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

“…so much for automating tasks as for abstracting craft.” (McCullough,
1996, p.81)
McCullough attempts to avoid accusations of nostalgia by using the word 'craft'
as a verb (McCullough, 1996, p.22) rather than noun - as 'intelligent action in a
specific setting' which draws on the tacit knowledge inherent in the maker’s
practice. McCullough offers analysis of the technological and psychological
aspects of computer use. He does this to develop a critical understanding of the
ways in which the computer operates both as a medium and as a tool
(McCullough, 1996, p.62). McCullough argues that this compels new creative
skills and the building of mental models of objects and processes (McCullough,
1996, p.217). McCullough suggests it is the responsibility of software engineers
to create less obtrusive and more transparent applications and equipment for
creative users (McCullough, 1996, p.251).
In her 1998 PhD thesis Katie Bunnell describes the impact of a ‘learning curve’
when transitioning from material-based practice to digital practice:
“To some extent the researcher allowed specific personal conceptual
developments to be superseded by the exploration of techniques: instead
of “having an idea” and then working out how it might be done, the
situation was reversed into having a piece of equipment, finding out what
it might do and then deciding how to use it.” (Bunnell, 1998)
This appears to be a common experience when practitioners first use digital
technologies. Bunnell’s research project was concerned with integrating
environmentally sensitive materials and processes and computer technology
into ceramic designer-maker practice. This was driven by the need to position
craft as a sustainable, contemporary, professional practice. The research
explored the potential application of technologies through investigations into
specific materials and processes. Bunnell pointed at the restrictions of access,
cost and training for designer-makers as causes of the limited extent to which
technologies had on the field of designing and making at that time. This
research also highlighted the potential of a wider range of professional
opportunities for designer-makers working in a post-industrial context. The
study looks at the conventional, anti-industrial philosophy of craft practice and
negative assumptions about the potential impact of computer technology on
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