Beyond folding and gathering: museums attending to the new materiality

Abstract

Museums are attending to matters of technique in relation to objects and exhibitions suggesting a new or renewed interest in creative practice and how objects are made. This focus parallels practices and changes occurring in broader society. In this article I argue that a rise in attending to technique extends what various theorists have referred to as the ‘material turn’ in a dimension that underscores creative process and making. I do so by exploring two recent exhibitions, one in Israel and another in Australia, which have brought the notion of technique into focus through the context of textiles and other materials such as paper, porcelain, wood and metal. Through their emphasis on ‘gathering’ and ‘folding’, the construction of textiles and other forms are accentuated for public exploration, fostering new understandings of technique. Conclusions are drawn connecting museum contexts with that of broader society in reference to making, the role of the hand, and craft processes.