Patented patterns: On the art and science of patterns. A critical inquiry.

The present paper proposes a critical reflection on the existing relationship between patterns, algorithms and their patentable status. Based on a series of legal actions related to the use of patterns (Robert Lang against Sarah Morris, Mexican indigenous peoples against Isabel Marant, Apple patent on some gestures, etc.) it will analyse the already existing legal interpretations of what a pattern is and will discuss in which way these cases can establish a precedent for today’s digitalized environments. Defined both as form of stylistic and cultural expression, as well as logical forms, patterns are becoming elements of high importance for the present digital modelization technologies (see, for example, pattern recognition algorithms). Therefore, the legal status of a pattern is becoming a field of political battle. Notions like author and collective author, cultural tradition and logical form, creative commons and intellectual property are at stake in this context. The implications are of social, political and economic importance and this paper will sketch out some of the short-comings when it comes to their use and application, their implicit ideologies, as well as arts and sciences disciplinary divisions

Synthetic Beuys: on nano-materials and the aesthetics of imperceptibility

This paper brings into attention the paradoxical nature of nano-objects and analyses the relationship between an imperceptible matter (too small to be perceived by the senses) and its forms of sensible manifestation. The development of nano-sciences and nano-technologies would have not been possible without the invention of a number of visualisation instruments (like the STM – Scanning Tunnelling Microscope and the AFM – Atomic Force Microscope). From this perspective, we can speak of nano-particles as “image-objects” (Sacha Loeve), as a mediated matter. If there are a series of research projects related to the nature of epistemological inquiry in the field of nano-sciences and nano-technologies, there are still a few concerns related to the changes that occur in the field of aesthetics when it comes to the apprehension of nano-technologically treated materials. By taking into account the latest developments in the field of nano-technologies applied to textiles, the present paper examines the way the status and the significance of materials change when they are nano-technologically treated. In order to do so, we propose a fictional scenario related to some of Joseph Beuys’ works in which we replace the “traditional” fabrics used by the artist with new ones, nano-technologically produced or treated. By using Joseph Beuys’s artistic approach as a methodological tool of critical enquiry, we are looking to the ways the perceptive, epistemological and semiotic categories are to be re-evaluated when related to nano-technological approaches. The analysis will help to formulate some of the issues artists, designers and researchers should consider when dealing with what we call the “aesthetics of imperceptibility” of nano-materials and nano-technologies

What’s a fabric? Concepts and approaches to modern textile design

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Designatures. Economies of design, politics of participation

The present essay questions the frameworks in which the participatory design takes place. Participatory design is seen nowadays as the guaranty of a democratic approach, sensitive to the needs of those for whom we are designing. Still, this approach does not find always unanimity, being considered by some as a form of derogation from design’s responsibility or as disguise for the lack of innovation behind the “political correctness”. Largely praised both in architecture and design, this essay invites to critical reflection and puts under scrutiny the foundations of practice models in the context of the financial crisis, globalisation and technical mutations. Pointing to the misleading interpretations of participatory design concept, the essay proposes a much more clear articulation of the multitude of voices that compose architecture and design practices

Mode, vêtements, technologie. Essai sur la portabilité de la technique

The present paper addresses the concepts of cloth, fashion and wearable technologies and analysis the way in which cloths and fashion are theorized and the way in which the integration of electronic components and digital devices into the structure of the fabrics are creating precedencies for the transformation of cloth into a technology. By mapping some of the key concepts in fashion theory and their relationship to the definition of personhood, community and society, we are going to show how the first wearable technologies have taken into consideration these concepts in their design processes. Based on our analysis we will emphasize the importance of political stance when it comes to the design of communicative cloths and fashionable technologies

Reactive architecture, augmented textiles, domotics and soft architecture fabrication: On electronic and reactive textiles in domestic contexts

The present paper interrogates the status and the role of electronic and reactive textiles in domestic contexts. After a preliminary incursion into the modern definition of home and homing, the paper addresses the changes that took place in the domestic space due to the development of digital and communication technologies. Defined as a “sensing home,” as a “communicating domestic space,” smart homes are challenging the traditional understanding of home, defined in terms of intimacy and privacy. In this context, electronic and reactive textiles are asked to overcome the low acceptance of smart homes, through their technical, sensorial, and cultural dimensions. The paper highlights some of the pros and cons in accommodating the latest technological advances in the field of textiles, analyses the way physical computing allows textiles to transform into domotics (robots for domestic environments), presents some of the latest developments on soft architecture fabrication and argues in favor of a much more critical approach to the development of sensors and actuators in textile objects

Attempts, failures, trials and errors

Abstract about PERSONAL, International Interdisciplinary Art Exhibition held at KIBLA PORTAL, Maribor, Slovenia from 5 October 2018 to 29 December 2018

Signal to noise: a live interface based on analog radio interference

“Signal to Noise” is a sound installation using radio transmissions and mobile radio receivers as an interface for audience-based performance. Carrying radio receivers, the audience moves through the space created by two overlapping radio transmissions that broadcast on the same frequency, creating a volatile acoustic space of radio interference that changes with each motion of every participant. The result is an embodied and interactive creation of a soundscape which is shaped by the unpredictability of interference and noise in analog radio. The installation deals with the battleground of ideological discourses, broadcasting archived radio programs of the Cold War era. Listeners move through the space in which transmissions from the East and West jam and disrupt each other and with every motion enact an ever-changing soundscape. The resulting choreography technologically reenacts the “fight over hearts and minds” at the border between East and West, recallingthe technological and ideological mechanisms used during the Cold War, where Western propaganda radio was jammed by Eastern authorities

Human perceptions of recycled textiles and circular fashion: A systematic literature review

The textile and fashion industry has had significant technological developments but is currently criticised for its environmental and social impacts and for being a major contributor to waste. The rise of the circular economy (CE) has promoted more sustainable concepts, including the trending of recycling strategies to add value to the textile and plastic waste. However, adding value to products and for users implies technical upscaling and clear communication about the benefits of recycling. This paper presents a systematic literature review (SLR) and explores the state of the art of recycled textiles (RT) and circular fashion (CF) as perceived by humans. The literature review was performed on the basis of journal articles, book chapters, and conference papers using the ScienceDirect (SD) and Web of Science (WoS) databases. The review identified that a significant proportion of consumers from different countries have a basic understanding of sustainable products but that there have been differences in consumers’ attitudes towards sustainable purchase, use, consumption, and post-purchase behaviour. Diverse and even contradictory results occurred concerning the relationships between RT and CF and their perceived product attributes in terms of quality and functionality, as well as social-cultural factors. Manufacturers’ and brands’ perceived values of RT were observed to be influenced by different factors on the basis of the recycling system and cultural values, while designer attitudes towards sustainability were observed to be influenced by external factors. This review contributes to the creation of three main implications in terms of environmental impact and awareness, including actions and concrete proposals for RT and CF

Nomadic, migrating, commuting, wearable technologies and their infrastructures

One of the central issues of the present political agenda is the migration crisis. Apart from economic and environmental migration, we experienced in the latest years the exacerbation of some political conflicts and implicitly a political-based migration too. Tragic images of migrants’ attempts to cross the Mediterranean Sea or traversing other migration corridors were doubled by welcomed or hostile reactions of authorities in the countries of destination. The press did not spare us details about the migration routes, infrastructures, migrants’ pack-sacks, clothes and their smart technologies (see, for example, Meyer, 2015). But even for those who are not obliged to migrate, the present work flexibility pushes them to a rather increased commute between their homes and their working places. New economies started to take roots and support such developments as Airbnb hosting models or low-cost flights