‘I came here to do art, not English’: Antecedent subject subcultures meet current practices of writing in art and design education

Abstract

A writing/making divide, within the broader theory/practice myth, is part of the historical narrative in art and design education that both clashes with, and persists in, current practices of writing in art and design. The theory/practice myth separates thinking from doing, head from hand, and writing from making, causing internal frictions in art and design subjects. This article provides a historical and contextual mapping of the writing/making binary in creative practice, drawing on Ivor Goodson’s (, , , 2002) work on ‘antecedent subject subcultures’ to discuss the formation and maintenance of subject cultures and – ultimately – their potential to change.