The Dynamics of Modern Asian Design: Material Culture and Social Agency

Focusing on the late 20th century onward, this book brings to light the ways in which design as a material form has underscored cultural, social and economic changes across Asia. The Dynamics of Modern Asian Design provides a deeper and more enhanced understanding of material culture in Asia through analysis of examples of ceramics, electronic items, fashion, furniture, interior design, architecture and ornaments from across countries such as China, Hong Kong, India, Japan and South Korea. Authors explore the production of objects as agents in modern material life, moving beyond their roles as commodities and addressing their values in a range of contexts and subjectivities. Early chapters explore how ceramics and found objects are given innovative forms and meanings in their reincarnation, and how the reinvention of material is critical when design is produced and valued. Authors look at the intricate correlation between materials, design practice and social change, highlighting issues of cultural authenticity and tensions between local and global contexts. They then interrogate the significance of visual appearance in material representations of modern women and religious artefacts, exploring gender and religious representation through the analysis of magazines, statues and objects of adornment. The final section includes analysis of concrete, urban design and electrical appliances, specific to particular cultural and social contexts across modern and contemporary Asian cultures.

Table of Contents:
List of Figures Introduction, Sandy Ng (Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong) and Megha Rajguru (University of Brighton, UK) Part I: The Nature and Experience of Materiality 1. Trash or Treasure? The East Asian Sherd as Material and Medium, Stacey Pierson (SOAS, UK) 2. Found Objects in Hong Kong Jewellery Design: Social Connections and Material Agency in Southern China, Anna Grasskamp (University of Oslo, Norway) 3. Maintaining Material Culture: An Essay on Meanings and Values of Things and Technology in Central Seoul, Anneke Coppoolse (Hongik University, South Korea) Part II: Design, Material Culture, and Mediation 4. Health Booms and Bubbly Bodies: Hanako Magazine, Women, and Beauty in the 1980s Japanese Bubble Economy, Hui-Ying Kerr (Nottingham Trent University, UK) 5. Adornment and The Self: Ornamental Design and The Modern Woman in China, Sandy Ng (Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong) 6. Religious Aesthetics: Collecting Chinese Gods, Valentina Gamberi (Palacky University, Czech Republic) Part III: The Biography of Design 7. The Aesthetics of Concrete Watchtowers: The Hybrid and Contextual Architecture of Kaiping, Kwok-wah Tung (University of Edinburgh, UK) 8. The Home and the Street: Poverty, Development, and Heritage in Housing Design in India in the 1980s, Megha Rajguru (University of Brighton, UK) 9. The Weft of Nations: Circulating Imagery of Chinese Textile Technology on the eve of Britain's Industrial Revolution, Roslyn Lee Hammers (University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong) List of Contributors Index

About the Author :
Sandy Ng is Assistant Professor of Culture and Theory in the School of Design at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong. Megha Rajguru is Principal Lecturer in History of Art and Design at the University of Brighton, UK, where she is also Co-Director of the Centre for Design History

Review :
A diverse and stimulating collection of essays focused on Asian design. A captivating book due to its comprehensive approach to material culture and social agency. Modern Asian design needs to be represented in literature and the editors make a significant statement in this regard. Exploring the intricate interplay between design, material culture, and identity, the book offers a profound examination of modern Asia's dynamic design landscapes. A must-read for anyone interested in how design shapes and is shaped by cultural contexts.