Topographies of the Obsolete: Ashmolean Papers

Mydland, Anne Helen and BROWNSWORD, Neil (2017) Topographies of the Obsolete: Ashmolean Papers. Topographies of the Obsolete, 4 . Topographies of the Obsolete Publications, Crewe, UK. ISBN ISBN 978-82-690937-4-2

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Abstract or description

Topographies of the Obsolete is an international artistic research project initiated by Brownsword and Bergen Academy of Art and Design, that examines Stoke-on-Trent’s post-industrial landscape and its associated socio-economic histories, industrial architecture, production remnants through a range of interdisciplinary artistic practice. The project primarily explores how ceramic and clay can be understood as both material and subject in contemporary art practice. Website: http://topographies.khib.no. This publication edited by Brownsword and Mydland draws together and extends proceedings from a symposium held at the Ashmolean Museum of Art and Archaeology, University of Oxford. It offers a broad range of interdisciplinary insights into issues surrounding the impact of deindustrialisation upon heritage, communities and landscapes, and urban renewal through art and culture led strategies.

Contents:
'Obsolescence and Industrial Culture', Tim Strangleman; 'Topographies of the Obsolete: Exploring the Site Specific and Associated Histories of Post Industry', Neil Brownsword and Anne Helen Mydland; 'Deindustrialisation and Heritage in Three Crockery Capitals', Maris Gillette; 'Industrial Ruination and Shared Experiences: A Brief Encounter with Stoke-on-Trent', Alice Mah; 'Maintenance, Ruination and the Urban Landscape of Stoke-on-Trent', Tim Edensor; 'Image Management Systems: A Model for Archiving Stoke-on-Trent’s Post-Industrial Heritage', Jake Kaner; 'Margins, Wastes and the Urban Imaginary', Malcolm Miles.

Item Type:	Book / Proceeding
Additional Information:	In The Natural History of Staffordshire, Dr Robert Plot, the first keeper of the Ashmolean Museum describes an early account of the county’s pre-industrial pottery manufacturing during the late 17th century. Apart from documenting potters practices and processes, Plot details the regions natural clays that were once fundamental to its rise as a world renowned industrial centre for ceramics. Yet in recent decades the factories and communities of labour that developed around these natural resources have been subject to significant transition. Global economics have resulted in much of the regions ceramic industry outsourcing to low-cost overseas production. Today, despite the City of Stoke-on-Trent’s ongoing regeneration, the economic fallout and human cost of the decline of traditional industry remain prevalent throughout its six towns. Plot’s pre-industrial mapping of North Staffordshire in the 1680’s, has been echoed through Topographies of the Obsolete, an artistic research project which surveys the regions post-industrial landscape through a range of multi-media responses, centred primarily around the former Spode factory. Following six on-site residencies, Topographies has framed a point in time through which artists have opened different perspectives to the complexities of deindustrialisation, addressed by politicians, economists, historians and ex-employees. It documents both the aftermath of the Spode factory closure and the repurposing of its post-industrial fabric through processes of culture-led regeneration. The project remains a framework, formulating topics and research strands which are treated as questions and approaches that are addressed through artistic practice. By honing in on the particular history and the singularity of this site, Topographies questions what is, and how can ceramic and clay be understood as both material and subject in contemporary art practice. The discourse that emerged out of each residency has developed into a series of interconnected research strands that examine the socio-economic impact of globalisation upon community and place, the contemporary ruin, and the artist as post-industrial archivist/archaeologist. Through these topics numerous questions have emerged surrounding the role of the artist in a non-art space, and how to address a post-industrial site artistically and ethically. On 7th November 2015, a panel of expert voices from the fields of art and design history, anthropology, urban sociology, critical theory and cultural geography, were invited to explore these topics from their own critical perspectives. This publication, the fourth in the series, draws together and extends the proceedings from this symposium at the Ashmolean Museum of Art and Archaeology, University of Oxford. It offers a broad range of interdisciplinary insights into issues surrounding the impact of deindustrialisation upon heritage, communities and landscapes, and urban renewal through art and culture-led strategies.
Faculty:	School of Creative Arts and Engineering > Art and Design
Depositing User:	Neil BROWNSWORD
Date Deposited:	03 Jun 2019 09:50
Last Modified:	24 Feb 2023 13:53
Related URLs:	Organisation
URI:	https://eprints.staffs.ac.uk/id/eprint/5165

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