Hormazd Narielwalla
Patterns as Documents and Drawings: An artistic exploration of tailoring patterns as historical Documents and Drawings abstracting the human form
Abstract
This thesis presents an art practitioner’s exploration of the uniforms of the British Raj using military tailoring pattern drafts as his raw material. Traditionally patterns are treated only as a means to the end; making clothes. Typically they are discarded once their purpose is fulfilled. Few people other than the tailor/pattern cutter have any relationship with them, as one would have with a garment. This thesis proposes tailoring patterns have been undervalued. They can be viewed as the primary historical documents of the clothing industry. Also, far from being a mechanical part of the production process, patterns can be viewed as drawings in their own right. As drawings they are unique abstractions of the human form that emerged independently of art history and significantly predate abstraction as an art practice. In this thesis they are also demonstrated to be a rich and rewarding material for a contemporary art practitioner to work with.
Supervisors: Sandy Black, Alan Cannon-Jones, Penelope Watkins, Charlotte Hodes
*Image - courtesy of the artist, The Raj, April 2010, Mixed media collage, illustration and photography on matte, acetate and photo paper
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