Temporal context: materials and technologies

The location of my craft practice in the temporal context associated with the process of making, and specifically of the handmade and its expression in craft objects, is centred on the materials and tech- nologies I employ and how I employ them to create expression in the work. The materials and technologies used also place the work in a historical temporal context within the genealogy of the craft object and of Western craft practice.

Peter Watson in Ideas. A history from fire to Freud98 _{writes that} some palaeontologists suggest humankind’s first abstract idea occurred with the standardisation of stone axes. If true, then the association of abstract ideas with craft techniques existed before language was developed. As a heuristic mechanic, this proposition rings true for me. Through working with materials and employing, testing and developing new technologies, I find that new conceptual and aesthetic ideas emerge in my work.

Peter Bauhuis99 _{is an artist who is engaged with contemporary ob-} ject practice and whose work is founded in techniques of making for the development of ideas. An example is his vessels, which are formed from an intervention which exploits the essential nature of the casting process, something he understands very well. By casting a second layer of metal on the inside of the vessel in production, he allows the second, internal layer to also penetrate the base of the vessel in order to become the vessel’s feet. There is a high degree of metallurgical precision in the development of the work. Quoting from Monica Gaspar in her catalogue essay My table is a palimpsest or, The secret life of objects:

When Bauhuis carried out a performance that entailed melting a chocolate rabbit with the heat from a photocopier, which in turn documented the successive states of transformation, copy by copy, he was already demonstrating his interest in ‘fusion’ processes.100

Now time: making, materials and technologies in my craft practice The use of key materials and technologies is central to my approach to this research. They locate the work in a historical temporal context; they allow for the paradigm of ‘perfection/imperfection’ that comes with the handmade and therefore a sensual, intuitive connection with the viewer; and, critically, they enable me to pursue the making of forms of craft objects relevant to my research.

This relates specifically to the rail, where the use of metal and the combination of welding and mechanical fixing to make connections enable a linear, tensile form – a rail – as well as extending the association with architectural rails and the spatial relationships of habitation and usefulness. In particular, the use of titanium, niobi- um and similar metals that are distinguished by their high strength, lightness, inertia and beauty allows me to achieve the fineness, precision and delicacy associated with more precious craft objects and to play with perceptions of the machine-made as opposed to the handmade in the work. In this sense, the materials are essential to the work’s ability to link craft, art and architecture, and to the exploration of triggers for space, time and experience.

5.3.1 Titanium and other materials

Titanium is a material of our time. It is commonly used in all manner of things, from spectacle frames, to spacecraft fuselage, to body implants, to bicycle frames. It is known as a high-strength, inert, lightweight material. It has a refined aesthetic and a place in current popular cultural awareness and perceptions of materials, and their value,101 _{Rail as vessel, Figure 16 (2012).}

The material is part of ‘the now’ and that has allowed me to think about how it activates the reading and meaning of the work, in- cluding the aesthetic activation, within the genealogy of the craft object. Time becomes materialised through the making and em- bodied in the final work. Titanium also has a mechanical quality

that relates to ideas of function and mechanisms, and enables elements suggestive of play associated with play construction sys- tems such as Meccano.

In this research, the work is predominantly made from thin sheet niobium102 _{and titanium, which are assembled, connected and} given form by welding. The welds are sometimes expressed, sig- nalling technique, ‘handmadeness’ and process, and sometimes drawing attention to form and line in the objects. At other times, the welds are ground back and polished. The contrast of ‘perfect’ polished joints against exposed ‘imperfect’ welds is an example of the controlled expression of making and a device that may engage the viewer through intrigue.

Titanium can also be coloured, as outlined in Chapter 2. This is a condition not true of all metals traditionally used in craft object making. In Rail as vessel, Figure 17 (2012), edges are coloured to emphasise lines, thinness and relationships between elements. Sometimes the colours are continuous, sometimes broken, some- times exuberant, other times subdued. For instance, the rail might be coloured to reinforce its continuity while the objects are not, which separates them from the rail and suggests they are more contained elements.

Titanium can be joined by fusion, brazing and resistance or spot welding and, with adequate control of welding techniques, is among the easiest metals to join. The most appropriate welding systems used in welding titanium are plasma arc, tungsten arc, electron beam and laser welding. The most common welding sys- tem used in industry is tungsten inert gas (TIG) welding. This is also known as gas tungsten arc welding (GTA), heliarc, heliweld or argon arc welding.

5.3.2 The weld

It is not my intention to detail the process of TIG or laser welding, as considerable technical information is available on the subject.103 However, it is useful to understand that I have utilised and adapted industrial and technological processes in building this research, and that they are integral to the ideas that have developed and to the final expression and detail of the work, which has an important role in engaging the viewer: Vessel, Figure 15 (2013).

The reframing/adapting of the TIG welding process to add versatil- ity in its use by the artist/craftsperson applicable to a small studio practice started in the 1990s. At that time, no one to my knowledge was utilising this process to weld titanium to make vessels in a craft context. This new welding application was central to my masters re- search,104 _{and was recognised for its contribution to object making.} It remains a foundation for this current research:

The lack of any legalistic restraint on the mixing of metals and the freedom to explore form and materials has let Mark Edgoose develop his own vocabulary. His creation of hollowware forms

in titanium is without precedent and has involved considerable experimentation to get to its current sophisticated state of develop- ment. Mark’s forms are not immediately appealing to the eye but their originality and functionality progressively win over the view- er. When it is realised how innovative his use of a radically new material is, these works assume considerable significance in in- troducing a new element to the tradition of hollowware production and represent a major breakthrough for Australian metalwork.105 The TIG welding system is also the most appropriate welding system for use by the artist/craftsperson, as it is the system that offers the most versatility and affordability for use in studio art/craft practice. For these reasons, as well as its relative ease of use, it is the system predominantly utilised to manufacture the work in this research. Through this research, I have been able to further develop and refine welding techniques and am now able to join thinner gauge materials, such as sheet titanium as thin as 0.2 mm. This has had a significant influence on the aesthetic and structural considerations when designing and making the work in this research. I am now able to produce work with greater opportunity to explore lightness, which is relevant structurally as well as in visual and tactile senses. The use of the weld as a key aesthetic device and as a technology central to my work illustrates the further integration between struc- ture and aesthetics as one of interdependence, which is central to my work as a heuristic mechanic.

Access to welding technologies has also enabled me to explore niobium as an alternative material, and in conjunction with titani- um, in fabricating my objects. Establishing a flexible and pragmatic approach in manufacturing with niobium, a thin gauge material is best used. The current welding systems adopted have enabled the successful joining of niobium, through a process similar to that applied to titanium. I have also had success in welding these two materials together.

Of relevance to this research is the creation of welds that are far smaller and more refined, and the way this allows me to form welds that can contribute to a fine finish, sometimes expressed to signal technique and process, as well as for aesthetic purposes. In this, the welds play a role in drawing the eye of the viewer to the detail and in emphasising line and form, as done in other ways such as through the use of colour. In the context of this discussion of time triggers, the welds also contribute to the placement of my work as being ‘of our time’ in a temporal context of the genealogy of the craft object.