Thesis (M.F.A.)--Rochester Institute of Technology, 1982. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.F.A.)--Rochester Institute of Technology, 1987. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaf 27).

Thesis (M.F.A.)--Rochester Institute of Technology, 1990. / Includes bibliographical references (leaf 40).

Giving textiles form is a project in textile design exploring how textiles can create self-supporting three-dimensional forms with after finishing techniques. The project focuses on the textile to be self-supporting, by working against and challenging the properties of a textile fabric. The motive for the project is to widen the definition of what a textile can do. The methods of origami and traditional Japanese wood joinery are used to find a functioning and durable construction, as well as manipulating the textiles with colour and after finishing techniques. The result of this work is three coloured textile forms that are three-dimensional and self-supporting, the use of colour strengthens the depth and adds a spatial dimension. This work contributes to broaden the field of textile design by expanding the use of textile.

Since late eighteenth century smocking has been a part of different fields of fashion. From agricultural clothing and swimsuits, and also inspiring architecture. The approach of smocking has always been to tighten the fabric against the body. This work will challenging this by exploring the possibility to build form with smocking on the body, placing it in the context of personas on a winter vacation. By extracting elements of the smocking and sketching directly in the knitting machine using different techniques and yarn with contrasting characteristics, the ambition has been to translate aesthetic aspects of smocking via volume, pattern, material and colour into knitted material, targeting a sporty silhouette and expression. The result show an alternative way to bout fabricate and view the smocking. By letting the technique build form, placing it in a sports context suggest that smocking no longer is a technique solely for romantic dresses.

The material culture of historic theatre costume offers a vital resource for the fields of dress and theatre history that has yet to be fully recognised. This thesis unites approaches from both disciplines to create a specific methodology for the study of theatre costume founded upon the examination and assessment of such garments. It argues that theatre costume represents a separate and specific category of clothing and theatrical ephemera. Celebrated actress Ellen Terry (1847-1928), an individual highly attuned to the significance of dress as an expression of identity, is used as a case study to demonstrate the validity of this new methodology. Adopting an object-based and material culture approach, the thesis engages with the visual and physical evidence about performance and design that can be gathered from Terry’s extant theatre costumes. It also highlights crucial information about Terry’s dress and its public reception gleaned from additional sources such as photographs; paintings; letters; reviews, and within Terry’s papers and books. This thesis represents the first full investigation of Terry’s personal and theatrical wardrobe, and is the first study to carry out a close analysis of the actress’s surviving garments. This analysis establishes the factors fundamental to the interpretation and study of theatre costume: the significance of social, artistic and historic context; parallels and contrasts between on and off-stage dress; the collaborative process of design and making; the function of costume as both performance object, and expression of ‘identity’; the issue of multiple and complex ‘biographies’; and the crucial evidence offered from material culture sources, most importantly, surviving costumes. Chapter 1 outlines existing methodologies and the cross disciplinary nature of the thesis; Chapter 2 reviews existing literature and proposes a new methodology; 3 provides the context for Terry's professional career; 4 develops the methodology and analyses extant garments. 5 and 6 relate the methodology to ideas of self-fashioning and biography. The thesis establishes Terry as an exceptional figure in British theatre and society who took an active role in fashioning her public and private image, both during her life, and after her death. The analysis of Terry’s wardrobe confirms the status of theatre costumes as unique garments, which represent a key source for design, dress and theatre historians. This detailed case study demonstrates that the methodology presented can be employed in the study of other figures, theatres and periods, and opens up a new and productive direction for future research.

Esta dissertação tem como objeto de estudo o design têxtil de rendas, a partir da análise de elementos constitutivos da linguagem visual e técnica, aspectos históricos e possíveis processos de produção das amostras pertencentes ao acervo de rendas Lucy Niemeyer. O acervo em questão possui 186 itens de rendas, sendo assim, aspectos ligados à museologia também são tratados tendo em vista a salvaguarda desses itens através de processos de preservação, conservação e acondicionamento. Neste cenário, foram identificadas importantes instituições de ensino e museológicas que se dedicam a promover a interação do universo das rendas com práticas criativas ligadas ao design. O objetivo é refletir sobre a contribuição das rendas para o design, ou seja, a dissertação se ocupa em compreender como o design têxtil verificado nos itens do acervo de rendas pode apoiar o design, de têxteis ou não, na contemporaneidade. Este estudo foi realizado por meio de pesquisa qualitativa que se aprofunda no assunto explorado, com procedimentos de caráter exploratório, pesquisa bibliográfica, documental e explicativa, através de estudo de caso de itens do acervo. Os estudos de caso contemplam aspectos ligados à catalogação do acervo, identificando processos, técnicas, produção de imagens, análises complementares feitas em microscópio estereoscópio e leitura dos elementos constitutivos da linguagem visual e técnica, visando identificar elementos que contribuam para desenvolvimento de novos produtos. Através desta dissertação conclui-se que o universo das rendas possui grande potencial para contribuir com o design, não só têxtil e de moda, mas também em áreas como design para artesanato, de objetos, joalheria e arquitetura, aplicando a linguagem visual das rendas em diversos materiais (flexíveis ou não), utilizando tecnologias produtivas disponíveis no mercado hoje, independente de escala de produção e de dimensões. / The object of this dissertation is the study of the design of lace, from the analysis of the constituent elements of visual and technical language, the historical aspects and possible production processes of the samples belonging to the lace collection of Lucy Niemeyer. The collection in question has 186 items of lace, so methods of museology are also treated aiming to safeguarding these items through processes of conservation. Important educational institutions and dedicated museums were identified which promote interaction with the universe of laces with creative practices related to design. The aim is to reflect on contribution of lace to design, ie , the dissertation is concerned with understanding how the textile design found in the items of the collection of laces can contribute to the current design of textiles . This study was conducted by means of qualitative research that delves into the subject with explanatory procedures, bibliographical research, documentary and explanatory case study. The case studies include aspects of cataloging the collection, identifying processes, techniques, imaging, complementary analyses made using a stereoscopic microscope and the reading of the constituent elements of visual and technical language to identify elements that contribute to the development of new products. In conclusion, the world of laces has great potential to contribute to the design, not only textile and fashion, but also in areas such as design for crafts, jewelry and architecture, using visual language of laces in various materials using productive technologies available on the market today, regardless of the scale of production.

Esta dissertação tem como objeto de estudo o design têxtil de rendas, a partir da análise de elementos constitutivos da linguagem visual e técnica, aspectos históricos e possíveis processos de produção das amostras pertencentes ao acervo de rendas Lucy Niemeyer. O acervo em questão possui 186 itens de rendas, sendo assim, aspectos ligados à museologia também são tratados tendo em vista a salvaguarda desses itens através de processos de preservação, conservação e acondicionamento. Neste cenário, foram identificadas importantes instituições de ensino e museológicas que se dedicam a promover a interação do universo das rendas com práticas criativas ligadas ao design. O objetivo é refletir sobre a contribuição das rendas para o design, ou seja, a dissertação se ocupa em compreender como o design têxtil verificado nos itens do acervo de rendas pode apoiar o design, de têxteis ou não, na contemporaneidade. Este estudo foi realizado por meio de pesquisa qualitativa que se aprofunda no assunto explorado, com procedimentos de caráter exploratório, pesquisa bibliográfica, documental e explicativa, através de estudo de caso de itens do acervo. Os estudos de caso contemplam aspectos ligados à catalogação do acervo, identificando processos, técnicas, produção de imagens, análises complementares feitas em microscópio estereoscópio e leitura dos elementos constitutivos da linguagem visual e técnica, visando identificar elementos que contribuam para desenvolvimento de novos produtos. Através desta dissertação conclui-se que o universo das rendas possui grande potencial para contribuir com o design, não só têxtil e de moda, mas também em áreas como design para artesanato, de objetos, joalheria e arquitetura, aplicando a linguagem visual das rendas em diversos materiais (flexíveis ou não), utilizando tecnologias produtivas disponíveis no mercado hoje, independente de escala de produção e de dimensões. / The object of this dissertation is the study of the design of lace, from the analysis of the constituent elements of visual and technical language, the historical aspects and possible production processes of the samples belonging to the lace collection of Lucy Niemeyer. The collection in question has 186 items of lace, so methods of museology are also treated aiming to safeguarding these items through processes of conservation. Important educational institutions and dedicated museums were identified which promote interaction with the universe of laces with creative practices related to design. The aim is to reflect on contribution of lace to design, ie , the dissertation is concerned with understanding how the textile design found in the items of the collection of laces can contribute to the current design of textiles . This study was conducted by means of qualitative research that delves into the subject with explanatory procedures, bibliographical research, documentary and explanatory case study. The case studies include aspects of cataloging the collection, identifying processes, techniques, imaging, complementary analyses made using a stereoscopic microscope and the reading of the constituent elements of visual and technical language to identify elements that contribute to the development of new products. In conclusion, the world of laces has great potential to contribute to the design, not only textile and fashion, but also in areas such as design for crafts, jewelry and architecture, using visual language of laces in various materials using productive technologies available on the market today, regardless of the scale of production.

Esta dissertação tem como objeto de estudo o design têxtil de rendas, a partir da análise de elementos constitutivos da linguagem visual e técnica, aspectos históricos e possíveis processos de produção das amostras pertencentes ao acervo de rendas Lucy Niemeyer. O acervo em questão possui 186 itens de rendas, sendo assim, aspectos ligados à museologia também são tratados tendo em vista a salvaguarda desses itens através de processos de preservação, conservação e acondicionamento. Neste cenário, foram identificadas importantes instituições de ensino e museológicas que se dedicam a promover a interação do universo das rendas com práticas criativas ligadas ao design. O objetivo é refletir sobre a contribuição das rendas para o design, ou seja, a dissertação se ocupa em compreender como o design têxtil verificado nos itens do acervo de rendas pode apoiar o design, de têxteis ou não, na contemporaneidade. Este estudo foi realizado por meio de pesquisa qualitativa que se aprofunda no assunto explorado, com procedimentos de caráter exploratório, pesquisa bibliográfica, documental e explicativa, através de estudo de caso de itens do acervo. Os estudos de caso contemplam aspectos ligados à catalogação do acervo, identificando processos, técnicas, produção de imagens, análises complementares feitas em microscópio estereoscópio e leitura dos elementos constitutivos da linguagem visual e técnica, visando identificar elementos que contribuam para desenvolvimento de novos produtos. Através desta dissertação conclui-se que o universo das rendas possui grande potencial para contribuir com o design, não só têxtil e de moda, mas também em áreas como design para artesanato, de objetos, joalheria e arquitetura, aplicando a linguagem visual das rendas em diversos materiais (flexíveis ou não), utilizando tecnologias produtivas disponíveis no mercado hoje, independente de escala de produção e de dimensões. / The object of this dissertation is the study of the design of lace, from the analysis of the constituent elements of visual and technical language, the historical aspects and possible production processes of the samples belonging to the lace collection of Lucy Niemeyer. The collection in question has 186 items of lace, so methods of museology are also treated aiming to safeguarding these items through processes of conservation. Important educational institutions and dedicated museums were identified which promote interaction with the universe of laces with creative practices related to design. The aim is to reflect on contribution of lace to design, ie , the dissertation is concerned with understanding how the textile design found in the items of the collection of laces can contribute to the current design of textiles . This study was conducted by means of qualitative research that delves into the subject with explanatory procedures, bibliographical research, documentary and explanatory case study. The case studies include aspects of cataloging the collection, identifying processes, techniques, imaging, complementary analyses made using a stereoscopic microscope and the reading of the constituent elements of visual and technical language to identify elements that contribute to the development of new products. In conclusion, the world of laces has great potential to contribute to the design, not only textile and fashion, but also in areas such as design for crafts, jewelry and architecture, using visual language of laces in various materials using productive technologies available on the market today, regardless of the scale of production.

This research takes a practice-based approach to exploring perceptual matters that often go unnoticed in the context of everyday lived experience. My approach focuses on the experiential possibilities of knowledge emerging through artistic enquiry, and uses a variety of modes (like textiles, sound, physical computing, programming, video and text) to be conducted and communicated. It examines scholarship in line with the ecological theory of perception, and is particularly informed by neurobiological research on sensory integration as well as by cultural theories that examine the role of sensory appreciation in perception. Different processes contributing to our perceptual experience are examined through the development of a touch-sensitive, sound-generating rug and its application in an experimental context. Participants’ interaction with the rug and its sonic output allows an insight into how they make sense of multisensory information via observation of how they physically respond to it. In creating possibilities for observing the two ends of the perceptual process (sensory input and behavioural output), the rug provides a platform for the study of what is intangible to the observer (perceptual activity) through what can actually be observed (physical activity). My analysis focuses on video recordings of the experimental process and data reports obtained from the software used for the sound generating performance of the rug. Its findings suggest that attentional focus, active exploration, and past experience actively affect the ability to integrate multisensory information and are crucial parameters for the formation of a meaningful percept upon which to act. Although relational to the set experimental conditions and the specificities of the experimental group, these findings are in resonance with current cross-disciplinary discourse on perception, and indicate that art research can be incorporated into the wider arena of neurophysiological and behavioural research to expand its span of resources and methods.