Fashionable Technology Research Consortium

FASHIONABLE TECHNOLOGY REPORT June 2009

TV DOCUMENTARY ::: ORF NEWTON (in German)
Sabine Seymour was interviewed for ORF Newton on June 6, 2009. The headline: "WLAN-Hüte und Zeitungs-T-Shirts: Wie wir uns in Zukunft kleiden". Während den großen Modeschöpfern offenbar seit Jahrzehnten nicht mehr einfällt als die Geschichte in regelmäßigen Abständen zu wiederholen, arbeiten Designer an der Schnittstelle zwischen Modeindustrie und Wissenschaft an gänzlich neuen Modekonzepten. Pullis, die bei Bedarf das Handy laden, gehören da fast schon wieder zu alten Hüten. Diese werden in Zukunft übrigens anzeigen, wo WLAN-Spots zu finden sind, auf denen wir unsere T-Shirts mit den neuesten Zeitungsinfos updaten können.
http://tv.orf.at/program/orf1/20090606/462576701/264862/

EXIBITION ::: OPEN SOURCE EMBROIDERY
June 6 - September 6, 2009
Bildmuseet, Umea University, Sweden
The Open Source Embroidery exhibition presents artworks that use embroidery and code as a tool for participatory production and distribution. The Open Source Embroidery project includes workshops and exhibitions which investigate how the open source software development model has been incorporated into the language of cultural participation. This major exhibition at BildMuseet brings together individual and collectively made artworks by artists, makers, computer programmers and html users that explore the relationship between craft and code through social and digital networks. The works experiment with interdisciplinary approaches to modifying patterns, the DIY culture of hacking and sampling in sound, GPS and mobile technologies.
http://www.open-source-embroidery.org.uk

CONFERENCE ::: NANOMATERIALS 2009
June 16 - 18, 2009
Bonn, Germany
NanoMaterials09 will focus on the commercialisation of nanomaterials, rather than theoretical benefits; practical solutions for practical challenges.
Two plenary's and five parallel sessions focus on:
   * Printed Electronics
   * Nanocomposites
   * Nanobiotech & Consumer Products
   * Coatings, Inks & Pigments
   * Clean Technology
http://www.nanomaterials09.com

WORKSHOP ::: MAKE ELECTRO - CLOTHING
June 13, 16, 17, 2009
Mediamatic BANK
Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Make your shirt beep when people touch you, or yell back at you when you scream. Make your pants light up in the dark or your sleeves blink when you wave your arms. Make self-heating touch screen-friendly gloves or a hat that vibrates when someone is coming up behind you. We provide electronics-kits with the necessities to create your electro-clothing. Bring your own garment(s)! Not just for experienced technicians, everyone can participate. MIT Media Lab researcher Nadya Peek guides the workshops.
http://www.mediamatic.net/page/83908/en

CONFERENCE ::: MOBILE ENTERTAINMENT MARKET 2009
June 23 - 24, 2009
London, UK
The Mobile Entertainment Forum is the global trade association of the mobile media industry, working on behalf of its diverse membership to drive mobile entertainment adoption, shape regulation and deliver competitive advantage to its members. MEF anticipates, defines and addresses issues and opportunities for the industry that monetises mobile media, by identifying sustainable business solutions, promoting best practice and influencing policy to accelerate the business. With global headquarters in London, a Hollywood-based Americas secretariat, an Asia chapter and a newly expanded EMEA branch, MEF’s network of members represents a veritable ‘Who’s Who’ of mobile entertainment businesses and entrepreneurs.
http://www.mem09.com/

CONFERENCE ::: 3rd EUROPEAN CONFERENCE ON AMBIENT INTELLIGENCE
AmI-09: ROOTS FOR THE FUTURE OF AMBIENT INTELLIGENCE
SUBMISSION DUE: June 8 and June 22, 2009
November 18 - 21, 2009
Salzburg, Austria
Ambient Intelligence represents a vision of the future where we shall be surrounded by technological means, sensitive and responsive to people and their behaviors, deliver advanced functions, services and experiences. Ambient intelligence is expected to combine concepts of ubiquitous technology, intelligent systems and advanced user interfaces putting the humans in the centre of technological developments. Future contextual solutions are envisaged exploiting the power of Ambient Intelligence. The conference aims to bring together researchers from academia and industry from various disciplines that constitute the field of Ambient Intelligence to present the latest results, discuss the state of art and think about the future. AmI-09 will bring keynotes, technical papers, workshops, industrial case studies, posters & demos, panels and landscapes. In addition to these categories we will feature ambient visions to look into the next decade of Ambient Intelligence.
http://www.ami-09.org

FASHIONABLE TECHNOLOGY REPORT May 2009

EVENT ::: I-MACHINE FESTIVAL, ROBOTS - PERFORMANCE - FASHION - FILM
May 9 - 17, 2009
Oldenburg, Germany
Edith Russ Site for Media Art
I-Machine will focus on robot research and portable electronics, known as wearable technology. This will be a special event with two clearly defined goals: presenting technology-based art works and through them raising the consciousness of Oldenburgers for the manifold possibilities associated with technology and creativity. Consequently, the festival will centre on the idea of knowledge transfer (through presentations, exhibitions and play workshops). In various formats - ranging from artist performances and workshops, film programmes, dance performances to a fashion show - projects are to be presented that capture the fascination with future and science in the encounter between “man and machine” or “man and wearable technology”. Events and presentations will demonstrate in creative ideas and visionary concepts the significance of the increasing technification of everyday living and its impact on us and which fantasies are still associated with handling technification. What will tomorrow’s fashions look like? What functions can we expect from our clothing in future? What will happen if the human being becomes a machine? What happens when machines produce art?
http://www.edith-russ-haus.de/index.php/Programm/Programm

EVENT ::: ECLECTIC TECH CARNIVAL (/ETC)
June 8 - 12, 2009
Umeå, Sweden
/ETC is a week long gathering for women interested in technology, art and grass root activism. At /ETC you can share experiences and search opportunities for international collaborations through the use of technology and arts. We will explore how we can use technology and art to connect with each other, deepen our understanding of each other's political contexts, develop strategies for grass root activism to engage public and raise awareness on gender issuses in correlation to usage of technology. In short we will explore new ways of interacting by means of technology and art. /ETC is an "on the road-event" that is held in a new place each year. It was started by the organisation Genderchangers that aims to break stereotypical roles related to technology and encourage and support women to use technology, art and gras root networks as a tool for social change.
http://eclectictechcarnival.org/node/869

CONFERENCE ::: FOURTH INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON TANGIBLE, EMBEDDED, AND EMBODIED INTERACTION
SUBMISSION DUE: August 3, 2009
January 25 - 27, 2009
MIT Media Lab
Cambridge, MA, USA
Computing is progressively moving beyond the desktop into new physicaland social contexts. Key areas of innovation in this respect aretangible, embedded, and embodied interactions. These concerns include the interlinking of digital and physical worlds through tangible and embodied interaction and the computational augmentation of everyday objects and environments in new ways through embedded technologies. Research and practice in these innovative areas lead to works of tangible interfaces, graspable interfaces, physical computing, whole-body interaction, gesture-based interfaces, and interactive surfaces. Designing such systems requires interdisciplinary thinking as their creation not only encompasses software, electronics, and mechanics, but also form, aesthetics, and social impact.
http://tei-conf.org/10/Program/Index

FASHIONABLE TECHNOLOGY REPORT April 2009

MOONDIAL FASHIONABLE TECHNOLOGY NEWS
CONFERENCE ::: TEST_LAB: FASHIONABLE TECHNOLOGY*
*The term Fashionable Technology is coined by Sabine Seymour.
May 20, 2009, 8pm
V2_ Institute for the Unstable Media, Rotterdam, the Netherlands
Test_Lab is a bi-monthly public event organized by V2_ Institute for the Unstable Media that provides an informal setting for the presentation, demonstration, testing, and discussion of artistic Research and Development (aRt&D). Featuring: Sabine Seymour (AT/US), Mark Coeckelbergh (NL), Aram Bartholl (DE), Cutecircuit: Francesca Rosella and Ryan Genz (UK), and KOBAKANT: Mika Satomi and Hannah Perner-Wilson (JP/AT). Clothing is an aspect of the human physical appearance with considerable social significance. Styles, logos and prints mediate our self-expression and publicly communicate our personal tastes and preferences. Popular ways of doing so reflectwhat is in fashion, which is under constant change due to new developments in fabrics, construction methods,ancillary objects, and their (re-)combination by fashion designers. Recent advances in wearable technology have resulted in a variety of technologies that seamlessly connect to the human body, or are integrated into clothing (such as shape memory alloys, soft circuits, and embedded displays). As a result, more and more fashion designers are turning to the field of wearable technology fornew developments. While these progressive fashion designers are currently setting the trend in fashionable technology with,what can broadly be considered, innocent implementations (such as embedded iPods, integrated LEDs, and adaptive contours), many artists and designers prophesize more provocative scenarios for the future of such technology. These artists foresee that this trend will eventually have an unprecedented social impact, due to the wide-ranging possibilities for self-expression, connectivity, and public communication of innovative fashionable technologies. The scenarios for fashionable technology sketched by these artists provoke philosophical discussionas to the social impact that such developments may have.
This edition of Test_Lab is organized in collaboration with Rotterdam's acclaimed philosophy cafe Arminius Denkcafe.
This event will be streamed live at http://live.v2.nl
http://www.v2.nl

EXHIBITION ::: WEARABLE EXPRESSIONS
April 17 - May 30, 2009
Greylock Arts, Adams, MA, USA
A group exhibition of wearable art, accessories, and technology apparel exploring fashion as a means for individuals to dynamically express themselves. In this exhibition of wearable art, accessories, and technology apparel, we explore fashion as a means for individuals to dynamically express themselves. From Lynda Meyer’s collection of 19th century hoops and bustles to Alexander Reeder’s “Butterfly Dress” which engages those close without words by displaying the heartbeat of the wearer, “Wearable Expressions” is both historical and contemporary in its scope and examines the impact of material and technology in wearable design.
http://greylockarts.net/wearable-expressions

EXHIBITION ::: TOKYOFIBER 09 SENSEWARE
April 22 - 27, 2009
Milan, Italy
Talent meets technology at the second Tokyo Fiber exhibition since 2007. Senseware, a title that refers to materials that inspire creativity, features the stunning possibilities of Japanese artificial fiber technology. A mix of architects, designers, manufactures and artists make use of new fibers in inventive and unexpected ways, giving us all a glimpse into what the future of fiber holds. (Text by by Kori Schulman, www.CoolHunting.com)
http://tokyofiber.com/en/

CONFERENCE ::: ORGANIC PHOTOVOLTAICS 2009
April 27 - 29, 2009
Philadelphia, PA, USA
Now in its third year, Organic Photovoltaics 2009 is the industry’s only conference dedicated exclusively to the applications, technological developments and markets for organic photovoltaics (OPV). Attendees will meet and network with important players, key innovators and decision makers from the technical and business sides of the PV, OPV and organic and printed electronics industries.
http://www.organicphotovoltaics2009.com/

WORKSHOP CALL FOR PARTICIPATION ::: DIY WEARABLE TECHNOLOGY
DEADLINE: May 3, 2009
May 16-17, 2009, 10am - 6pm
V2_, Eendrachtsstraat 10, Rotterdam, the Netherlands
I am very pleased to announce that my former student Mika Satomi and Hannah Perner-Wilson (aka KOBAKANT) will give a two-day workshop on DIY wearable technology. V2_Lab will organize a wearable technology workshop with an emphasis on DIY techniques and performing arts. The aim of the workshop is to provide participants with hands-on experience on DIY wearable technology. The outcome of the workshop will be workingprototypes, which will be demonstrated by means of a short performance during Test_Lab.The participants will partake inhands-on sessions that involve both conceptual as well astechnical development. Developers from both V2_Lab and KOBAKANT are available for assistance throughout the workshop. The workshop is open to students and professionals in the fields of art, design, and engineering. Although anyone with an interest in wearable technology and basic knowledge of electronics or of sewing is welcome to join, we especially encourage people with an expertise in fashion design, technology in performance arts, and/or wearable technology engineering to sign up. Participants are invited to demonstrate the workshop outcome during Test_Lab: Fashionable Technology on May 20. The number of participants to the workshop is limited. The fee for participation is €50,- (to be paid before the workshop).
For more information about the workshop, please contact Piem Wirtz, piem@v2.nl
http://www.v2.nl
http://www.kobakant.at

CONFERENCE ::: NANOMATERIALS
June 16 - 18, 2009
Bonn, Germany
In order to offer the breadth of information and at the level of detail required for Europe’s leading event on nanomaterials, the conference begin on the 16 June with an afternoon forum on Proactive Nanotechnology Risk Management. The next two days will be structured into two plenary's and five parallel sessions: Printed Electronics, Nanocomposites, Nanobiotech & Consumer Products, Coatings, Inks & Pigments, Clean Technology. Remaining loyal to its conceptual origins, NanoMaterials09 will focus on the commercialisation of nanomaterials, rather than theoretical benefits. This is what sets it apart from other events and was the key to our success last year – practical solutions for practical challenges.
http://www.nanomaterials09.com/

WORKSHOP ::: MME'09 - MEASURING MOBILE EMOTIONS: MEASURING THE IMPOSSIBLE?
DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSION: May 4, 2009
September 15, 2009
Bonn, Germany
Emotions are a key element in the analysis of user experience. Observational analysis, interviews and questionnaires can be supported by various physiological measurement methods (e.g. GSR or EMG) to investigate such emotions. This workshop addresses approaches to mobile emotion measurement. The workshop addresses particularly the state-of-the–art in the emotion research and investigates the possibilities to apply and adopt these methods in the field of mobile HCI and user experience research. We will select participants with diverse backgrounds based upon the relevance, insightfulness, and originality of their submissions. Particularly important is the challenge of portability of the available solutions and their applicability in the field.
http://mme.cure.at/

CONFERENCE ::: 2nd INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM ON FLEXIBLE ORGANIC ELECTRONICS
July 8 - 10, 2009
Porto Carras, Halkidiki, Greece
The field of Flexible Organic Electronics is one of the most rapidly growing sector of the modern science and technology. Today, many resources and investments from government agencies, research institutes and local industries are devoted to the developments of materials, processes, instrumentation, equipment for flexible organic electronics. The IS-FOE is the Premier Scientific & Research Event in Organic Electronics devoted to gather scientists, engineers and industrials from all around the world and to exchange information and provide access to the latest developments of several topics covering organic electronic printable materials, device structures, system integrations, manufacturing processes, characterization and monitoring, product applications and business opportunities.
http://isfoe.physics.auth.gr/

EXHIBITION ::: SMART TEXTILE SALON
DEADLINE FOR CALL: May 15, 2009
September 25, 2009
Ghent, Belgium
The programme is organised together with 80th Anniversary of the Department of Textiles at Ghent University (http://www.textileconferences.be) and 6th International Conference on Textile and Polymer Biotechnology (http://www.intb.org). The exhibition introduces the latest demonstrator and prototype developments in the field of smart textiles and intelligent wearable systems. The displayed items will be explained and demonstrated by the developers. Tool Time gives you the opportunity to create your own smart textile. Two workshops will be offered: elucidating textiles, temperature changing textiles. The award ceremony will be held to honor a student for outstanding work with the SysTex award. The work will be shown in the exhibition area.
http://www.systex.org
http://www.smarttextilessalon.com

CONFERENCE ::: TEXTURES
DEADLINE FOR ABSTRACT SUBMISSION: August 16, 2009
June 15 - 20, 2010
Riga, Latvia
The SLSA-EU 2010 conference is dedicated to exploring fabrics, structures, surfaces, and interfaces in a world that has been transformed to a large extent through technoscience and networked media. This transformed world is highly textured, partly through verbal and non-verbal 'texts' but also by mixtures of human-made and given environments whose complexity offers resistance to symbolic readings. Through the term, 'textures,' we aim to bring together transitional figures of thought in many fields.
http://www.e-text-textiles.lv/SLSAeu2010/home.htm

WORKSHOP ::: WEARABLE ART AND INTERACTIVE PERFORMANCE
May 25 - June 5, 2009
Lunar Outpost
Tempe, Arizona, USA
Herberger College Dance and the School of Art at Arizona State University are offering a two-week workshop on Wearable Art and Interactive Performance. In response to initiatives to create a fully occupied operational base on the moon by 2024, the theme for this year's workshop is: Lunar Outpost. As artists how do we respond to extreme environments that are so unlike our home environment? At the Lunar Outpost people will experience micro gravity, a different atmospheric propagation of sound, an essentially black-and-white environment, and a profound sense of loneliness. Workshop participants will explore emergent electronic technologies for performance and installation framed by the theme Lunar Outpost. Interactive technologies offer the means to extend, manipulate and add color to our environments in a new manner.
Workshop leaders from Herberger College Dance and the School of Art include:
John D. Mitchell, mediated performance designer,
Galina Mihaleva costume and fashion designer,
Hilary Harp, media artist and sculptor,
joined by a special guest, Keiko Courdy, French artist and director of KI transdisciplinary performance structure.
http://wearableart-interactiveperformance.com/

CALL ::: TRANSMEDIALE AWARD 2010
DEADLINE: July 31, 2009
February 2010
Berlin, Germany
As leading international festivals for art and digital culture as well as adventurous music and related visual arts, respectively, transmedialeand CTM (club transmediale) are inviting submissions to the transmediale Award Competition 2010 and the Vilem Flusser Theory Award 2010. Invited are art works, projects and positions that respond to the challenges of our rapidly changing digital, technological and networked cultures. The transmediale Award seeks innovative, experimental and visionary works across a wide scope of form, process and practice that embrace, question and enrich our understanding and relationship to our immersed media and technologically driven society. Entries that exemplify new and critical forms of digital expression and interaction are encouraged, as are works from countries and regions in which digital art and culture are emergent. Submissions of art works for both festivals participate in the transmediale Award 2010 while theoretical abstracts, papers and research oriented positions are invited for the Vilem Flusser Theory Award, with prizes totaling 10.000 EURO.
http://www.transmediale.de/en/call2010-main

FASHIONABLE TECHNOLOGY REPORT February 2009

BOOK ::: FASHIONABLE TECHNOLOGY
Fashionable Technology, The Intersection of Design, Fashion, Science and Technology is now available as PAPERBACK! The interplay of electronic textiles and wearable technology, wearables for short, and fashion, design and science is a highly promising and topical subject. Offered here is a compact survey of the theory involved and an explanation of the role technology plays in a fabric or article of clothing. The practical application is explained in detail and numerous illustrations serve as clarification. Over 50 well-known designers, research institutes, companies and artists, among them Philips, Burton, MIT Media Lab, XS Labs, New York University, Hussein Chalayan, Cute Circuit or International Fashion Machines are introduced by means of their latest, often still unpublished, project, and a survey of their work to date. Given for the first time is a list of all the relevant information on research institutes, materials, publications etc. A must for all those wishing to know everything about fashionable technology.
www.fashionabletechnology.org

LECTURE ::: INNOVATION EMBEDDED IN THE FABRIC
February 19, 2009
Plug.in, Basel, Switzerland
After the lecture by Moritz Waldemeyer (mechatronic engineer based in London who collaborated with Hussein Chalayan) the series continues with a lecture by Martin Leuthold, Art Director at Jakob Schlaepfer. Many international top designers buy luxurious cloth for their evening gowns in St. Gallen at Jakob Schlaepfers. Leuthold will bring a selection of these fabrics and will talk about the entangelment of craft and technology, and specifically about the appearing and vanishing of electronic technologies in his collections.
http://www.iplugin.org/en

CONFERENCE ::: SMART FABRICS 2009
March 10 - 12, 2009
Rome, Italy
Analysing technology  and design innovations and examine business trends of the smart fabrics industry. The competitive advantage of the future will be the development of technologically advanced products offering consumers extensive functionality. Smart fabrics are holding a significant position in this area with estimated compound annual growth rate of 32% for the period of upcoming two years. In order to expand your knowledge and learn about the opportunities ahead, IntertechPira will bring you the 5th annual Smart Fabrics conference. This well-established two day event will expand its focus in this year and analyse business, design and science aspects of the smart textiles field. Leading experts of the industry will deliver fundamental presentations appealing to all players throughout the supply chain.
http://www.smartfabricsconference.com/

KONFERENZ ::: INTELLIGENTE VERBINDUNGEN (in German)
March 12 - 14, 2009
Krefeld-Linn, Germany
Das netzwerk-mode-textil e.V. organisiert in Kooperation mit der Hochschule Niederrhein, Fachbereiche für Textil- und Bekleidungstechnik eine interdisziplinäre Konferenz, die die Interdependenzen zwischen neuen Technologien und der Gestaltung von Textilien und Mode in Vergangenheit und Gegenwart untersuchen will.
http://netzwerk-mode-textil.de/

EXHIBITION ::: HUSSEIN CHALAYAN
January 22 - May 17, 2009
Design Museum, London, UK
Leading the forefront of contemporary fashion design, the twice named 'British Designer of the Year,' Hussein Chalayan, is renowned for his innovative use of materials, meticulous pattern cutting and progressive attitudes to new technology. This exhibition is the first comprehensive presentation of Hussein Chalayan’s work in the UK. Spanning fifteen years of experimental projects, the exhibition explores Hussein Chalayan's creative approach, his inspirations and the many themes which influence his work such as cultural identity, displacement and migration. Exhibits include ‘Afterwords’ which explores the notion of ‘wearable, portable architecture’ in which furniture literally transforms itself into garments; ‘Airborne’ - bringing the latest LED technology to fashion design with a spectacular dress consisting of Swarovski crystals and over 15,000 flickering LED lights; ‘Before Minus Now’ a dress made of materials used in aircraft construction which changes shape by remote control and ‘Readings’ a dress comprising of over 200 moving lasers presenting an extraordinary spectacle of light.
http://www.designmuseum.org/exhibitions/2009/hussein-chalayan

SYMPOSIUM ::: SUPER HUMAN REVOLUTION
DEADLINE for Call for Abstracts: March 30, 2009
Super Human Revolution of the Species is an international event comprising a symposium, exhibition, masterclass and public talk investigating collaborative art and science practices and their relationship with the human body. Symposium abstracts are invited from either individual or team-based researchers, artists and scientists. Submitted abstracts will undergo a double-blind referee process, with successful applicants invited to submit their paper prior to final acceptance. Taking place in Melbourne on 22 - 25 November 2009, the Super Human symposium will present an invigorating and inspiring mix of keynote speakers and collaborative research projects engaging with one or more of the symposium themes: Augmentation, Cognition and Nanoscale Interventions.
http://superhuman.org.au/

CONFERENCE ::: IFAI Advanced Textiles 2009
April 2 - 3, 2009
Hotel BLOOM, Brussels, Belgium
AT '09 will provide decision makers in the complex value chain of technical textiles with valuable business intelligence and face-to-face connections.  This event is a unique opportunity to meet on a professional platform, gaining useful insights from user-oriented management levels, the latest studies of new technology, challenges and applications.
AT '09 is your platform because it's specifically geared to company representatives whose core business is technical textiles.You'll see the examples of interesting applications in a variety of growth areas in technical textiles —
    * Smart textiles – challenges + bottlenecks + panel discussion
    * Medical applications of technical textiles
    * Textile membranes and architecture
    * Transportation, logistics, automotive
    * Technology solutions and textile surfaces
http://www.ifai.com/Home/AdvancedTextiles09.cfm

WORKSHOP ::: LUNAR OUTPOST
The theme for this year’s workshop is: Lunar Outpost – a response to initiatives to create a fully occupied operational base on the moon by 2024. As artists how do we respond to extreme environments that are so unlike our home environment? At the Lunar Outpost people will experience micro gravity, a different atmospheric propagation of sound, an essentially black and white external environment, and a profound sense of loneliness. In this workshop participants will explore emergent electronic technologies for performance and installation framed by the theme Lunar Outpost. Interactive technologies offer the means to extend, manipulate and color our environments in a new manner. We will look at how interactive systems for physical performance and environmental installation could supplement and augment conditions experienced in extreme environments like the moon. Students will work with Arduino microcontrollers and blue-tooth technologies to create networked sensor systems for the control of lights, video projection and sound. Projects will emerge from group discussions and experimentation and can include interactive costumes, props and sets or
responsive environments.  Students will learn methods for creating soft, sew-able electronics as well as more traditional circuit building.
The workshop fee is $1100 plus housing. On campus housing is available through Arizona State University at Tempe campus. All workshop participants will receive, a Bluetooth enabled Arduino controller board and sensors suitable for use in wearable settings as part of the workshop fee.
http://wearableart-interactiveperformance.com/

FASHIONABLE TECHNOLOGY REPORT November 2008

MOONDIAL FASHIONABLE TECHNOLOGY REPORT
Visionary Insights on Epidermis & Technology
by Sabine Seymour
November 2008

MOONDIAL FASHIONABLE TECHNOLOGY NEWS ::: LECTURE AT DESIGNFORUM VORARLBERG
Sabine Seymour's lecture "Fashionable Technology, Ein Chip zum Anziehen" highlighted the opening of the Designforum Vorarlberg in Dornbirn, Austria on October 23, 2008.
http://www.prisma-zentrum.com/start.php4?m1id=3&m2id=87&m3id=0&m4id=0
http://www.designforum.at

LECTURE ::: LUCY ORTA, BODY ARCHITECTURE
Wednesday, November 19, 2008 @ 6pm
School of Constructed Environments
Glass Corner, 2nd Floor
25 East 14th Street, New York, USA
Trained as a fashion designer but working as an artist since the beginning of the 90’s, Ms. Orta has realized what she called “architectures with soul.” They are objects that respond to a critical and constructive gaze on the most sensitive areas of society, evoking the need for change, poetically prefiguring reality and suggesting alternative life styles. She has produced numerous interventions and actions, putting on stage crucial themes of the contemporary world: community, social exclusion, dwelling, mobility, sustainable development and recycling.
http://www.studio-orta.com/

CALL FOR SPEAKERS ::: AVANTEX SYMPOSIUM: FASHION
Applications are open for Fashion curated by Sharon Baurley. Please refer to the Fashionable Technology Report when applying.
June 16 - 17, 2008
Frankfurt, Germany
The latest developments and trends in new and innovative apparel textiles not only enhance their properties and, in turn, the application areas for the apparel but also facilitate new kinds of apparel. This is associated with an increased demand for information and communication. The Avantex Symposium is not only an opportunity for this but also a chance to engage in cross-sector discussions.
This year, four main themes are planned:
1. Fashion: modern materials and technologies in fashion
2. Material + Technology in apparel: advances in the areas of fibres, textiles, technology and processing
3. Sports + Outdoor: performance and lifestyle
4. Portable technologies / E-textiles: textile-based, portable electronic systems, sensors and controllers
The lectures will be taking place on 16 - 17 June 2009 (afternoons only) at the Messe Frankfurt Congress Center.
Anyone wishing to take part as a symposium speaker, is now cordially invited to apply.
http://techtextil.messefrankfurt.com/frankfurt/en/symposium_coc_symposien.html

EXHIBITION ::: SPECIMEN: RESPRESENTING THE NATURAL WORLD
November 6, 2008 - January 29, 2009
Paul Robeson Galleries, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey
350 Dr. Martin Luther King Boulevard, Newark, New Jersey, USA
In the 19th century a thirst for information about the natural world was rampant among the general populace, from dedicated scientists to avid amateurs. This exhibition addresses the pervasive influence of ‘natural history’ inspired aesthetics and methodologies on contemporary artists. In this exhibition, contemporary artworks will be displayed alongside historic works, on loan from the Newark Public Library and private collections.
Artists: Catherine Chalmers, Keith Cottingham, Dorothy Cross, Julie Dermansky, Jordan Eagles, Seth Goodwin, Damien Hirst, Mike Libby, Laura McClanahan, Julia Randall, Christopher Russell, Laura Splan, Kimberly Witham, Dustin Yellin
http://andromeda.rutgers.edu/artgallery/current/index.html

CALL FOR ARTIST-IN-RESIDENCY PROPOSALS ::: V2_LAB SOFT TECHNOLOGY
DEADLINE FOR APPLICATIONS: December 7, 2008
V2_Lab, the artistic Research & Development (aRt&D) department of V2_ Institute for Unstable Media in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, has a vacancy for a three-month artist’s residency from January 15 to April 15, 2009.
V2_Lab has an extensive history in the field of wearable technology. In recent years, we have carried out various aRt&D projects in collaboration with various artists and universities. For example, we developed soft, wearable interactive objects with Thecla Schiphorst during Soft(n). We recently took these developments further in the direction of fashion and wearable technology with Di Mainstone’s Sharewear. In these projects, we combine knowledge from various domains to produce surprising or critical artistic statements. V2_ is seeking to further investigate the combination of fashion and technology by means of an experimental residency. The goal of the residency is the research and development part of the residency will focus on the development of flexible, textile-integrated circuit boards and electronic components, manufactured from easily accessible materials. We wish to involve the artist in this research at the earliest possible stage, so that the accumulated knowledge will remain easily transferable. This residency is also geared toward achieving a satisfying end result in the form of a visually attractive working prototype.
To download your application form please follow this link: http://files.v2.nl/portal/Applicationform_AIR.rtf
http://www.v2.nl

WORKSHOP ::: WIRELESS WEARABLES
Sunday, December 14, 2008 @ 2 - 6pm
Location: NYCResistor (www.nycresistor.com), Brooklyn, NY, USA
Instructors: Kate Hartman and Rob Faludi
Cost: $150
Get ready to explore the delights of mutual connectivity with the soon-to-be released XBee LilyPad! This class will introduce the communication and construction techniques necessary to create wireless wearables. We'll start by learning how to communicate using XBee radios, including digital, analog, input and output modes along with an overview of other useful features. Once we've made contact, we'll translate our circuits onto fabric, learning how to make flexible, durable, and attractive connections between components using conductive textiles and threads. By the end of the class, we'll have our soft circuits conversing wirelessly and you'll be ready to create your own clothing, toy or tapestry that talks!The price of this class includes a $50 materials fee, which covers a LilyPad XBee board, XBee radio, battery pack, conductive fabric & thread, and various sewing supplies. When the class is over, the circuit you've created will be yours to keep!
http://www.eventbrite.com/event/202648126

CALL FOR PARTICIPATION: CHI 2009 WORKSHOPS ::: PROGRAMMING REALITY: From Transitive Materials to Organic User Interfaces
Submission is still open. Please refer to the Fashionable Technology Report when applying.
Workshop date: April 4 - 5, 2009
Boston, MA, USA
Over the past few years, a quiet revolution has been redefining our fundamental computing technologies. Flexible E-Ink and OLEDs displays, shape-changing and light-emitting materials, parametric design, e- textiles, sensor networks, and intelligent interfaces promise to spawn entirely new user experiences that will redefine our relation with technology. In one example, future flexible displays will allow us to design devices that are completely flexible, and that can curve around everyday objects or our bodies. These and other developments are opening up unprecedented opportunities for innovation and require us to re-examine and re- evaluate some of the most basic user interface design principles. This workshop invites researchers and practitioners to imagine and debate this future, as well as prototype next-generation interfaces. We will explore two converging themes. Transitive Materials will focus on how emerging materials and computationally-driven behaviors can operate in unison blurring the boundaries between form and function, human body  andenvironment, structures and membranes, while supporting the design of computational systems that are intrinsically capable of  interactivity and personalization. Organic User Interfaces (OUI) will explore future interactive designs and applications as these materials become   commonplace. The OUI vision is based on an understanding that in the future the  physical shape of display devices will become non-flat, potentially arbitrary and even fluid or computationally controlled. This allows display devices and entire environments to take on shapes that are 3D, flexible, dynamic, modifiable by users or self-actuated.
Submissions and enquiries: programmingreality@media.mit.edu
http://www.chi2009.org/Authors/CallForPapers/Workshops/cfp121.pdf

CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS ::: CODED CULTURES - Exploring Creative Emergences
Binational Festival / Austria - Japan 2009
Festival Austria (Vienna): May 27 - 31, 2009
Festival Japan (Yokohama): October 14 - 18, 2009
The team of 5uper.net (www.5uper.net) is happy to announce the CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS for the binational festival »CODED CULTURES - Exploring Creative Emergences«, which is taking place in Austria and Japan in the year 2009 (Austria - Japan Year 2009). The second edition of CODED CULTURES (first edition online at: http://codedcultures.5uper.net) is exploring new artistic practices and creative ability profiles within media integrated project-cultures and digital media related art, focusing on Japan and Europe. The festival »CODED CULTURES – Exploring Creative Emergences« addresses questions regarding the codes of creative cultures and artistic practices, which are based on new transdisciplinary and hybrid developments of culture and art under the conditions of a post-contemporary digital media-age and transformations of related artistic developments. Therefore, the festival creates a surrounding in which new ways of emerging arts, creativity, theories, projects and ideas can be explored in the field of digital media related forms of creative delineation and arts. The particular aim is to present, discuss and criticize topics, which are situated on the intersection of disciplines and activities in order to enforce new potentials of artistic practices and positions. By these means, persons from the field of digital media related art and culture, who derive joy from discovering ways to circumvent limitations are welcome to submit their works, projects, theories and ideas. Regarding this, CODED CULTURES is mainly searching for projects, which shape new vectors of creation and art, situated between: e.g. Science & Art, Technology & Art, Design & Art, Fashion & Art, Economy & Art, a.s.o.
http://www.codedcultures.net

NEWSLETTER ::: LUMINAPOLIS
Luminapolis is the portal of Light for all working with lighting: architects, designers, artists. We publish your lighting-news. Luminapolis prepares the Luminale 2010 - Lighting Culture Biennale.
http://www.luminapolis.com/?langswitch_lang=en

DISCUSSION ::: NANOART: MAKING THE INVISIBLE VISIBLE
The Australian Network for Art & Technology (ANAT) is pleased to announce the  November discussion on the Synapse elist which, throughout 2008, is investigating the  leading-edge of art and science research collaboration. This month's discussion explores artists' engagement with nanotechnologies. As well as an exploration of artistic projects, the list will investigate some of the pressing issues arising from the proliferation of nanoscale technologies - for example, implications of the inability to control affect at the nano level and the peculiar challenges facing artists working with these technologies, not least the 'invisibility' of their practice both literally and figuratively.
To join the discussion visit:
http://www.synapse.net.au select 'Discuss' and follow the prompts.

CONFERENCE ::: IFAI ADVANCED TEXTILES '09
A European-US Entrepreneur Networking Conference
Brussel, Belgium
April 2 - 3, 2009
Attend the second IFAI Advanced Textiles Conference 2009, where market-ready innovations and new technologies in the technical textiles field with be unveiled. This high-level gathering of industry experts and government officials is designed to provide a valuable educational and networking opportunity for participants, creating new business opportunities between U.S. and European companies.
Conference sessions and discussions will focus on key advanced textile application areas such as:
Architecture, Sports apparel, Protective fabrics, Medical textiles
http://www.ifai.com

CALL FOR PROPOSALS ::: O'REILLY EMERGING TECHNOLOGY CONFERENCE
March 9 - 12, 2009
The Fairmont San Jose
San Jose, CA, USA
The spirit of ETech is fueled by honing in on the ideas, projects, and technologies that the alpha geeks are thinking about, hacking on, and inventing right now, creating a space for all participants to connect and be inspired. ETech 2009 promises to be another rich and cutting edge event, looking this time at technology is reinventing the way we live. The constrained world has to make do with what's available. Why scrimp and sacrifice for a computer when most people have mobile phones with an SMS server that can do the job just fine? With limited food, water, fuel, medicine, it's the people and their ideas that are often the cheapest part of the equation. Their technology looks to collaboration and connection with fewer resources—almost the opposite of the industrialized world which seeks to make each individual as effective as possible.What technologies cross the divide? How do the two interact and cross-pollinate? On the surface, they wouldn't seem to overlap, but on deeper examination, inhabitants of both worlds learn from each other constantly. Here are some areas at the intersection of abundance and constraint we'll be exploring at the 2009 edition of ETech, the O'Reilly Emerging Technology Conference:
City Tech
Materials & Mechanics
Personalized Healthcare
Mobile & The Web
Geek Family
Synthetic Biology
Nomadism & Shedworking
Sustainable Life
Life Hacking & Information Overload
http://conferences.oreilly.com/etech

FASHIONABLE TECHNOLOGY REPORT October 2008

MOONDIAL FASHIONABLE TECHNOLOGY REPORT
Visionary Insights on Epidermis & Technology
by Sabine Seymour
October 2008

FASHIONABLE TECHNOLOGY REPORT September 2008

MOONDIAL FASHIONABLE TECHNOLOGY REPORT
Visionary Insights on Epidermis & Technology
by Sabine Seymour
September 2008

FASHIONABLE TECHNOLOGY REPORT August 2008

MOONDIAL FASHIONABLE TECHNOLOGY REPORT
Visionary Insights on Epidermis & Technology
by Sabine Seymour
August 2008

More insights at http://blog.fashionabletechnology.org and www.fashionabletechnology.org.

Gazelena

Gazelena is created by Allistar D. Peters & Meng Li for the class Sousveilance Culture at NYU's Interactive Telecommunications Program (ITP). Gazelena had a well-documented trip through downtown Manhattan in the afternoon of April 22, 2008.

Meng and Allistar describe Gazelena as an urban intervention performance to explore the street voyeurism and exhibitionism addressing the issues of gaze, voyeurism, power, pleasure, and exhibitionism. The issues are documented with external links.

Thanks to Meng!

Shareware at V2_

SHAREWEAR is an investigative fashion and technology collaboration involving British fashion designer Di Mainstone and V2_, Institute for the Unstable Media. Di has a specific signature design that you were previously seen at the project Skorpions at XS Labs that I also featured in my book Fashionable Technology. For three months Di has worked intensively with the team at V2_Lab, combining art, fashion, and technology and the likes of Vincent Leclerc and Lucy McRae (also known for her work for the research projects Design Probe program: SKIN at Philips Design) who are also represented in my book.

From the press release:

SHAREWEAR comprises of a pair of reconfigurable, electronic dresses that physically slot together to activate dramatic pools of light. Worn by identical twins as part of a performance, the dresses take influence from modernist and contemporary furniture design. These wearable sculptures integrate the very latest in cutting-edge technology alongside traditional pattern making and upholstery techniques.

SHAREWEAR garments provoke exchange within their own network as well as encourage audience members to unveil a series of potential narratives. They alter behaviors, by hiding or revealing hidden secrets. They link to divulge new landscapes. They peel apart to offer glimpses of hidden interiors. They join to release shards of light and cast long shadows.

Upcoming presentations include The Wereld van Witte de With Festival on September 12 and 13, 2008 in Rotterdam (NL) and the Today’s Art Festival - September 26 and 27, 2008 in The Hague (NL).

Thanks to V2_!