The Quarry as Sculpture: The Place of Making

David A Paton
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David A Paton: Geography/Environmental Science, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Exeter, Peter Lanyon Building, Cornwall Campus Tremough, Penryn, Cornwall TR10 9EZ, England

Environment and Planning A, 2013, vol. 45, issue 5, 1070-1086

Abstract: This paper traces a geographical reading of worked Cornish granite, evidenced by a sustained period of research in Trenoweth Dimension Granite quarry near Penryn, in Cornwall. As a sculptor exploring a practice of geography, I weave a narration of my auto-ethnographic research as an apprentice sawman and mason into a discourse on time and materiality. I focus on processes of accumulating familiarity with material subjects, leading to the erosion of fixed surface structures. I address issues arising from this research related to place making; identifying modes of representation, craft, labour practices, and the relational activities of worked matter within the context of a working quarry. Taking Ingold's call to redress material culture's emphasis on materiality over materials, I argue for an appreciation of matter as sentient, where the destabilised surface forms the conduit for richer relations to form and grow.

Keywords: surface; familiarity; maker; matter; quarry; time; tools; materiality (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2013
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:sae:envira:v:45:y:2013:i:5:p:1070-1086

DOI: 10.1068/a45568

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