Hi Dan and Juris,
I've investigated 'creativity' as governmentality. Am just about to submit my PhD thesis on it. I've taken it as a category of subjective identification and an object of educational governance in fashion design. From a discourse theory perspective (Laclau - Essex school), I take 'creativity' is a nodal point that unifies previously antagonistic views. Within various cultural organisations including economic development agencies and universities, moves to strengthen a liberal agenda and retain creativity as a form of ‘arts knowledge’ with high cultural capital have been rubbing up against strategies to enlist and develop more universal concepts about creativity as a collaborative endeavour, vital to new forms of capitalist enterprise.
An outcome of the resulting creativity discourse is that the 'idea of design' and the 'idea of art' tend to shift about, somewhat. You're right, this needs further examination.
Amanda
College of Creative Arts
Massey University
Wellington, NZ
________________________________________
From: PhD-Design - This list is for discussion of PhD studies and related research in Design [[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Juris Milestone [[log in to unmask]]
Sent: Tuesday, 3 June 2008 8:28 a.m.
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Design-Art
Dan,
This facet of design is, I think, under examined - that is, what the
'idea of design' is outside of professional or academic claims, and
how this is important. I think we ought to allow for an analysis of
this idea (design) as a "total social fact", along the lines of Mauss'
gift, or a technology of governmentality along the lines of Foucault,
or class and taste along the lines of Bourdieu's field of position
takings.
Design in mass media and consumer culture is a powerful force that is
shaped outside the purviews of professional designers, design
researchers, and other design academics, and yet has a huge influence
on those very areas.
Juris Milestone
On Jun 2, 2008, at 9:00 AM, Daniel Huppatz wrote:
> Dear list
>
> There are always interesting discussions about the
> definitions of design on this list, and I thought list members might
> be
> interested in my recent mapping of contemporary design &
> consumerism. Outside of design education institutes and design
> studios, the meaning of the term design seems to me
> to be narrowing rather than expanding. Most recently, design
> seems to have become associated ever more closely with art - or
> Design-Art
> - as discussed by Alice Rawthorn in the IHT here. I
> think this pheonomenon has serious implications for designers and
> the way
> design is perceived. I've blogged it here as
> part of an ongoing series of essays about contemporary design and
> consumerism, Signs of
> Design. Any comments or ideas from listees most welcome.
>
> Thanks
> Dan Huppatz
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