Coloured Houses: Transgressing the Limits of the Domestic Realm
(2004) Coloured Houses: Transgressing the Limits of the Domestic Realm. In Edquest, Harriet and Frichot, Helene, Eds. Proceedings LIMITS, XXI Annual Conference of the Society of Architectural Historians 2, pages pp. 461-466, Melbourne, Australia.
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Abstract
It has long been argued that throughout nineteenth century England an emerging ideology of domesticity charged women with the responsibility for emotional and moral guidance within the home setting. The division of labour and rising cult of domesticity tended to place the interior within the realm of women, a territory they could claim as their own. Operating from what appear to be clearly demarked boundaries, gendered by social and cultural conventions, it has been suggested that women took on the private interior domestic arena and men sought refuge in the exterior – the 'public' face. In 1873 Mary Eliza Haweis, a self-educated critic and arbiter of taste offered a challenge to this demarcation by laying claim to the house exterior and to the street. At the time she described her physical action, painting the exterior face of her drab London house a vibrant colour, as an 'art protestation.' This political action reflected a personal belief in individuality, and abhorrence of repressive ideologies. This paper discusses her desire for liberation against the constraints of uniformity, and the reaction by the architectural establishment. It proposes that, diverted by the discussion of 'outer colouring' and polychromy, critics failed to notice that Haweis was operating across 'spheres' appropriating male terrain.
| Item Type: | Conference Paper |
|---|---|
| Status: | Published |
| Keywords: | Interior Design, Aesthetic theory |
| Subjects: | 310000 Architecture, Urban Environment and Building > 310100 Architecture and Urban Environment > 310101 Architecture 310000 Architecture, Urban Environment and Building > 310100 Architecture and Urban Environment > 310106 Interior and Environmental Design |
| ID Code: | 12227 |
| Deposited By: | Taylor, Mark |
| Deposited On: | 11 March 2008 |
| Alternative Locations: | http://www.sahanz.net/ |
| Copyright Owner: | Copyright 2004 Mark Taylor |