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A Systematic Framework of Cultural Hybridisation
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Added on 2021-04-05
A Systematic Framework of Cultural Hybridisation
Added on 2021-04-05
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ASystematicFrameworkofCulturalHybridisationinArtandDesign=====RESEARCHPROPOSALSeaNguyenz5032088RESEARCHSTATEMENTGlobalizationhaspermeatedandrestructuredvariouschannelsinmodernlife,amongstwhichcontemporaryartanddesignarenoexception(McQuire&Papastergiadis2005).Theywitnessanongoingtrendofculturalhybridizationintheraiseof‘EastmeetsWest’conceptsacrosscommercialandfineart.However,thisvigorousdevelopmentcomeswithanunevennessinthequalityofoutcomes(Klaffke1998;Okayama&Ricattii2008;Armao2015).Inthiscontext,systematicmethodstorefineandevaluateculturalhybridizationinartanddesignarerequired:Howmightoneintegratecross-culturalaestheticsintoasuccessfulhybriditywithoutsubstitutingculturalvalues?Andbywhatsetofstandardsthattheculturalhybridizationinartanddesignisconsideredbeingeffectiveandsuccessful?RATIONALE&SIGNIFICANCEAspartofglobalization,humanexperienceeverywhereisalmostthesame.Thiseventuallyleadstoanoverstatementofglobalizationasa‘standardizationofculturalexpressions’and‘atrendtowardhomogeneity’(Watsonn.d).Onchallengingthis,Pieterse(1995,p.45)arguesforaviewofglobalizationasaformationofa‘globalmélange’throughculturalhybridization,whichissupportedbyRobertson(1995,p.27)thathomogenizationandheterogenizationare‘mutuallyimplicative’.Basedonthesetheories,culturalhybridizationinartanddesignistheprocessofmutualinteractionandinterpretationbetweenculturalvaluestoproduceahybridity.Therefore,themasterylevelofculturaloriginsinthevisualelementsistheprominentfactorthatmakesorbreaksthequalityofthehybridartform.Withoutit,theoutcomeisasoul-lessmixtureofobsoleteformsandsigns(Bonta1979,p.29,ascitedinNoobanjong&Makela2003).Incontrast,thosebuiltuponsolidunderstandingofculturalmeaningscangothroughatransformationalprocessto‘re-articulate’theoriginalsandcreatesuccessfulhybrididentities(Young1995,p.23).Inunderstandingthis,itisbeneficialtoextendthecurrentresearchesonhybridizationpracticesfurthertodevelopsystematicstandardsthathelpimprovingtheconsistencyinthequalityoffuturehybridizationoutcomes.
ANTICIPATEDOUTCOME&AUDIENCEBysystematizingdifferentapproachestoculturalhybridizationinartanddesign,thisresearchwillshapeupaframeworkthatrefinesthedesignprocessesofaspiringcross-culturalartistsanddesignerstoimprovethequalityoftheiroutputs.Followingthecompletionofthisframework,thestandardforcuratorsandpossiblygeneralpublictoappreciateculturalhybridisationinartanddesignwillalsobeestablished.BACKGROUNDLiteratureReview&CaseStudyAddingtoPieterseandRobertson’stheoriesonglobalization,Sassen(1991,2002)developedtheterm‘globalcity’wheretheemerginghierarchyofcitiesplaysacriticalroleinfacilitatingcross-culturalexchangeinartanddesign.ThisisevidencedintheHSBCrebrandingprojectdesignedbyHenrySteiner,afamedpioneerincross-cuturaldesignwhoseimmigrationmovementsinformedhisdesignpractises(AIGAn.d,SCMPMagazine2014).InthesettingofHongKongasa‘globalcity’,SteinersuccessfullyshiftedHSBCbrandtoanewinternationalidentitythroughitslogoandannualreports.HeeffectivelyincorporatedWesterndesignstrategiesandEasternculturalelementsintothelogowhileplayfullyjuxtaposedEasterntraditionalelementswithpopularWesternimageriesintheannualreports(Hui2008,Hui&Rudkin2010).Thoughthisprojectreceivedworldwidepublicrecognition,itsculturalhybridizationstillencounteredmajorcriticismsduetoSteiner’susageofclichéculturalelementsandthelackoftransformationalprocessinhisapproachtotheculturalorigins(Huppatz2005,2006).InoppositiontoSteiner’sHSBCproject,theartworksinrecentexhibitions–‘Belonging’and‘Altermodern’–projectedthelocalreactionstowardstheglobalisationprocess.Theysuggestedadifferenttypeofculturalhybridisationfromacombiningact,whichistranslatingauthenticculturalvaluestopositionthemtotheglobalnetwork(Boullata2008,Bourriaud2009).Approachingthiscontroversy,Kelly(2010,2012)successfullyinvestigateddifferentcross-culturalpracticesinvisualcommunicationbasedoncurrentglobalisationtheoriesbutherresearchlacksasystematicoutput.Meanwhile,Wong(2013)categorizedculturalhybridizationapproachestothreeordersofculturalsignificancebuthisworkisstillatthepreliminarystage.Thisresearchwilldrawonthegapsidentifiedfromthesetworesearchestodevelopasystemthathelprefiningandevaluatingculturalhybridisationinartanddesign.TheoreticalFrameworkThisresearchwillbuilduponWong’screativetheory,whichisinspiredbytheBarthes(1972,ascitedinWong2013)’ssemiotictheoryof‘visualsignification’,astheproposedtheoretical
frameworktosystematizingculturalhybridisationpracticesthathelpstorefineandevaluatecross-culturalartanddesign.Wong(2013)’stheoryinvolvesthe‘inclusionofculturalfactorsindesignthinking’inwhichdesignapproacheswiththeiroverlappingrelationshipsareclassifiedintothreeordersofculturalsignificance:vernacularapproachcoversbasicvisualelementsthatonly‘readerswithin-depthunderstandingoftheoriginatingculturecanfullyunderstand’;cross-culturalapproachreferstotheintegrationofculturalelementsinvisualformsthatrequirethereaders’basicknowledgeofeachculturetoappreciate;andfinally,transnationalapproachwherevisualelementsare‘extendingbeyondnationalboundaries’thatcanbeunderstoodbyaudiencefromanyculturalbackground(Chambersn.dascitedinWong2013,p.6).Thesethreeordersaretobeviewedinafluidmodelwherethecross-culturalapproachisthecontainerandextensionofvernacularapproachwhilebeingcontainedandextendedfurthertotransnationalapproachunderthedomainofglobalization(seeFigure1).Figure1:Wong’sfluidmodelofthreeordersofculturalsignification(Wong2013)Basedonthismodel,theartanddesignpractitionersaresuggestedtomastereachcontaineddesignapproachbeforegoingfurthertoachievetheoutcomeofthenextorder.Also,thismodelsuggeststhattransnationalapproachisthehighestlevelofdesignthinkingunderhybridisation.METHODOLOGYFromapreliminarystageofliteraturereviewanddesignevaluationthroughthecasestudiesofhybriddesigns,thisresearchadoptsthreemethodologiesaspartofthepractice-basedresearch(seeFigure2):Practicalexperimentationthatexploresculturalhybridizationinmydesignpracticebasedontheproposedtheoreticalframework.Followingthatisparticipatorydesigntoengageotherartistsanddesignersinevaluatingthefindingsofthisexperimentation.Lastly,reflectivepracticewillbeincorporatedtoreflectonthewholeprocessinasystematicdocumentation.
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