Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/1959.11/7840
Title: Buying the creative life: The rhetorical function of Australian quilters' magazines as advocates for choice
Contributor(s): Williamson, Rosemary A  (author)orcid 
Publication Date: 2010
Handle Link: https://hdl.handle.net/1959.11/7840
Abstract: "Creative" and "creativity" may be words used indiscriminately, but they are also used deliberately for rhetorical, or persuasive, ends. This paper applies rhetorical criticism as a methodology to reflect critically on, and augment understanding of, contemporary meanings and uses of "creativity". It draws attention to the rhetorical status of creativity as well as the contextual inflection of the word for specific audiences for whom creativity is presented as a defining attribute both individually and communally. The paper does so by examining a segment of the Australian print media representative of the industry that has grown around quiltmaking as a form of creative expression. Objects of study are three commercially-produced, newsstand magazines: Down Under Quilts, Australian Patchwork & Quilting and Australian Quilters Companion. Each title espouses creativity as an ideal state or way of life; moving beyond that generalised view of the magazines as rhetorical texts, the paper identifies and explores a fundamental tension in the nature and meaning of creativity shaped by the magazines for their readers. That tension arises from the simultaneous promotion of an egalitarian view of creativity as a means of personal fulfilment, and the promotion of certain modes of consumption that commodify creativity and can be exclusive. Taking two products that are commonly represented in advertising content - fabric and sewing machines - the paper discusses the acknowledgment and negotiation of this tension by the magazines through editorial content. In conclusion, the paper finds a degree of subversion by the magazines of their commercial bases, and the implicit encouragement of readers as creative practitioners to do the same.
Publication Type: Conference Publication
Conference Details: ANZCA 2010: Australian and New Zealand Communication Association Annual Conference, Canberra, Australia, 7th - 9th July, 2010
Source of Publication: Media, Democracy and Change: Refereed Proceedings of the Australian and New Zealand Communication Association Annual Conference
Publisher: Australian and New Zealand Communication Association (ANZCA)
Place of Publication: Canberra, Australia
Fields of Research (FoR) 2008: 190302 Professional Writing
200101 Communication Studies
Socio-Economic Objective (SEO) 2008: 950204 The Media
950104 The Creative Arts (incl. Graphics and Craft)
Peer Reviewed: Yes
HERDC Category Description: E1 Refereed Scholarly Conference Publication
Publisher/associated links: http://www.anzca.net/conferences/anzca10proceedings.html
http://www.anzca.net/conferences/conference-papers.html
Appears in Collections:Conference Publication

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