Of Guitars, Stories, Luthiery and Hybrid Craft

Abstract

Every guitar tells a story, from the provenance of its tonewoods, to the craft of its making, to the players that own it, to the places it visits, to the many songs that it plays. I will tell you the story of a unique guitar, one that has been created with the express purpose of telling its own life story. My guitar is called Carolan in honour of the legendary composer Turlough O'Carolan, the famous itinerant harper who roamed Ireland at the turn of the 18th century. Like its namesake, Carolan is a roving bard; a performer that passes from place to place, learning tunes, songs and stories as it goes and sharing them with those it encounters along the way. This is made possible through interactive decorative patterns that are inlaid into the instrument?s wood and that can be scanned using mobile devices in order to reveal different facets of Carolan?s digital footprint. By reflecting on how Carolan was constructed by a luthier and graphic designer and subsequently experienced by players, I will explore the relationship between a valuable physical artefact and its digital footprint. What does such a footprint comprise? How might it add value to the artefact? And how can this digital footprint become permanently associated with the physical artefact? By reflecting on the challenges of making Carolan's interactive decorative inlay, I will explore the wider relationship between digital interactivity and traditional craft skills such as luthiery. I will draw on these reflections to inform an emerging research agenda for hybrid craft -- the skillful interleaving of physical materials and digital interactions to create valuable handmade artefacts. You can follow Carolan's story at: www.carolanguitar.com