CURTIN UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY

Faculty of Humanities

ASSIGNMENT COVER SHEET

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(ALL SECTIONS MUST BE COMPLETED)

STUDENT NAME: Jemma Morgan

STUDENT ID: 13630034

UNIT NAME AND NUMBER:Engaging in the Humanities 311922

DUE DATE: March 28, 2011

WORD COUNT:……………………………………………………….………………………………………………….

TUTORIAL DAY AND TIME: Monday 4pm

TUTOR’S NAME: Carol Igglesden

IT IS ESSENTIAL THAT YOUR TUTOR’S NAME IS ON ALL SUBMITTED ASSIGNMENTS

DECLARATION:

I declare that I have retained a copy of this assignment.

I have read and understood Curtin University policies on Plagiarism and

Copyright and declare that this assignment complies with these policies.

I declare that this assignment is my own work and has not been
submitted previously in any form for assessment.

Signature: Jemma Morgan Date: March 28, 2011

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breaks my heart, 2009
Joetta Maue
hand embroidered re-appropriated linen.

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Identity is a central concern of contemporary life. Critically examine and discuss how
design or art has been used to explore define and express identity.

In a strongly consumer driven society, people largely look to mass produced goods to cater for
their daily needs and desires. In this society people are driven to express their identity through
their possessions (Sturken and Cartwright 2009, 279), whether the identity being expressed is
a singularly personal identity or to a more common extent to express the person’s desire to
belong or to be identified with a certain group of people, such as a youth subculture, a
movement based on certain values or a socio-economic class identity. In recent years a new
sub-culture commonly known as the DIY or Indie Craft Movement has evolved where its
participants, such as Joetta Maue rely on traditional craft techniques as a way to create
artefacts as an alternative to mass produced objects which express their identity both
individually and as a movement in a highly personal and meaningful way.

Historically, craft made a resurgence in the late 1800‘s to the early 1900’s as a direct reaction
to the industrialisation of society and the almost complete replacement of handmade goods
with mass produced goods (Arts and craft movement n.d.). In the same way, we can view the
current DIY craft movement as a reaction to the mass consumer society of contemporary
times (Stimmel 2009, 3). More recently, youth subcultures, most notably the punk subculture
used craft and bricolage to modify mass produced items to give them an alternative meaning
as a way of visually expressing their identity (Sturken and Cartwright 2009, 78).

Craft in the context of the DIY craft movement takes the traditional techniques from the past
and applies them in a new and interesting way, often with humour or irony to express identity,
values or make a statement about society (Waterhouse 2010, 8). The DIY craft movement
favours the handmade artefact over the mass produced artefact, not just to fulfill a purpose or
for decoration but also to have significant personal meaning and value, in relation to the skill,
time and creativity that went in to its production. This is one example of how craft objects can
be seen not only to be expressing identity but also exploring and constructing identity through
the actual process of crafting.

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The image supplied shows Joetta Maue’s craft piece ‘breaks my heart’. Joetta’s work directly
draws from her own experiences and life, particularly focussing on her family and how they
define and shape her identity. She takes words and images that surround her, that explore not
only her own relationships but ideas of vulnerability, love, joy and other concepts that make
up her life which viewers can easily relate to in their own lives(Maue 2008).

Maue uses reappropriated linens in her work on which to embroider, a form of bricolage
which is often used in the DIY craft movement (Stimmel 2009, 7) - using recycled items,
particularly vintage items in the craft process to express nostalgia and again as a reaction
against mass consumption (Stimmel 2009, 35). In Maue’s case the use of reappropriated
linens helps her to make a connection with the past, and in particular with femininity and the
traditional roles of the female - a defining element of Maue’s identity (Maue 2008).

While Maue’s work is a more serious and earnest example of the DIY craft movement, in that
it does not display the humour often used in artefacts made in this style, her use of embroidery
as a traditional craft technique, contrasted with the contemporary language and imagery she
uses in her work is one of the key characteristics of the DIY craft movement (Waterhouse
2010, 10) and sparks interest in not only the final piece and its meaning but also in the
technique used in its creation.

While the DIY craft movement can be seen as anti-consumerist, it is also important to note
that this movement in itself has created an ever growing market for handmade goods,
particularly on the internet, with countless websites such as etsy.com - an online market where
people can buy and sell all things handmade, and also for people to have a forum where they
can express their identity within the DIY craft movement freely. So while a key characteristic
of the DIY craft movement is the idea of looking back to the past, to a simpler time,
participants in this movement have embraced technology as a way to offer an alternative
market place but also to create the feeling of community amongst themselves, another key
characteristic of this subculture (Waterhouse 2010, 10).

Joetta Maue is just one of many artists/crafters - professional and otherwise, using craft as a
way to express their identity as an individual as well as their identity as part of this subculture.

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And while many people who practice craft would not think of it as expressing their identity,
participants within the DIY craft movement make the conscious choice to do so. The DIY
craft movement encourages people to “align ... cultural participation with ... value
systems” (Stimmel 2009, 36). These values are centered around a deep appreciation of
creativity and individuality and a desire to express these values not only by possessing
handmade artefacts but also by engaging in the creative process of producing handmade
artefacts.

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References
Art and craft movement. n.d. http://designmuseum.org/design/art-and-craft-movement
(accessed March 24, 2011).
Breaks my heart. Image. 2009. http://www.joettamaue.com/mixed%20media/august
%202009/page3.html (accessed March 23, 2011).
Maue, J. 2008. Statement. http://www.joettamaue.com/statement/index.html (accessed
March 21, 2011).
Stimmel, E., 2009. Community and Identity in the Indie Craft Movement. http://
www.scribd.com/doc/17438779/Community-and-Identity-in-the-Indie-Craft-
Movement-Emily-Stimmel-April-2009 (accessed March 24, 2011).
Sturken, R., and L. Cartwright. 2009. Practices of looking: an introduction to visual culture.
New York: Oxford University Press.
Waterhouse, J., 2010. Indie Craft. London: Laurence King Publishing.