At Play in the Fields of Pattern: Theorizing Pattern Thinking in a Museum of Islamic Art

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dc.contributor.advisorBailey, Steven C.
dc.contributor.authorBentley, Patricia Marylin
dc.date.accessioned2020-05-11T12:50:06Z
dc.date.available2020-05-11T12:50:06Z
dc.date.copyright2019-10
dc.date.issued2020-05-11
dc.date.updated2020-05-11T12:50:06Z
dc.degree.disciplineHumanities
dc.degree.levelDoctoral
dc.degree.namePhD - Doctor of Philosophy
dc.description.abstractThis dissertation examines the interaction between a museum-going subject and a patterned museum object from two perspectives: scholarly writing about pattern and the experiences of visitors to the Aga Khan Museum in Toronto, Canada. Patterning is fundamental to human meaning-making, but in Euro-American theories of art, especially in categories of decorative art or ornament, it tends to be overlooked and under-theorized. In museology, visitors are rarely if ever asked about their responses to the patterned objects that they view. I combine situational analysis methodologies with digital humanities methods of data mining and data visualizations to compare my findings from my interviews with AKM visitors to scholarly writing about pattern. My argument arising from the comparison is that visual patterns on objects do not fulfil a mere decorative function, but have a narrative power that moves in the space between object and subject via their unique histories, interacting with the subjects histories and prior experiences to produce meaning that is situated, contingent, and embodied. Specifically, I highlight visual patterns on objects as transdiscursive, a term which describes their paradoxical nature as signifiers of meaning. I argue that they are fixed and fluid at the same time: fixed to the technical properties of their objects, but apt to appear on objects spanning many geographies and time periods. By approaching them in this way, I assign new prominence to patterned objects as conveyors of stories in museum gallery viewing. Finally, beyond this study, the methodological pairing of situational analysis and data mining that produced my new understanding of patterns has possibilities for future research beyond museology and pattern studies to pursue a broader set of questions.
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/10315/37438
dc.languageen
dc.rightsAuthor owns copyright, except where explicitly noted. Please contact the author directly with licensing requests.
dc.subjectArt education
dc.subject.keywordsVisual pattern studies
dc.subject.keywordsMuseology
dc.subject.keywordsMuseum interpretation
dc.subject.keywordsPatterns as transdiscursive
dc.subject.keywordsSituational analysis methodologies
dc.subject.keywordsDigital humanities methods
dc.subject.keywordsData visualization
dc.titleAt Play in the Fields of Pattern: Theorizing Pattern Thinking in a Museum of Islamic Art
dc.typeElectronic Thesis or Dissertation

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