Document Type
Creative Work
ANZSRC / FoR Code
1905 VISUAL ARTS AND CRAFTS
COinS
Creative Work
1905 VISUAL ARTS AND CRAFTS
Publication Details
Wood Conroy, D. (2005). Woven Forms: Traces and Traditions of Australian Basket Making. In B. Parkes (Eds.), Woven forms Contemporary basket making in Australia (pp. 11-15). Surry Hills, Sydney: Object Australian Centre for Craft & Design.
Digital file not available. For access to print catalogue, please contact Michael Organ, Manager Repository Services: morgan@uow.edu.au.
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RESEARCH IMPACT STATEMENT
Research Background
The research addressed the lack of knowledge of the history and materials of basket making in Australia, and asked: How would we critically analyse the work of the 58 contemporary Australian practitioners shown in Woven Forms in the context of wider textile and art theory?
Research Contribution
The chapter described early colonial preoccupations with materials and the postwar revitalisation of craft in Australia as a response to international movements to understand process as a newly discovered ‘body of knowledge’. By placing baskets in the context of a new emphasis on haptic sensations in art, as well as the long trajectory of archaeological research, it showed an innovative approach to an ancient form.
Research Significance
The exhibition and book ‘Woven Forms’ was significant because it demonstrated the full scope and inventiveness of Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australian basket weavers and was shown in Sydney and Perth to an excited reception. Initiated by Object: the Australian Centre for Craft and Design, the research and exhibition project was supported by the Visual Arts and Crafts strategy, by Visions Australia, NSW Arts and the Australia Council. The chapter ‘Traces and Traditions’ has been set as a text for tertiary students.