Material culture

 Material culture

The study of objects that we use in daily life is a way I have indirectly studied people. I have carefully stored a toddler’s jumper made by a family member for their great grandchild, for it carried reminders of our family values within its weave. Scraps and remnant balls of wool would have been used to create this jumper; there are no harmonious colour combinations, nor are the colours, together, usually associated with a three year old girl’s choice of hues. The colour choices also point to a sort of creative freedom. The neck has an exaggerated, parabolic shape that arises from the shoulders as if the wearer may have an enormous neck ( I am thinking of Dr. Who episodes at this stage); perhaps the jumper was designed as it was made, and a pattern book was not the guide. The sleeve stripes do not align with the trunk stripes; there was no need to find disappointment in misaligned red stripes. The careful stitching contained ‘an abundance of love’ for this child who was eighty years the craftsperson’s junior; the perceived intentions of that maker could overtake any aesthetic concerns. This little jumper has therefore become a cultural marker within my family, and here lies its preciousness.

The jumper also reminds us that there is a complexity within the study of objects; the wearer, the maker, the future generations, the general public, expert knitters, designers, salespeople, and local historians may all have different meanings attached to such a garment.

Personal objects may convey great, even overwhelming, emotion when we consider their value in places. Photojournalism has presented some memorable objects in the wake of disasters, both natural and man-made. The viewer can vividly imagine another place through the viewing of simple everyday objects that have been left behind. In contrast, the study of more impersonal items, that are shared on a causal basis and by a wider community, may make the use of standards or rules easier. I have used, at times, my own classification systems…that perhaps fit the circumstances of the objects I was studying. The prospect of many family celebrations and dances, in the case of multiple cake servers in their own drawer, is less complex a consideration when compared to the study of a boat deposited inland by a tsunamis, or the shattered ancient statues of a raided site of archaeological importance. There are rationales, I suggest, that bring understanding as to why the objects are as they are. This understanding of rationales will often be peacefully and quietly gained while actually making art.

And so I have sorted and classified the partial contents of the kitchen drawers in a country town’s hall in an effort to understand the social function of that architecture, how a place has been made for people to gather, and how contributions from local homes, over the decades, have ensured a place for celebrations. What is fitting together when I sort? What objects do not fit? Whose standards am I using regarding these matters of classification? Perhaps I am deciding to sort kitchen drawer objects according to their origin, their history, their shared tasks, their usefulness, or their perceived aesthetic value.

Can others not see what I am finding? Have things been wrongly labelled? Could some people resist or challenge what I am finding? Are my exisiting assumptions and memories being challenged? What are the shared meanings in that community? I see utensils for whipped cream in this drawer…a whisk, a spatula or two. Would an artist from over the seas find a similar drawer in their places? Could these objects be within a home, or within a commercial bistro kitchen? I often try to find the objects that have been specifically designed, hand made, or modified for a particular purpose. It can be that within an art practice that includes the sorting and classifying of material culture we develop a particular interest in certain aspects, and this can become part of the artist’s style.

I have a particular interest in domestic interior design and furniture in regional South Australia. It is my area of interest, where the influence of isolation, water supply difficulties and temperature extremes can be challenging, I look for the adaptive creativity within the home owners intentions.

It is private material culture I am interested in.

It is the unstudied material culture I am interested in.

I feel it is enough to document it without provoking the viewer.

Recommended reading:

Alison Blunt and Robyn Dowling, Home: Key Ideas in Geography, published by Routledge in 2006.