Craft in the 21 Century: Actual Design & Material Culture Issues

From the beginning of the 21th Century the domain of Craft is in effervescence: from traditional techniques to high technologies, from ornament to anti-globalism, between studio handwork, one off and customization, the craft is a part of the trends of sustainability and the creation of a particular attitude to the individual, the consumer and the creator. The seminar will ask to develop a debate about the relation between craft and design in front of the works of contemporary creators and designers. We will present the design practice under social, theoretical and economical aspects, sometimes as an expression of protestation. We will try to analyse the relation to art and communication, to investigate recent literature about theory of craft, technology and design. We will study during the first semester the evolution of few objects concerning the craft domain. During the second semester, the student will be directed to collect and organize sources in order to present a research proposal for their seminar thesis. The students will be asked to present a referat to the class and to prepare the global basis to the writing concerning creators, objects or defined practice of actual design in reference to the craft area and to define on the bases of their research a critical approach.