WEAVING AND GROOVING
a quick roundup of related weaving and electronics projects. thoughts will come later, but for now just the links:
“Fault Lines” by Barbara Layne and Ingrid Bachmann
update: the photo i have of Barbara’s textile is really bad quality. to see some better images and the actual textile in action, view the short .avi of Barbara talking about the piece (3.96mb) at ISEA 2004. (thanks Jonah!)
Barbara Layne, a professor at Concordia University in Montr�al is working on weaving electronic components directly into fabrics. She and her graduate students have constructed a wearable LED matrix that can be programmed to display text or patterns. (Unfortunately I don’t have the images of this project with me and they aren’t on her site, so I’ll have to update with a photo.) One of her previous works (with Ingrid Bachmann) titled “Fault Lines” swaps real-time seismic data from California and Canada, with a weaver in each location inscribing the patterns into a textile.
dynamic displays by France Telecom
Though not woven, the precursor to France Telecom’s integrated flexible screen was woven with EL wires.
the Pillow project by Play Research
Play Research also experimented with weaving EL wire into textiles. Their Pillow project connects two remotely connected pillows that illuminate when they are manipulated.
Shimmering Flower by Joey Berzowska of XS Labs
Electric Plaid by International Fashion Machines
Joey Berzowska and Maggie Orth developed”Electric Plaid” at International Fashion Machines, the company they founded. Now an assistant professor at Concordia University, and founder of XS Labs, Joey is taking e-plaid further, and working with jacquard looms. “Shimmering Flower” (a project i’ve blogged before) has a delicate sensitivity to small details.
The “Dialectric series by Laura McCary and Lawrence McCary
Daughter and Father team Laura MacCary and Lawrence MacCary have collaborated on the Dialectric series, which creates coils, potentiometers, and switches out of textiles woven from conductive or resistive materials cast off by industry.
Dielectric by Fabian Winkler
Not really wearable, but related is Fabian Winkler’s Dielectric a woven hammock made out of power lines.
the Sensatex “Smart Shirt”
edit: don’t forget the sensatex smart shirt. this georgia tech research project turned product is a full fashioned garment woven entirely on a weaving machine. sure, phrases like “Combat Casualty Care” totally creep me out, but the Wearable Mother Board is still pretty impressive.