High Tech Low Tech exhibition
In the autumn of 2006 the Textile Museum (in Tilburg, NL) will give visitors a look in the Dutch design kitchen of the past fifteen years with the exhibition HIGH TECH LOW TECH – design between tradition and innovation. It is organised to highlight the surprising ways in which designers combine traditional and innovative techniques.The Textile Museum is showing fabrics, clothing, lighting, furniture and appliances: from carbon fibre chairs to clothing that starts moving under the influence of temperature, from 3D knitted objects to plaids of recycled cardboard.
Niels van Eijk. Bobbin Lace Lamp (2002). Glasvezel. Gekantklost, macramégeknoopt. Foto: Studio 4a/ Peer van de Kruis. Collectie Textielmuseum.
In the course of the 20th century, respect for tradition and the urge for innovation steadily diverged. ‘Form follows function’ was the modernistic maxim. Also the use of decoration was declared taboo in the influential text ‘Ornament und Verbrechen’ (Ornament and crime) by the Austrian architect Adolf Loos. Towards the end of the nineteen seventies the tide turned under the influence of the colourful designs by groups of Italian designers like Memphis and Alchimia. Dutch designing, however, remained more austere.
Starting in the nineteen eighties sustainability, cultural identity and local traditions were high on the agenda. Especially free designers experimented with traditional techniques and recycled materials. Product designers embraced traditional textile techniques such as felting, knitting and embroidery. The small inaccuracies and the ‘personal touch’ that characterise traditional products were much appreciated. It became a new challenge to impart to industrially made products a one-of-a-kind look.
Bertjan Pot. Carbon Copy Chair (2003). Carbonvezel, epoxyhars. Gevlochten. Foto: Bertjan Pot. Collectie Museum Boijmans van Beuningen.
At the beginning of the nineteen nineties the eyes of the Dutch design world were focused especially on innovative technological developments. High-tech materials or processes, initially developed for space travel, military purposes or model making, provided designers with a range of new applications. The compatibility of traditional and modern technologies especially in the field of textiles was demonstrated by the project Dry tech I, which was realised in 1995 on the initiative of the designers’ platform Droog Design. In collaboration with the section Space and Aviation technique of Delft Technical University six designers developed products with the use of high-tech materials in combination with traditional materials or techniques. The most well-known design from this series is Marcel Wanders’ Knotted Chair, consisting of a macramé net of aramide carbon string dipped in epoxy resin. When hardened, it became a sturdy seat with a sensual, craftsman-like appearance.
Also Bertjan Pot’s mat black Carbon Copy Chair (2003) is an intriguing example of the cross-fertilization between tradition and innovation. The designer used carbon fibres to create a light, but at the same time exceptionally strong chair. As a model for his design served Charles and Ray Eames’ famous DSR chair from 1948. Pot changed the polyester seat, strengthened with glass fibre, and the steel support of the Eames chair into a transparent construction of twined and twisted carbon fibres, strengthened with epoxy resin. Besides the prototype of the Carbon Copy Chair the exhibition also presents the original Eames chair and other designs by Pot providing an insight into the process from concept to realisation.
An apparent example of sheer magic is the development of ‘intelligent textile’, textile that changes its properties under the influence of changing surroundings such as light, temperature or pressure. Textile designers Anne Mieke Kooper and Hélène Dashorst created fabrics which reflect light, continue glowing or change colour under the influence of ultraviolet light. In the exhibition you will see Mariëlle Leenders’ project Shape Memory Textiles. Leenders developed intelligent fabrics reacting on changes in temperature, transforming from smooth to wrinkled, curling up or partially contracting.
Luna Maurer/ Roel Wouters. Argyle pullover (2001/2). Katoen, acryl. Machinaal gebreid. Foto: Luna Maurer. Collectie vormgever.
The computer-guided weaving and knitting machines in the museum TextileLab provide designers with lots of high-tech possibilities. Textile designer Aleksandra Ga?a used the lab to develop three-dimensional textiles combining high-tech yarns with traditional materials. In his design of the curtain material Fussy Jeroen Vinken, artist and textile designer, made full use of the possibilities of the computer-guided Dornier gripper weaving machine. Over the full width of the machine each of the more than 6000 warp threads can be brought into play separately, precluding a repetition of patterns. Since the machine is fully computer-guided, also length-wise each weft thread can be woven in a different way. From afar it seems as if the softly coloured, vague circles in the curtain fabric have been applied with an airbrush technique. However, a closer inspection reveals the technical refinement. On the meeting-point of warp and weft thousands of colour combination come into being.
To conclude with, also in the field of the treatment of surfaces designers prove themselves masters in the synthesis of tradition and innovation. Eugène van Veldhoven has been experimenting with coatings and diverse printing techniques on existing fabrics from both an aesthetic and a functional point of view. Textile designer Hil Driessen designed fabrics for an 18th century period room in a house in Utrecht, creating a fascinating optical illusion with the aid of high-tech processes.
The works in the exhibition are partly from the Textile Museum’s own collection, but also works from other museums and from private collections are included.
The publication HIGH TECH LOW TECH – design between tradition and innovation is on sale in the museum shop for € 14,95. The authors of the publication are Suzan Rüsseler, assistant curator for exhibitions at the Textile Museum and compiler of this exhibition and Anton Luiken, manager Textile Research of TNO.
In the course of the exhibition the Textile Museum organises lectures and demonstrations in line with the theme.
The publication is sponsored by insurance company Interpolis, which is also making a valuable contribution towards the realisation of the exhibition. The art policy of Interpolis indicates a warm interest for innovative developments in visual arts and design. The interior design of the Tilburg headquarters by a selection of Dutch designers has received much public praise. In the entrance area of its headquarters Interpolis will exhibit a number of works demonstrating the interaction between tradition and innovation.
During the course of the exhibition gallery LEGIOkunst, situated within walking distance of the Textile Museum, will organise the exhibition PARALLEL. The presentation comprises non-textile work by designers taking part in the exhibition in the Textile Museum.
HIGH TECH LOW TECH – design between tradition and innovation
A fascinating look in the Dutch design kitchen
16 September 2006 till 14 January 2007
