ and goes on to describe how he feels ‘there is a whole life behind things’. It is interesting how the director chose the object in this scene to be a plastic bag, a manmade object which usually has negative connotations of over-consumption, throw-away culture and when viewed today, acts as a symbol of environmental harm. I think this aspect further pushes the idea of seeing beauty in unusual ways and highlights how most of us miss these moments due to being caught up in the usual beauty standards of the current moment. The key message to come from this scene is to take a step back from the fast-paced life of everyday and take a moment to appreciate the smaller, unique beauties that surround us. Without doing so, we end up chasing unreachable dreams, resulting in the loss of appreciation for the gifts we already have. The character of Ricky grounds us and creates an emotional connection with us as his final quote outlines, ‘sometimes there’s so much beauty in the world I feel like I can’t take it’. This highly contrasts Lester’s view of the world in which he dismisses everything wonderful around him except the beautiful Angela, who he romantically obsesses over throughout the movie. This infatuation makes him unhappy as he loses his sense of purpose through the film. This is demonstrated through his drug use and pessimistic outlook.

Overall, the movie highlights the lack of control we have over our desires whilst Ricky is depicted in a postion of control. The plastic bag seems to resemble this through the way it is taken by the wind, battered and blown in different directions, similar to the way we are influenced by standards of what’s acceptable and not. Also, the way we battle for our sense of individuality whilst being pressured by expectations all around us. The character Ricky seems to be the only one which has mastered his sense of self, and despite this leading to him being an ‘outcast’ at school, ultimately, he is the most content and self-aware.

Consumerism and the Value of the Handmade Emily Brooker Our rapidly changing and developing society means devoting time to craft and creating art is more significant than ever.

For the post-World War II generation, the prospect and reality of a hedonistic lifestyle grew increasingly attractive.

The end of exceedingly basic living conditions, rations and in short; the fight for survival ignited desire which gradually grew into materialism and greed, which in turn, coined the phrase consumerism. Life for the welloff returned to one of luxury instead of frugality.

This hedonistic lifestyle has followed us into the 21st century and as a result we have seen a drastic increase in mass production to support frequently passing trends. Society is now moving forward in ways the natural world cannot sustain with human demand pressing on material resources. As a rejection of consumer culture, ‘self-made’, bespoke objects have become a form of appreciation between individuals and their craft in an attempt to separate creators from the mass-manufactured cycles of productions such as fast fashion.

Crocheting is believed to have originated in countries such as India, Persia, North America as a development of Chinese needlework, reaching Europe at the end of the 18th century.

In relation to our current society, the working conditions that crochet garments were created in during the Irish Famine correlate significantly to those in developing locations globally where workers are being exploited in order to meet the demand of mass consumption. Large companies who boast about small costs to their clientele shamefully achieve their profits by providing low wages and horrifying working conditions. In fact, the demand has meant that sweatshops have established themselves around the world. Sweatshop employees often work in extreme heat and poor air conditions for over 100 hours a week. Unfortunately, these workers are forced to commit their lives to these companies due to lack of fair job opportunities. Just like during the Great Famine in Ireland, these handmade products are sent from the hands of the poor into the hands of the rich.

In our modern-day world, we still remain to an extent obligingly oblivious to the background behind our luxury purchases. By creating our own garments or purchasing sustainably made items, less money will go to unethical businesses and eventually a reconnection can be made between the individual and craft.

German philosopher, Karl Marx, produced the theory that humans should have the right to freedom and the potential to create for their own economic independence (Prychitko, 2022). This meant that individuals would have control over selling their own handmade goods, dismantling the roles of the bourgeoisie and proletariat.

However, the demand for goods, consumerism and the technological developments and advancements of Marx’s time contributed to the demise of this ideology. The value of the cheap products being made by huge corporations is now considerably lower than if something was handmade and sold independently without the weight of a corporation above that individual.

Learning the craft of crochet to make my hat was a way of reconnecting with handmade items and deliberately avoiding the process of buying something without knowing where it is from. As a society, I feel that we have grown detached from the reality of how things are made: Where have they come from? What’s their story?

The hat was my first project with crochet consequently resulting in flaws such as irregular stitching. However, the satisfaction of wearing a handmade object overcomes the societal pressure to wear something ‘perfect’ that has caused ethical and environmental harm. I feel my hat stands as a symbolic ode of hard work and creation to the people who are most pressured by consumerism and demand from the western world.

Caitlin Teggart, Futurism, (2022)

Maia Francis, Unlikely Furniture, (2022)

Adapting your Dining Habits: The Ultimate Rebellion Isobel Slocombe

An undeniable amenity of capitalism in the western world is the plethora of choice and the variety of activity that is offered to those – with the privilege of free time. However, the luxury of free-time within our 9-5 culture is not widespread.

With persistent pressure to utilise each minute in order to produce the most capital; it is a rarity to truly dedicate oneself to oneself.

The first evidence of chopsticks were bronze sets found in tombs of the province, Henan. Chinese people have been using them since roughly 1200 BC and by 500 AD the majority of the Asian continent were too. Initially chopsticks were only used as cooking utensils – to reach into boiling water and oil without scalding the user’s hands – but as an increase in population provoked a need to preserve resources and money, food was chopped more finely as to rely upon less fuel to cook. The smaller food became, the more apt the tweezer-like mechanics of chopsticks became for dining. Chopsticks began to be widely used at the table as well as in the kitchen.

A study into the sensory effects of eating popcorn with chopsticks administered

by Ohio State University (2018) found that ‘those who used chopsticks – compared to those who ate with their hands - reported that they felt more immersed in the experience, that it helped intensify the taste and helped them focus on the food’.

The study found that it was not the chopsticks themselves that elevated the eating experience, but rather the act itself of dedicating thought to the technique and disregarding convention.

The experiment would not have produced the same results if the subjects were people who had grown up using chopsticks. Adhering to variations of method, results in heightened pleasure as what is unknown is exciting. It is a privilege to have the opportunity to spend time making changes to your integral routine, but is evidently something that ought to be carried out more frequently in order to maximise enjoyment.

In the midst of a pandemic and the rise of new wave spirituality, self-care has been packaged and re-sold to us in a multitude of forms – facemasks, colouring books and unethically sourced, fake crystals purchased from Amazon. The irony of spending in order to reclaim a sense of self is prevalent – capitalism prevails even amongst concepts that arise with the intention of merely centering and improving the quality of life.

Self-care and introspection has never been so important, but the methods of which are forcefully fed down the throat of the consumer are cyclically contributing to the overarching problem. We have to slow down. In a world so wrapped up in and preoccupied with expeditious money-making schemes, it is paramount to take moments within which one is living consciously and steadily. The ultimate resistance in a society underpinned by capitalism is to make time to simply exist slowly. If we take steps such as adapting dining habits and reclaiming our birth right of time, to truly enjoy these vital moments in each day, we can encapsulate Epictetus’ notion: ‘With autonomy for one’s own practice, it is possible to live a fulfilling life’.

Miri Stoneham-Bull, Spoonfed, (2022)

Salman Salad, Spoons, (2022)

Esme Tagg-Foster

Quilting and the Community

In this study I will discuss how the process of quilting has been used by many groups as part of or to reinforce community identity. I want to answer the question; how does quilting impact community identity? In my opinion identity can be defined as the way someone views themselves as an individual and as a member of a social group but can also be defined by how the external world views a person.

The Neighbourly Quilt is one of few community quilts organised and pieced together

by Significant Seams using sixty-eight patches created by Walthamstow residents in London. The participants who made patches were asked to create a patch using any textile treatment but answering the brief ‘what does it mean to be a good neighbour’ or ‘something they love about their neighbourhood’. The textile techniques used include embroidery, applique, patchwork, knitting and woodcut prints (Significant Seams, 2013).

When I look at the quilt closely, all these methods of textile treatment can be seen as well as a range of colours, textiles, and ideas from residents. In many patches there is a focus on nature (trees, flowers, wildlife etc); this is likely in the ‘something you love about your neighbourhood’ category. There are written parts on the quilt (often embroidered) as well with one patch reading ‘spare a thought for those worse off’ (Significant Seams, 2013). Others put quotes; ‘he learned to embroider by unpicking antique pieces to learn the stitches – William Morris’ and ‘art lasts life is short – W.M’. As well as using a range of methods, textiles and colours each patch seems to be created by people of ranging ages and experience with textiles. This is suggestive of the range of people within the community of Walthamstow.

Bettine Harris, Phases Close-up, (2022)

My favourite patch is a knitted white building with a big yellow sun peeking out behind it. I love the slightly raised border around the image which was likely created by using a different stitch on the outside, and the way the image continues and overlaps onto this border. I enjoy the way the patch has so much texture and details, such as stitched sun rays and windows. The slight imperfections (e.g. irregular stitches in a range of directions) encourages me to imagine the person making it, providing an immersive experience.

Quilting has been a community activity or project for many social groups within a range of societies. An example of this is the Gee’s Bend quilts and quilters which is a collective of black women in the American South who have been quilting communally for generations.

Gee’s Bend is a remote rural black community of less than a thousand residents in Alabama, USA. Due to its geographic and cultural isolation, artistic isolation also occurred.

The quilting tradition originated before the emancipation of enslaved people in the 19th century and the techniques and distinctive style of the Gee’s Bend quilts have been passed down generations of women to this day.

Quilters in Gee’s Bend regularly use a range of recycled textiles such as old clothes, grain sacks etc. This use of upcycled textiles reflects the community identity by reusing textiles that have already been used and embedded within the community. There is also a culture of taking inspiration from other quilters in the community. Quilter Mary Lee Bendolph says ‘we would go from house to house looking at quilts and getting ideas about how I would like to lay mine out’ (Bendolph quoted by Packard, 2018). This inspiration from others reinforces quilter identity within the black female community in Gee’s Bend as it can make members of the community feel a sense of belonging within their creative practice. This creates a sense of cohesive community in Gee’s Bend that can be seen by members of the community and outsiders.

Another way quilting is used to express communal identity is in the AIDS memorial quilt. This was a quilt imagined by gay rights activist Cleve Jones in 1985.

At this point in history the quilt is vast with around 48,000 panels that span over 1.2 million square feet as a memorial for over 125,000 people who have died from AIDS. Although the quilt was for anyone who has died of AIDS, it created a cultural space for gay men who are dealing with AIDS or lost a loved one within their community to the disease (National Aids Memorial, 2020). During the AIDS epidemic many gay men were demonised, blamed and ostracised even more from society than before. The dedication to the AIDS quilt and raising awareness for safety and fair treatment of people with HIV and AIDS by the LGBTQ+ community lead to a sense of unified group solidarity and identity within queer spaces and social groups.

Creating a vast quilt full of the names of those who will be missed reinforces an identity of togetherness, support and de-stigmatisation within the gay community.

This allows members to not feel shame but love and pride for the community’s ability to care and memorialise each other, even if forgotten and ignored by mainstream society. The quilt forced politicians to acknowledge the risks the LGBTQ+ community were facing.

In conclusion, quilting can impact a group’s identity by bringing people together to celebrate community, whether that is one built on geographic location (Neighbourly Quilt), resisting oppression (AIDS memorial quilt) or both (Gee’s Bend quilts).

Quilting, especially as a group activity or project can be used to reinforce connection.

Bettine Harris, Phases, (2022)

Knitted Socks as

a Rejection of Society Bettine Harris Hand making and crafting as a modern day practice consciously resists the industrialisation and mass production that predominantly defines the 21st century. Hand knitted socks, as trivial as can be, make a statement against the rush of working life and assert themselves into a feminist narrative by reclaiming their history as an unremarkable item. Knitted garments have had a widespread and long history dating back to as far as the 3rd to 5th century in North Africa, and growing as a trade in Europe throughout the 14th century (Victoria and Albert Museum, 2022).

At these points knitting was a necessity, a form of manufacturing clothes for warmth and practicality.

However, ‘with the invention of the knitting machine and industrialisation of cloth and garment manufacture, knitting at home has become less of a necessity and more of a craft’ (Wyatt and Collins, 2011). With the rise of consumerism and the ever growing ease of finding massproduced knitted garments the active process of hand knitting is more of a defiance against the consumerist culture we live in today. The knitting process for most takes place within the leisure hours of a working day and the lengthy process is time consuming; one of the biggest acts of rebellion you can do in a society where time equals money. Through deliberately spending hours on a repetitive and slow process, the maker is resisting the need for instant gratification and consumerism.

Instead, the finished product is more greatly appreciated due to the patience and lack of haste involved in its creation.

Knitting as a practice is heavily loaded with connotations of domesticity and motherhood. It is only within the late 20th century that hand knitting has made a resurgence amongst younger generations as a form of fashion and rebellion.

There are rising amounts of new knitters and the image is now associated with individualisation and customisable fashion. The ability to learn a historical technique and reinterpret it for modern purpose seems powerful in itself; affording ‘a link between the past and the present, a postmodern condition that can be seen as a positive and empowering phenomenon’(A Myzelev, 2009). Throughout history, embroidery, knitting and other needle crafts were viewed as lesser to paint or drawing due to their functionality and the patriarchal bias towards crafting as a whole.

The art/craft hierarchy suggests that art made with thread and art made with paint are intrinsically unequal: that the former is artistically less significant. But the real difference between the two are in terms of where they are made and who makes them.

(Roszika Parker 1996, p.5)

Crafting is an inherently feminine activity, therefore being able to claim it in a modern context and acknowledge the rooted sexism within it is empowering. Knitting for yourself defies the notion that craft is something to be shared and dismissed.

Knitting in many forms is surrounded by the idea that housewives and mothers would make clothing for spouses and children, rarely for themselves. Therefore, keeping hold of an item asserts knitting as a selfish act and helps reinstate it as a feminist activity due to elevating above something to be disregarded and handed on.

Knitting also provides the opportunity for individualism and uniqueness in a time of mass production. The maker is at liberty to chose the colour, design and size of their work, tailoring it to their needs. Through doing this the bearer will stand out against ‘the uniformity of mass- produced fashion’ (Clark et al., 2009), even in the circumstance that someone else were to wear a pair of socks or jumper from the same pattern it is incredibly rare that it would be the exact same colours, same yarn or same weight. Additionally, true individualisation arrives through the process of making. No two people would have taken the same amount of time on a piece, experienced the same learning process or had the same thoughts whilst making it. Actively choosing to hand knit something over buying individualises the maker as they stand against the societal pressures of capitalist consumption.

Even though crafting isn’t so much recognised as art, the final outcomes hold more value than mass produced goods, since ‘descriptions of quaint objects use the word ‘character’ and ‘charm’ to distinguish them from mass produced products bereft of ‘aura’ (Clark et al., 2009). Therefore hand knitted goods can be seen to hold more value, not necessarily monetarily, but in a form of soul and charm. This may result in more care being taken, increasing their wearable lives, not only benefitting the planet but also providing the satisfaction of knowing that time has been invested into something that can be cherished over a long time period.

Through wearing hand knitted socks, a benign rebellion against mass production and fast fashion is taking place.

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Acknowledgements We would like to thank our fellow students at Bristol School of Art for their contributions to conTEXT issue 4.

This journal is a true reflection of the diverse ideas and artistic practices explored during the Foundation year.

Please be aware this is a student publication.

Efforts have been made to credit the work featured. Concerning students’ images: all copyright lies with the individual.

Editorial Director Creative Director Illustrator Editorial Assistant Project Lead

Madeleiene Davies Jessie-Mae Buers Bettine Harris Lauren Clifford-Keane Lydia Wooldridge

Aisha Harbut

Eleanor Blake

Freya Utaboon

Katherine Staddon

Ana Paula Goncalves

Elise Caddick

George Leonard

Kí Hayward Leahy

Anna O’Connor

Elizabeth Hare

Harrison Fletcher

Kyle King

Anna Lux

Ella De Witt

Iris Norton

Lauren Clifford-Keane

Annabelle Davis

Em Buckler

Isabel Hall

Lauren Malson-Smallwood

Arlo Williams

Emerald Goldsworthy

Isabel Minnion Craggs

Lauren Phillips

Ben Lawson

Emily Brooker

Isabel Webb

Libby Churchill

Bettine

Emily Burgess

Isha Rawlinson

Lilah Culliford

Betty Platt

Emily Taverner

Isobel Slocombe

Louis Stevenson

Brooke Blenman

Emily Williams

James Chapple

Lucien Parsons

Caitlin Teggart

Esme Tagg Foster

Jazz Robinson

Madeleine Davies

Carol Robinson

Eva Scott

Jemima Victory

Madeline Simmons

Catherine Rolls

Ewa Rydlewska

Jessie-Mae Buers

Maia Francis

Charlie Beighton-Horne

Fern Hill-Nixon

Josephine Cole

Maria Wilson

Cuba Chapman

Fernanda Brown

Josh Gibbins

Mars Ford

Daisy Ross

Francine Junillon

Josie Chanfi

Martha Gooding

Danella Kisanga

Freya Hardwick

Julia Van Beek

Mathieu Lee

Dillon Antrobus

Freya Hughes

Kaitlyn Bacon

Maya Andrews

Maya Waltho

Salman Salad

Lee Hodges

Mia Nelmes

Samantha Hoang

Louise Franklin

Millar Rose Wyatt

Tabitha James

Lydia Wooldridge

Miri Stoneham-Bull

Tia Carden

Mikey Griffin

Morgan Sinclair

Titus Keate

Matt Benton

Nadia Johns

Alice Planel

Olivia Rogalska

Naomi

Harris

Amanda Bonney

Oli Timmins

Neve Lloyd Owen

Large

Anya Beaumont

Pam Stockwell

Niamh Fox

Chloe Wasdell

Phillipa Klaiber

Nina Courtney

Harriet Jackman

Wes Owen

Noa Sher

Jamie Reid-Sinclair

Oliver Durie

Janie George

Oliver Russell

Jan Peter

Olivia Campbell

Jess Turrell

Poppy Curley-Smith

Jon Chmielewski

Ren Blews

Kate Gwynne

Ruby Raine

Katie Alderman

Ruby Thresher

Katie Payne

Cover image: Space Cowboy Bettine Harris (2022)