Poetic Realism

Another workshop session of the Soft Technology series at the National Academy of the Arts in Bergen / Norway, the write about it at the Future Textile Homepage:
- a working session drawing on the experience and knowledge of the participants. We will experiment with muscle wire/shape memory alloys (SMA) in textiles. Soft Technology is initiated by Hillevi Munthe and is a collaboration between Atelier Nord and ”Future Textiles” at Bergen National Academy of the Arts. The project is funded by The Arts Council of Norway, Nordic Culture Fund and Norwegian Association for Arts and Crafts.

Shape memory alloys are metalthreads/wires that can “remember” a given shape. When cold, the wire is relaxes and flexible. When heated to a certain temperature by water, air or electricity, it contracts to the formed shape. Reference: you tube .

The picture above shows a work by Philip Beesley, who is an architect working with the idea of an architecture of geotextiles.
I can really recommend checking out his work, that is certainly contributing to the theme of architextiles. He produces installations using leading-edge technology like the newest materials and materialtechnology, interactive textiles and reflexive and responsive membranes, combined with canvases of interactive systems.
The work Hylozoic Soil / picture above, composed of many repeated units of laser cut plexiglass, with arduino’s powering reactive muscle wire limbs covered inethereal mylar feathers, with some hyper-dermic needles throne in to add that menacing feeling. // text taken from blog n-e-r-v-o-u-s.

On 26th of Oct 2010 I was participating at Ragnarock in Milano – Italy. Ragnarock is a nordic festival with the goal to promote Nordic best practices in terms of environment, green economy, and corporate responsibility through art, music, cultural and political meetings, exhibitions, and cultural events. Theme of Ragnarock is that North Europe and Italy confront each other on the future of Nordic artists, architects and designers meet their Italian counterparts to talk about the role of culture, design and architecture in the new Ecological Age.

Being held at the Sala Alessi – Palazzo Marino, Municipality of Milan, gave a special feeling to it – talking about case studies of how creatives are practicing the topic sustainability. It was very interesting to listen to all the speakers. Marco Lobina (IT) – Director General at the Councillorship for Research, Innovation, Human Resources – Municipality of Milan / Adriano Musitelli (IT) – Councillorship for Mobility, Transport, Environment – Municipality of Milan / Marco Germinario (IT) – President of Ragnarock Association / Olaf Gerlach-Hansen (DK) – Danish Cultural Institute and Co-Founder of Culture Futures / Mario Lolli Ghetti (IT) – Director General for Landscape, Fine Arts, Architecture and Contemporary Arts at the Ministry of Culture / Finn Andersen (DK) – Secretary General, The Danish Cultural Institute and representing Culture Futures / GroupGaute Stensrud (NO) – Architect, Code Architects partner / Jakob Lange (DK) – Architect, partner of BIG – Bjarke Ingels Group / Mario Cucinella (IT) – Architect, Mario Cucinella Architects / Henrik Good Hovgaard (DK) – Managing partner of the innovation and futurist company, Future Navigator / Aldo Cibic (IT) – / Architect, Cibic & Partners / Dorte Skot-Hansen (DK) – Head of Centre for Cultural Policy Studies, Copenhagen / Vanni Pasca (IT) – Design Historian / Adriano Gasperi (IT) – Scientific Committee General Secretary, Expo Milano 2015 / Jacob Fuglsang Mikkelsen (DK) – Artist and Race Organiser at CO2 E-Race / Gunilla Bandolin (SE) – Professor and artist, University College of Arts and Crafts, Stockholm / Janne Gallen-Kallela-Sirén (FI) – Museum Director of Helsinki Art Museum / Hafsteinn Juliusson (IS) – Founder of HAF – Sustainable industrial design / Per Åge Sivertsen (NO) – Director and Head Designer ofFINOslo – Sustainable fashion /Ewa Kumlin (SE) – Managing Director at Svenska Form.

Later the day, on my 24h Milan Trip we where invited to a dinner at Superstudio Piu, a centre opened to the creativity needs situated in Milan. We ended an efficient day, with networking in a very nice relaxing atmosphere and very good food.

I decided to contribute via giving an insight into my art practice, and the choice of being situated with my life and my studio at a very remote place in Dale inn Sunnfjord, Norway. My speech was about why Dale and not New York, the personal choice of living, – urbanizing the farm or urban farming. Just here I saw coherence between me and the nature. The speech I held in Milan showed my challenges in art practice and about the Do It Yourself – DIY culture . For example to make conductive yarn I use the wool of the family´s sheep farm and blend it with steelwool – via the spinning technique. I was talking about different approaches to sustainability, about Buckminster Fuller – the godfather in this topic, Li Edelkoort and Fowkes. Basicly sustainability understood as a system of open source, interdisciplinarity, and a non profit attitude as the only motivation to open a cross linked communication between faculities to create new innovative solutions to our challenge of ecology – that the whole world, but mostly the western civilizations, are facing. I ended the talk in showing case studies and talking about electronic textiles and their contribution to sustainability fashion and architecture.

View my talk here, click on the pictures to move forward in the movie.
KSiegmund

My studio with workshop for electronic textiles is now operative. I am equipped with all tools, materials, electronic hard and software, fibers and yarns necessary to create interactive environments, objects and Installations. Weaving chair and spinning wheel help me to combine optic fiber, el wire / light cable, conductive yarns, different kinds of fibers (natural, synthetic, animal, metal ) into electronic textiles, that can carry light and sound. Follow my work via blog, or pay a visit when you are around! Welcome!