John James Marshall thesis.pdf - OpenAIR @ RGU - Robert Gordon ...

work that is both art and/or design. The contextual review has indicated there
are models of practice that would seem to fit with these distinctions. However,
the nature of the relationships between these is not clear.
Gibbons, et al (1994) have stated the basic qualities of contemporary knowledge
production are: complexity, hybridity, non-linearity, reflexivity, heterogeneity,
and transdisciplinarity. These qualities indicate an increasing de-differentiation
of traditional subject domains and these have been identified as symptoms of
Postmodernism. These qualities are present in the practices of the art and
design practitioners considered in the contextual review. These practitioners
can be reframed as a community of interest (CoI) that shares a transdisciplinary
design discourse. The objects produced by these practitioners can be considered
‘boundary objects’ that provide a means of coordination between the various
communities of practice that make up this community of interest. These
‘boundary objects’ draw on developments from across subject domains and
contribute to the transdisciplinary design discourse. However, the means by
which this integration is brought about is relatively undefined and this indicates
a need for a more systematic evaluation of cross-disciplinary work. A starting
point in this process would be the development of evaluative criteria that could
be applied to computer designed and fabricated objects produced across subject
domains.
This research has explored new methods of working and new production
ontologies and cultural contexts for computer-designed and/or fabricated
objects that exploit computer-based technologies. From the contextual review
the researcher has discovered indications of a considerable shift towards forms
of art and design practice that indicate hybridity between traditional disciplines.
However, there are indications of a need for the development of analytical and
evaluative criteria, models of practice and critical language to discuss the
relationship between these forms of practice and the objects produced by them.
There is also a need for greater understanding of how practitioners engaged in
this field are facing the creative possibilities that visual computing offers in
challenging the way that art and design practitioners work. The following
sections will look at how these gaps in knowledge will be addressed in the
context of ‘live’ professional practice.
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