As materials aged and tastes changed, however, its vibrancy diminished.
Funding may be another issue as materials can be costly.
Stories, as well as materials and objects, matter.
Europe is a common market that trades in ideas as well as materials.
Before then, "plastics were known as materials that did not conduct electricity," he said.
This playful exhibition borrows Smithson's title and runs wild with his vision of words as materials.
"They had a great appreciation for structure as well as materials and texture.
That would make it possible to move forward in areas as diverse as materials technology, biology and energy efficiency.
"I consider myself," Mr. Burden said, "an amateur engineer and architect who uses those disciplines as materials for my art".
These qualifications cover all aspects of aircraft design and manufacture, such as materials and composites, propulsion and aerodynamics.
This far-flung trade expanded the limits of tribal styles, for new ideas were diffused as well as materials.
