Decriminalising Ornament: The Pleasures of Pattern

This publication is the first of a two-part edition of the International Research Journal, which is an outcome of the international illustration symposium and exhibition ‘Decriminalising Ornament: The Pleasures of Pattern’, held in November 2018 in Anglia Ruskin University in Cambridge. The theme is centred around the same question that was at the heart of the symposium and exhibition, namely the (re)appreciation of ornament and pattern within the context of the field of illustration, but touching upon adjacent disciplines. Until recently, in some quarters of the creative community, the study of Ornament was still held to be regressive, if not reactionary, and echoed the words of Adolf Loos: “Ornament is no longer a natural product of its culture, and therefore represents backwardness or even a degenerative tendency.” — Adolf Loos, Ornament and Crime, 1908

Building on the understanding of ornament, pattern and decoration as inherent to illustration, and as discussed in the previous issue, and exemplified within the work of practitioners, this issue presents a range of articles in which authors align this understanding with, and within, other disciplines. This interdisciplinary breadth includes architecture, typography, interior design and pedagogy.

The Journal of Illustration provides an international forum for scholarly research and investigation of a range of cultural, political, philosophical, historical, and contemporary issues, in relation to illustration. This peer-reviewed journal encourages new critical writing on illustration, associated visual communication, and the role of the illustrator as maker, visualizer, thinker, and facilitator, within a wide variety of disciplines and professional contexts.

The Journal of Illustration, Editorial.