Design and the Elastic Mind
MoMA currently has an online exhibition called Design and the Elastic Mind, presenting a wide range of art & design projects made possible by emerging technologies. Here are some that are related to the interests of this site:
The Fabrics of Life: Nobel Textiles project pairs five textile and fashion designers with five Nobel Laureates. As its founders, Amanda Fisher and Carole Collet, explain, “Designers fundamentally shape the way we live, while science pervades the very fabric of our lives. Nobel Textiles involves a journey into the interface between science and design, a dialogue between leading researchers in both fields.”
Nokia Morph flexible communication and sensing device. Concept. 2007
Nokia Design explains that the aim of the Nokia Morph is “to illustrate how a portable personal device can connect its owner to the hidden information in the surrounding physical world and, at the same time, to the massive global data, information, and digital content via the Internet.” Using nanomaterials, the Nokia Morph features a bendable, stretchable surface into which several functions can be embedded, including illumination, superhydrophobicity (the ability to repel large amounts of water) and self-cleaning, energy harvesting, and sensors to detect information in the everyday world at the nanoscale. The device will have two separate units: a communications unit and a sensing unit. As Nokia explains, “The communications unit will be operable in three modes: as a clip-on earpiece or a clip on your clothing; as a standalone device for conferencing; or as a mobile handheld. The sensing unit will also operate in three modes: as a detached bendable screen which can be used as a sensor or a keyboard; as a wearable and bendable sensor unit; or as a detached sensor which can be integrated to other peripheral devices.”
Laser-sintered bags
Freedom Of Creation has taken rapid manufacturing into the realm of textiles. Not woven or cut and sewn, laser-sintered textiles are built three-dimensionally, layer by layer. Because the textile is first created on a computer, with its threads digitally interwoven, the fabric is easily customizable in various patterns, sizes, and colors.
Genetic Trace: New Organs of Perception. Concept. 2006
Soares believes that in the future people will be equipped with specially designed organs that act as perception enhancers, allowing them to collect genetic material during interpersonal encounters. The need for such “complementary sensors,” she says, stems from the idea that “our evolution now relies on genetic technology rather than natural selection.” Cilia in the nails will scrape dead cells from others when shaking hands, while whiskers grown in eyebrows will increase the signals we pick up from the environment. These innovations could allow genetic siblings who may not have met identify each other, for example, and help people collect information to be used as a tool for selective mating.
