Ways to understand tools by focussing on how the body is involved in their use

What is it about?

By considering how body and tool work together, we can understand the many tools and other objects that are not so easily understood through methods developed for the fine arts. This method is based on design theory, and is explained through case studies from seventeenth century telescopes through to present-day kitchen appliances.

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Why is it important?

Most approaches to understanding museum objects depend heavily on written records, or on the object's prestige. This method treats the object as the primary evidence for its own being, and can be applied to the tools of labourers and domestic life, for which there is often not much written documentation.