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dangerous liaisons ¦ Dr Grace Lees-Maffei
   
university of hertfordshire
faculty research
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Dangerous Liaisons complements the themes engaged by the tVAD research group by interrogating processes of mediation. The production, distribution (exhibition, retailing, mediatisation) and consumption of design, art, and craft each play a part in narrowing the range of responses available for each implicated artefact. In other words, the practices of discourse surrounding such objects become as important, if not more so, than the nature of the objects themselves, in determining their reception. The conclusion drawn from the Dangerous Liaisons project is that a method of analysis attentive to the intersections of design, craft and art offers illuminating findings that overcome applied hierarchies and stereotypes.

Dangerous Liaisons began with the inaugural exhibition at the UH Gallery, which featured the work of Chatwin:Martin, a partnership which has moved from jewellery to wall art. A catalogue essay 'An Analysis of the Art Craft Debate with Reference to the Work of Chatwin: Martin' was followed by a conference devised and convened by the lead researcher, Dangerous Liaisons: The Relationship Between Art and Craft at UH in 1999. The exhibition, catalogue and conference were part-funded by the Eastern Arts Board (now Arts Council England, East). Linda Sandino, Senior Research Fellow at Camberwell (University of the Arts) joined the project as co-editor for the culminating published outcome, a collection of articles published as a special issue of a refereed journal, which included contributions by Dr. Martina Droth (Henry Moore Institute Leeds), Dr. Pamela Gerrish Nunn (University of Canterbury, New Zealand), Dr. Jo Turney (Bath Spa University College) and Melanie Unwin (Palace of Westminster).

Project Outcomes (completed):
Dangerous Liaisons: Relationships Between Design, Craft and Art, ed. Grace Lees-Maffei and Linda Sandino, a special issue of The Journal of Design History, vol. 17, no. 3 (2004), pp. 207-219. ISSN 0952-4649. Articles by Grace Lees-Maffei (UH) and Linda Sandino, (University of the Arts, Camberwell), Martina Droth (Henry Moore Institute, Leeds), Melanie Unwin (Palace of Westminster), Pamela Gerrish Nunn (University of Canterbury, New Zealand), and Jo Turney (Bath Spa University College). Full text available to subscribers at http://jdh.oupjournals.org/content/vol17/issue3/index.dtl

Lees-Maffei, Grace and Linda Sandino, editorial 'Dangerous Liaisons: Relationships Between Design, Craft and Art', Dangerous Liaisons: Relationships Between Design, Craft and Art, ed. Grace Lees-Maffei and Linda Sandino, a special issue of The Journal of Design History, vol. 17, no. 3 (2004), pp. 207-219. ISSN 0952-4649.

Dangerous Liaisons: The Relationship Between Art and Craft, University of Hertfordshire, April 1999. Conference part-funded by the Eastern Arts Board (now Arts Council England, East). Contributions by Linda Sandino (Camberwell), Nicolas Maffei (Royal College of Art), Martina Margetts (Crafts Council/RCA), Peter Chatwin (Chatwin:Martin), Melanie Unwin (University of East London) and Grace Lees-Maffei (UH).

'Artsmanship and Craftistry: Gender, Practice, Hierarchy', conference paper, Dangerous Liaisons: The Relationship Between Art and Craft, University of Hertfordshire, April 1999.

'An Analysis of the Art Craft Debate with Reference to the Work of Chatwin: Martin', catalogue essay for the exhibition Ring of Fire, Hatfield: University of Hertfordshire, 1998. ISBN 189854333X.


Links:
Dangerous Liaisons: Relationships Between Design, Craft and Art, ed. Grace Lees-Maffei and Linda Sandino, a special issue of The Journal of Design History http://jdh.oxfordjournals.org/content/vol17/issue3/index.dtl


Project Funding
Eastern Arts Board (now Arts Council England, East) http://www.artscouncil.org.uk/regions/homepage.php?rid=1