jAnE PAVitt - Victoria and Albert Museum

STATEMENT BYHEADS OF COURSEThe V&A/RCA History of Design and MaterialCulture Course Bulletin is a welcome opportunity totake stock of recent achievements and focus on thechallenges ahead. 2010 has been an excellent yearfor the Programme, now entering its 27th year ofexistence. We have seen the graduation of anotherstrong cohort of MA, MPhil and PhD students. Whatunites them is a dedicated approach to originalsources, while exploiting a variety of disciplinaryapproaches and methodologies – from archaeologyto business history. Their research has spanned theperiod 1400 to the present day and the widerangingchoice of subject – from the design of earlymodern city walls, Suffragettes’ dress and offshoreoil platforms – is a testimony to the breadth ofresearch interests fostered by the Programme.This year has been marked by the graduation of thefirst group of Asian Design History specialists,under the leadership of Dr Christine Guth. Theirdissertations range from a study of the visual andmaterial identity of the London-based Chinesecommunity of Limehouse in the early 20th century,to the representation of Indian contemporaryjewellery in Vogue India. We cherish their contributionin expanding enormously the geographical andintellectual breadth of the Programme. As ever wewish all recent graduates the best in their presentand future endeavours.Some interesting patterns emerge from the list ofthis year’s MA and PhD dissertation subjects. Astrong research core focuses on the interconnectionsbetween design, consumption and space, whetherwithin the domestic chapels of Late-MedievalEngland, the opera and exhibition venues ofSecessionist Vienna or the digital museum. A shifttoward production-led enquiry is another significanttrend, fixing early modern artisanal practice inLondon, or the organization of labour in a Norwichbasedtextile company in the first half of thetwentieth century.First-year Renaissance, Modern and Asian DesignHistory students are also very significant contributorsto the success of the Programme. The summariesof some of the first term essays included in thisbulletin – examining for instance a Limoges casket,a seventeenth-century English ‘adorned’ print and aMing porcelain pillow – show the depth, originalityand ambition of their work. Drawing from a widerange of primary and secondary sources andapplying meticulous object-analysis skills, theseessays demonstrate exhilarating intellectualcuriosity and critical rigour. Their contribution thisyear has extended into the Museum’s largestgallery projects, where students have been involvedin the refurbishment and installation of the V&A’sCeramics Galleries Phase II, which opened in thesummer to public acclaim.Research has also been at the centre of the Course 02/03Team’s activities over the past year, oftenundertaken within the context of broaderpartnerships with other prestigious academic andresearch institutions, from the universities ofWarwick, London and Cambridge to the WellcomeTrust, as the following pages testify. A numberof projects result from the close collaborationbetween different members of the team – fromthe forthcoming Postmodernism exhibition to theGlobal Design History volume, from the Surfacetensions to the Intoxicants and Intoxication researchnetworks and the V&A/IHR Early Modern MaterialCultures research seminar programme.There have been several exciting and momentouschanges to report in the Course staff team. Wewelcome Dr. Victoria Kelley and Dr. RichardChecketts who have joined the Course as Tutors atthe RCA and the V&A respectively. Dr. GlennAdamson continues his secondment as co-curatoron the major V&A Postmodernism exhibition, whileDr. Marta Ajmar-Wollheim continues as ActingHead of Graduate Studies at the V&A. DavidCrowley has been appointed RCA Professor, andHead of a new MA in Critical Writing in Art andDesign at the college. Finally, Jane Pavitt has joinedthe RCA as the new Head of the History of DesignDepartment. We look forward to working togetherwith everyone in these new capacities in thecoming years.We are delighted that so many our former studentshave gone on to greater things and hope thatthey will continue to keep a close connection withthe Programme.Marta Ajmar-WollheimActing Head of Graduate Studies, V&Am.ajmar@vam.ac.ukJane PavittHead of History of Design, RCAjane.pavitt@rca.ac.uk