How are museum collections used as a source of inspiration by creative practitioners? This project, Inspiration Examined, used a narrative research method to critically examine the process of inspiration, with funding from Share Academy. Share Academy was a 2014 partnership project between University College London (UCL), University of the Arts London (UAL), and the London Museums Group. The project aimed to explore the potential for more effective and mutually beneficial collaborations between Higher Education and specialist London museums.
Zoë Hendon worked with Dr Linda Sandino to make video interviews of students talking about objects from the collections that they found particularly inspiring.
The result was a fascinating series of videos in which students reflected on their processes of making and their use of the Silver Studio Collection as a source of inspiration. Students brought their knowledge of textile design techniques to these interviews, but deployed them in different ways, depending on their interests and creative identity.
We found that ‘inspiration’, was not sparked by the object alone, but from the interaction between student, object, and interviewer. Inspiration Examined confirmed that ‘inspiration’ functions as a structuring concept through which students are able to resolve the duality of tradition and innovation as a process most clearly stimulated by research in archive and museum collections.
Alex Beattie: pink flamingos and exotic landscapes
MA Textile student from Chelsea, Alex Beattie, was particularly inspired by some of MoDA’s 1920s wallpapers.
In particular, a wallpaper featuring pink flamingos really caught his eye. His excitement at finding this wallpaper was clear. He loved the colours and he was also interested in the way it had been printed, which helped to inform his own work.
Alex’s textile designs, featuring acid-bright colours and dream-like landscapes, show a clear progression from some of the things he looked at when he visited MoDA.
For Alex, “inspiration” wasn’t just about the emulation of motifs and colours. In his video interview he talked in a really interesting way about looking to MoDA’s wallpapers to help him resolve technical issues to do with the creation of the illusion of depth and perspective in his designs.
See subsequent article here:
Hendon, Z. and Sandino, L. (2018) ‘Inspiration Examined: Towards a methodology’, Art, Design and Communication in Higher Education, 17(2), pp. 135–50. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1386/adch.17.2.135_1
Watch the videos on our Figshare page here: https://mdx.figshare.com/collections/2014_Share_Academy_Inspiration_Examined/6126600