Clothing - A Functional Artform

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Date
1997-08
Authors
Weekes, Arleen J.H.
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Abstract
This thesis entitled - Clothing - A functional Art-form is comprised of 95 pages, and illustrations in the form of 25 plates and 13 figures. The aim of this study lay in producing a small collection of clothing as viable, visual art forms - as removed from "fashion", through its relationship with sculpture and painting, and to develop these art-forms as wearable art for the human figure. The problem in this study lay in the removal of clothing from the platform of "fashion" to be placed on the platform of "visual art", as a vehicle for making artistic statements through its relationship with sculpture and painting. This was not a comparative study, as both techniques of painting and sculpture are not confined to just the canvas, or the wood, bronze and clay media. Textiles, clothing, painting and sculpture have a lot in common and these include - design; composition; balance and form, all integral in the creative process. The method of research utilized the experimental survey as the design and 3 data collection instruments were established - the primary and secondary sources of data, and the studio experiments, which involved the intense technique of the manipulation of textilcs/cloth/fabric into clothing. This included the technique of innovative stitching through the joining of the cut patterns, the applique method, the quilting method, machine embroidery - all of which attributed to sculptural and painterly effects. Eight garments were produced in the studio, through the basic application of cut and sewing machine stitching. The materials used for culling, quilting, applique and embroidery, photographic reproduction of works and literature related to the study were documented. In the findings, the sculptural and painterly qualities of each garment was established in reflection of the aims and objectives of this study and concluded that as wearable art reflective of African culture, the researcher's works could be worn within the society for any occasion.
Description
A thesis submitted to Postgraduate School, Ahmadu Bello University, in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the award of the degree of Master of Arts in Industrial Design, with specialization in Textiles. Department of Industrial Design Faculty of Environmental Design Ahmadu Bcllo University Zaria - Nigeria. " August 1997.
Keywords
Clothing,, Functional Artform.
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