ABSTRACT
The idea that making has a metaphorical dimension that can lead to insights is offered by David Gauntlett as part of his visual sociology. This chapter explores the idea that working with materials can generate novelty through metaphor, and that these metaphors can provide new epistemological resources for artistic research. It demonstrates the manipulation of materials in art has a metaphorical nature that can be the basis for epistemic enquiry. The chapter sets out Gauntlett's sociological work on metaphor and making, but go beyond his study by showing how the generative aspect of making can be attributed to the metaphorical nature of material, and developing themes of 'collision' and 'demand' from Max Black's and Paul Ricoeur's theories of metaphor to illuminate the process whereby the manipulation of material in art produces novelty. Charcoal can demonstrate the metaphorical nature of manipulated material in other respects.
