Material Choices

Concepts & Methods Unit 1

CMU 1 will reframe UWA’s fundamental commitment to a material-based approach, highlighting that the materials employed in producing WAs are rarely without alternatives. Materialities of writing usually exist in the plural, hence the usage of one set of materials rather than another requires explanation. CMU 1 thus focuses on the production of WAs as a vital aspect of their lifecycle. It highlights the importance of material choices within WAs cultural and historical contexts and considers both technological options and cultural capabilities that may influence selection of materials when producing WAs.

Key questions include how originators – understood as agents responsible for producing WAs – selected from various available materials and existing modes of visual organisation, while considering alternatives and pragmatic factors such as resource availability and cost. Material options are highly diverse across writing cultures and it is against this background that CMU 1 explores the ways in which symbolic meanings and social significance impact decisions in WA production. It concentrates on two main axes, 1) the human agents involved in this production, e.g. considering their social, political, and religious backgrounds, technical and technological knowledge, the attribution of value to certain materials etc., and 2) the writing materials used, including the availability of writing materials and (perceived) material properties that may have influenced choices in WA production.