experiment # 3 – interview with B.

interview with B. – 23 February 2010

As a teenager and in her early 20´s, B. was part of different sub-cultures, today she is dressing out with others, on special events. If you were part of a subculture, it was required to follow the dress code not only on special occasions, but all the time, in ones everyday life. If not, one was seen as a fake, a “false”, and could not really be part of that group of people. Being part of a sub-culture, even though dressed the same as the others, they were different from the mainstream, they got attention. B. felt that while she was a punk, or a goth, she became visible. “Only” B. was invisible, people didn´t see her, or gave her attention. After the experience of being noticed, she continued to “dress out”, and joined sub-cultures.

Further on, when she grew older, she kind of let go of the extreme outlooks, and stayed more “normal”. Instead today, she dresses out on special events, like, “Zombie nights”, and the like. Why is she dressing out, I wondered. – Because it is fun! It is a break from everyday life and routines, it adds something to my life. Those experiences are valuable for my identity as well. I take something with me from the experience back to my “normal” me. It expands who I am. I feel alive.

I asked about the components of importance, dressing out at home, by herself, lacking the audience, would that be of any interest? She says that the audience, the ones outside of the group, seeing them, are an important component. While playing the role, a zombie, she moves beyond the normal frame of her, she goes outside the register and allows herself to act outside of the norm. The costume allows to act beyond the norm, people accept the “odd” behavior, cause they are only playing.

Her mother reminded her that she always have been living, acting our, manifested, inner changes in the outside, and material world. Her need to play, test, and explore are canalized through the dressing out events. The gaze of the other, the audience, play an important role on that journey; she experience herself differently through the eyes of the other, when they look differently on her in her not-normal-b. outfit. Interesting, I think, is that B. has no need, or longing for being on the stage, of acting, or interacting within her character. As the case of acting in theater, or in live role playing. For her the costume, the persona created with the costume, and the audience seeing her are the components which adds value.

fragilis – sensitive garments

Fragilis, sensitive garments, is a prototype mini-collection of two pieces:  the heartdress which pulsates irregularly, and the veindress which glows. The two pieces react on each other through breathing, shaking, – as a way of simulating intelligence. The veindress uses electro-luminance wires for nuance light,  the heartdress has a servomotors and woven thread to create movement.

The two pieces are good examples within the category of “living entity”, one of the directions I have decided to work on. They work well “alone”, as two independent pieces, but the idea of having them sense and react on each other, expands and creates a small system of its own.

Anouk Wipprecht concept-construction
Eelke Feenstra coding interface design

experiment # 2 – moving bodies

Experiment # 2 – moving bodies, included “mirroring” your partner, improvisations, and expressing without words. Had an idea of using theater inspired exercises to explore non-verbal communication, and expressing emotions physically. I had two participants, both with experience from theater.

Mirroring your partner – who is taking initiative, and who is following? Synchronizing bodies to become “one”, moving smooth, and organically, awaken your senses,  awareness of yourself, and your body, as well as your partners. It “forces” you to be present, and demands concentration. I used it as a warm up, and I wanted to try out and observe the communication.

Improvisations – though I had explained my interest in non-verbal communication, they tended to fall into verbal communication, “radio” theater, while improvising around the situations I given them. I made some changes, from sitting on chairs in a cafe, to standing, and further to physical activities. Instead I wanted them to communicate, but without words. Focus was on gestures and facial expressions.

Expressing without words – playfulness and exploration was the keywords I hoped for. Frustration and repeated interruptions was initially what I got. The frustration of not being able to use words in order to express emotions of different kinds, was immediate and obvious, and it surprised me. Slowly they started to play around, at I came closer to what I had been looking for.

mare vaccaro

Mare Vaccaro, a New York based artist, “investigates the deconstructed female form and its relationship to femininity, beauty and empty adornment”. Mare´s body is hairless as a result of having alopecia universalis, a genetic miscoded medical condition, and she defines herself as a blank canvas, without a created persona. She uses the blank deconstructed form to explore “created” self-designed expression which assimilates societal expectations of femininity.

mirror brooch

The Mirror Brooch, made by Kajsa G Eriksson, as part of her PhD, is simply a mirror used as a brooch. Kajsa says that “by the conscious wearing of the Mirror Brooch, I am positioning this piece of work of art in a ‘slot’ or a time-spacing that is made up of different kinds of communication in everyday life”. Anything worn, as a dress, in this case the Mirror Brooch, is a non-verbal medium of communication, and has it greatest effect before conversations take place, Kajsa states. Wearing the Mirror Brooch makes you more accessible and available, in public spaces, and that can be perceived as difficult.

On Kajsa’s PhD web site the title ‘Reflective Fashion: Dress, Art and Engagement in Public Space is found. She´s been exploring how clothes create meaning, and in designing clothes, the attention has not only been on the clothes themselves, but “on the social interaction they take part in, a kind of ‘social fashion’. Further Kajsa says that since we wear the garment, unlike other artifacts, it embodies both identity and appearance. The simultaneous activity of using, performing and observing, what her project is about, she calls a form of mimetic design [1].

[1] Leich, Neil,. (2006) Camouflage, Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press

twitter dress

Feeds scrolled on a giant flashing necklace, and images shown on a translucent bag. British singer Imogen Heaps let her fans take part of the Grammy, by her social media-enabled dress. “ Just thought it´d be nice for them to come with me so I´ve got a live Twitter feed from them,” she told The Times.

[Via ecouterre and Waldemeyer]

The twitter dress is not really fitting in my frame or areas of interest, but I eventually decided to post it as an example of how wearable computing, or fashioning technology (definition very), are used in a “real” context, and not existing as an exhibition piece, or being a visioning concept of the future.

directions – a non-visual sketch

Third week – would have liked to move faster, less obvious progress outcomes, concrete, ones, this week. I would define this week as one for thoughts to mature, founding done is more of the same, if that makes sense… parallel to wish to move faster, I do recognize further understanding of what I want… I´m looking for something I know already (in a way), at moments I can sense it, but I can´t touch it yet. And it is becoming clearer.

Moments of clarification, third week as well is one of confusion; suddenly I have no idea of what I just articulated, or rather, I start to question, and find opposition(s) possible as well. As thoughts are becoming more clear, I start to see contradictions in what I want to do (of course depending of what / how you define / frame. Maybe I can make use of it, and combine.

A non-visual sketch of directions; three main “areas” are identified, overlaps exist, and some design decisions  goes for all of them.

Performative qualities; outgoing / expressive communication, not necessarily on a “stage”, or dramatic, could be discrete, – a receiver of … , . Applied and common for all.

• Non-verbal communication; body language, and “instinct” level behavior / communication is of interest. An example of how we mirror each other, often unconsciously, to communicate “I find you ok”, some sort of confirmation. Weather there is status related issues I´m not sure about (right now). Read an article about how horses chew to show lower status, accepting else dominant. Expressing emotions, to enhance, underline them, possible track, design example communication apparel, embed same thoughts.
• Identity related issues; how we present and express ourselves towards each other, individual vs group, dynamic of individuals need to on one hand, belong and be part of, and on the other hand a need of differing, of uniqueness, of ones definition of one self. When we play with identities, re-invent ourselves, dress up, or dress out, the relation to “the audience”, real, or not, is one concern, but I also believe their is an internal process involved.
• Living entity; something which has its own life, an existent of some kind, associations are a”parrot” on the shoulder, a mouse put in a pocket. Something you carry with you, as a mascot, which might have decorative qualities. A lot of visuals which appear is related to movements, this living entity move in one way or, another.