addie and lots of coffee.

Inspiration: The Experience of the Unsaid.
The experience of the spoken and unsaid and how dialogue shifts dynamically when both are available to the other participant. What would happen if we could hear not only the verbal but the thought that is omitted?
Im interested in the semiotics in our relationships and the misinterpretation of language, love vs fear. Or is fear and love the same, they are simply miscommunicated as different entities?

Materials: A Fingerprint of the Second Skin
From the reading, “the item which we receive often has woven into it, its own historical map of the products lifespan, much like a human, all items carry history,”.
While spring cleaning in my closet, I looked at my pile and realized how many of the garments carry memories and what happens when those memories are hacked into a single piece?
I am drawn to asymmetrically designed apparel and clothing, I like the organic aspects of unconstructed non-tailored garments so I made a conscious effort in this piece to really play with those elements during construction. I hacked 'memories' into the garmet, with the newest pieces at the bottom and older pieces towards the top. Eight pieces in total create a single jacket.

Application: A Social Experiment in Intimate Decoding
I see this being much more a performance piece then a product viable for large-scale markets or sales. This is a personal experimentation.
Im interested in the reaction of audience in both public and intimate settings. In a perfect use situation, the dialogue will be much more about what it is to be 'in my skin’: credit card numbers, passwords/user names, lies and secrets and where the line of private vs public thought is blurred.
What happens when you hear my truths, about you, about myself, what reactions do this create for me personally or the audiences, for someone who knows me on an intimate level vs. a more superficial level?

Natural Selection: What happens when we hear all truths?
Long term goal: explorations in multiple settings (private, public, academic, open spaces)
Creating even more versions (recordable, more controllable)

Here is video documentation from my first trip out experimenting with the jacket, I went into a computer area in the downstairs of Tisch, if you notice the man on my left starts to hear the sounds and slowly moves closer.

As I walked away he asked me where the voice was coming from and why I didn't say yes all those times (it was part of one of the secrets projected)

Posted by itp at 09:41 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Things are getting there, slowly and painfully and surely.

Panic has not set in, yet. Check back in with me tonight and I might say otherwise. I've had to slim down my audio to two channels, my other 2 mp3 players have decided to stop working. so I'm down to only one functioning mp3 player and a budget that won't allow for me to repurchase two more again. As a result I'm going to be redoing my audio tracks entirely and trying to integrate a broder range of secrets.

I find I'm really drawn to asymmetrically designed apparel and clothing, I like the organic aspects of unconstructed non-talored garmets so I made a conscious effort in this piece to really play with those elements. I'm going to be doing some final alterations over the coming days but this photo illustrations a rough idea of the final product.

Posted by itp at 11:29 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I've gotten my jacket about 75% finished at this point, the mp3 players all stopped working so I spent the better part of yesterday replacing them, the circuits also decided they weren't so fond of me and stopped working too.. so I basically had to spend most of the weekend redoing it all.

here's a detail of one of the switches.. more to come in a bit.

Posted by itp at 10:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

at it's most basic, your whole life is just a collection of moments. sweet moments, happy moments, long and bitter ones, moments in the rain, ones that you'd rather forget, moments that send a shiver down your spine, moments that never happened like blown kisses that never got caught. and those moments, those memories, they never really have any order to them. they're scattered across the vast plain that sprawls endlessly in the back your mind. but in the mess and the haze, there are always beginnings, where it all started, and it's not until you're given a little time to absorb it all that it suddenly hits you, that you can say, hey, that's it, that's where it all began.

I'm interested in semiotics in our relationships and the misinterpretation of communication especially relating to intimacy in thought, love vs fear or is fear and love the same,? They are simply miscommunicated and thus defined as different?

" In semiotics, the concept of a code is of fundamental importance. Saussure (1857–1913) emphasised that signs only acquire meaning and value when they are interpreted in relation to each other. He believed that the relationship between the signifier and the signified was arbitrary. Hence, interpreting signs requires familiarity with the sets of conventions or codes currently in use to communicate meaning."

What is the implication of communication when we can literally hear the other persons thoughts? How would the dynamics shift in our relationship if everytime someone hugged you or kissed you or made love to you, it triggered a series of secrets to be told? How would this change us? How would this change them? What happens when we essentially are exposed at our most private levels?

I created a sudo-jacket made of multiple personal garments, each with significance to a period in my life. Old items are sewn together to create a single piece in uniform. Depending on how the user wears it, the garments volume changes up or down thus 'decrypting' and playing vocal tracks of my dirty little secrets: lies, passwords, credit card numbers, stories about my life, relationships and unspoken desires.

I originally planned on having the jackets switched be activated by the 'play' button but after hacking it I realized the play/power buttons are the same, thus I had to change the dynamic within the piece to play with volumes and levels when contacted by another.

Posted by itp at 01:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Inka's used knots referred to as Khipu or quipu to communicate, often knots were viewed visually or 'read' by running their fingers across them much like Braille. Spanish chronicles suggest they were more mnemonic, like a rosaries or calculations. Not a lot seems to be known about the devices, it seems at this point most is theory or based solely on research.
The most unique aspect of these khipu's was that it is essentially the worlds only three-dimensional language which used a system of coding based on some sort of binary code which is possibly so advanced it has eluded human researchers.

I found this article interesting but a little heavy on the research failures, I want to know more about the different types of knots, visual aids would of been helpful and some sort of visual comparison.

Posted by itp at 02:29 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Ive got a few of the mp3 players play switches hacked, I have the rough sewn garmet done, the zigbees are all together, the garmet just needs some tailoring and some lining put in, the audio is recorded, the channels need to be defined then exported as mp3s onto the players and once I have a final idea of how the circuts need to work and test them, check for stability of the switches I can call this project done.

Hopefully I'll have it finished by Sunday night.

Posted by itp at 10:05 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

So I've been rethinking the content of my wearables final and the physical composition of it. Sunday night I had a sort of spring cleaning of my apartment, I basically cleaned out everything and every space of my apartment, I recycled the boxes that have been in the corner for months, went through all my clothes and then I had an idea.

With all this thinking about sustainable why not utilizes my perfectly good garments for my wearables supplies? I started to collect all the black items and put them in a pile, sure enough I have plenty. Tonight I organized them all and began cutting up what I could use from each item, in just about an hour I had a good pile of fabric to create my jacket/wrap with, I'm going to recreate one out my favorite items I wear out of my old clothing (see here and click on 'how to wear' to get an idea of ways the user can use the item)'

I still will be utilizing the 6 channel audio embeded into the garmet but content will be shifted drastically to include;

'thing you should know':
credit card
passwords
secrets
boyfriends
lies

I plan on recording vocal tracks which list my credit card numbers, logins/passwords, secrets, lies and thoughts about relationships.

The dialouge will be much more about what it is to be 'in my skin' then it will be a universal dialouge about other peoples experiences

Posted by itp at 12:26 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

arms of jacket have been cut open to allow for wrapping of the user wearing the jacket (hopefully to appear as if the user is giving themself a hug) although user can wear arms in different ways to allow for switches to be turned on.

speakers are placed inside hoodie as well as inside the sleeves or arms. when wrapped around user neck, user hears all 4 audio channels clearly..

Continue reading "wearable prototype" »

Posted by itp at 01:21 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

How does communication function in our relationships and what implications do fear play in love?

I find myself constantly censoring my feelings mostly as a result of vulnerability and fear. Often times I catch myself saying one thing when I feel something at a deeper without thinking about the long-term consequences because I simply fear rejection at some gut level.

Where does the boundary shift occur and how does it occur when we are no longer bound by verbal communication and what if there was a way to communicate without saying a thing?

Continue reading "The Natural Selection of Us." »

Posted by itp at 05:11 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

at it's most basic, your whole life is just a collection of moments. sweet moments, happy moments, long and bitter ones, moments in the rain, ones that you'd rather forget, moments that send a shiver down your spine, moments that never happened like blown kisses that never got caught. and those moments, those memories, they never really have any order to them. they're scattered across the vast plain that sprawls endlessly in the back your mind. but in the mess and the haze, there are always beginnings, where it all started, and it's not until you're given a little time to absorb it all that it suddenly hits you, that you can say, hey, that's it, that's where it all began.

I've started my jackets, I'll br trying to learn how to use a zigbee over break along with a crash course in pcomp and circuits. I ordered some reed switch samples from here which hopefully will show up soon, Im also going to start thinking about the content of these pieces and what specifically I want to communicate. I'm interested in semiotics in our relationships and the misinterpretation of communication esp. relating to intimacy in thought, love vs fear or is fear and love the same, they are simply miscommunicated as different?

" In semiotics, the concept of a code is of fundamental importance. Saussure (1857–1913) emphasised that signs only acquire meaning and value when they are interpreted in relation to each other. He believed that the relationship between the signifier and the signified was arbitrary. Hence, interpreting signs requires familiarity with the sets of conventions or codes currently in use to communicate meaning."

I also have been reading a lot of text in neurosciences and recently read some research on the mirror neuron. I'm intertesed in their importance in language acquisition, meaning, and how these may relate to semiotics in our everyday behaviors.

Whats interesting about them and how they ultimately are a part of my project is their role in relationships. See, stronger EEG responses (related to the mirror neuron system) have been recorded in women compared to men. This finding is consistent with the idea that women tend to be more empathetic, that the mirror neuron system is related to empathy, and that weak responses in the mirror neuron system could be linked to a masculine mind and to autism. Women are four times more likely to cry then men, perhaps because men needs physical signs to sense pain while women are able to pick them up in a much more slight level of nonverbal communcation. If women did not exhibit tears, its quite possible men would go often without notices their pain. The mirror neuron system is not about imitation however, it is about understanding other people, and why they do what they do.

Posted by itp at 09:36 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Reading this publication was depressing.

While the public is willing and somewhat excited to see development in this area, or so it is suggested. I would argue that current 'real world' product launches have been huge failures. Levi's jacket was a great example, failure was also a result in my opinion of the target market for the item and price points not aligning with the demographic. Industry still lacks the education about who their market is and what they can afford or are willing to pay.
Adapting, educating two very established industries (textiles and electronics) and finding ways in which two extremely different industry can merge or even begin to communicate to each other in the same language will be perhaps our biggest challenge we face in mass market production of wearable technologies.

Posted by itp at 10:21 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Hauser research describes the seamless attrition from machine to humanizing of everyday objects, specifically clothing. I believe her thesis can be carried not only from clothing but to many other aspects of our life (even how a person customizes their cellphones by the way it is dropped or cared for is totally unique to every phone, for example).
Every piece of clothing or objects essentially have a 'bar code' which is incorporated by the manufacturing methods, users use, and wear of the items and so on. We shape the ghosts and spirits of the fabric, so they may haunt us later.
More so, the item which we receive often has woven into it, its own historical map of the products lifespan, much like a human, all items carry history, regardless of how new. Items can be tracked down to a date of 'conception' and even a location in some circumstances.
I am extremely curious as to what the larger scale implications are of having these sort of 'serial numbers' on everything we consume. Is the clothing article a map of its own history, or are we the history of the clothing? and which aspect is more unique or important: The items history before purchase, or the history it creates when we utilize it?

Posted by itp at 08:07 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

circuits are like relationships.

they are complex and require patience, done right both emit a light.

Posted by itp at 11:53 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

So I've changed my final project . . . again.

I'm really interested in working with the dual audio stereo outputs and incorporating this into something wearable. I want to play with the duality of semiotic language in our everyday communication, namely the role of unverbalized dialogues vs the superficial.

I have been playing with the idea of utilizing the conductivity of zippers and snaps as switches. The underlying theme of the work is much less about the process however and more about the content of the audio, I want to pull much of the inspiration from my senses assignment. Namely the dual experience of the spoken and unsaid and how the dialogue shifts dynamically when both are available to the other participant. What would happen if we could hear not only the verbal but the thought?

I am currently researching different audio output options and alternative ways of incorporating switches, possible fabric options and placement of hardware.

I am drawn to the idea of creating a 'connection' that would turn the switch only when two people are physically touching or close. Another option would be more of an external audio output worn only by one person and would not be dependent on another user. I feel the key discussion in this piece is the misscommunication of needs and fear much more then it is a single dialogue.

Posted by itp at 06:37 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

so I spent most of the afternoon and evening making my soft circuit cycling jacket for wearable tech.

Tomorrow I am (gasp) going 'tech free' which means I won't be doing any work all day nor will I be online. If you need to get a hold of me, you'll have to hope I decided to carry my cellphone around...

Posted by itp at 12:40 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

here's the first of my attempts at the idea I spoke about on my post Feb 18th (see the last three paragraphs at the bottom).

I'm so busy protecting myself that I throw you away. I fall into hope. Hope is a lie of a false promise.

I want you to give me the answers without me asking the question

Im afraid to ask you the questions because maybe you will tell me exactly what I want to hear

I originally planned on only using one vocal track and the text but while I was playing with Audacity I started changing the vocals and playing with layers of sound, ideally one is left stereo and one is right stereo although you can still slightly hear the other regardless. I also have some other stories which are completely left or right stereo is if you take out one headphone you can't hear the other part of it at all.

Thoughts? would it be more effective with only one vocal track, higher or lower levels..?

Posted by itp at 10:12 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Starobinski believes that life can be reduced to nothing other then sensation, and sense. Much of which is not essential to life but rather accidents?

I'm fascinated by memory, much of my personal work has revolved around memories, and the way we recall them as the experience distances itself from our present moment.

Accordingly, all our intellectual actions and passions, our natural strive to create and manifest amounts to things which are essentially impossible to calculate outcomes or control results of prior to their manifestations. We are a function of our inability to communicate and simply compensate for the ambiguity by using sense.

As a result, Starobinski's thesis and ideas have really made me rethink the direction of my week project and possibly my final project for this class. I am fascinated by the variety of ways which species form their communication and needs with each other in indirect ways (via clothing, technology or use of the literal body).
Human beings are extremely complex and no where is this more apparent then in our relationships.

What humans gain through essentially trial and error is a sense that cannot be obtained in any other way, we are multilayered and complex beings which essentially live our life by intuitions and underlying currents which carry our themes, morals and sense.

Continue reading "Reaction to Starobinski" »

Posted by itp at 05:11 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Clothing is one of the few 'arts' where its design and purpose are usually completely obvious (example: a ski jacket is usually visually obvious to be a ski jacket either by design or brand).

As far as I can tell, people in general are more concerned with physical appearance (clothing, hair, weight, etc) then most other elements of their lives. Fashion, I often feel like is a type of modern disposable art (se: H&M or forever 21). We are constantly redefining style as a society (for both social and economical purposes).

I think in general we are more concerned with how something looks then how functional or comfortable it is (high heels are a perfect example).

I'd like to know more about the anthropological standpoint of much of what we wear today and why... I felt Watkins really skimmed the surface. How does our clothing communicate our relationship status without verbal communication? Our careers? Our sexuality or preference? Our social or environmental circle, and has this always been the case?

Posted by itp at 08:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

(hack assignment) geek engagement ring., originally uploaded by girl_onthe_les.

for the geek who has everything (but a wife).

the geek engagement ring.

Made for Wearable Technologies with a hacked toy from chinatown, lots of LEDs, some power and stripped wire.

LEDs twinkle just like a real diamond. ..

an LED is forever, or at least until you call the engagement off.

Posted by itp at 01:40 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Objective:
A Water Hydration Cleavage Bra. For all of the women out there looking for a boost to her contours and hydration on the go. Targeted to 18-35 year old women who find themselves very active in both the social and athletic scenes desiring comfortable support, supple cleavage and hydration all in one.

Reason:
Last March I was in India in the Thar Desert, whose vast plains stretch between the remote borderland of Jaisalmer, India, and Pakistan. I ran out of water and was without emergency supplies.
Looking back certain key elements come to mind. It is important to have access to a backup source of water that is both easy and comfortable to carry. As a woman who is mindful of fashion the answer became apparent. If there was a bra that could function both as a boost to the bust-line and store water, an ideal marriage could be struck for the fashionably adventurous woman.
But why stop there, couldn’t this serve as a solution to the many socially active women in cities such as New York and Los Angeles. At times it can be most difficult to get the attention of staffers at a bar or restaurant, what if you no longer had to go through the trouble of requesting water. What if water could not only be instantly available but also aide in your fashion statement?
This device could be the answer to many women’s prayers.

Look and Function:
Think wonderbra meets Camelbak, water storage is in the cup of the bra with tubes extending in the straps for easy hydration with maintaining modesty.

Inspirations:
Multifunctional bra that enhances or offers cleavage for the women on the go. Technology becomes secondary in importance to designing a product, which is healthy, useful and multifaceted.
As an active person socially and physically it offers functionally, sex appeal and comfort.
In addition to a busy social and athletic lifestyle, hydration is an essential factor.
Does one really want to stop at a Bodega when they need water?
But wait, what if we could marry forum and function and solve the problem of the mergence of athletic and fashion. Why can’t fashion function?

Posted by itp at 11:47 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I'm not sure Steve Mann's ideas are revolutionary. Mann thesis is essentially regarding the study of surveillance and if it will lead to a better future.
Expressing our personalities via our clothing is hardly ground breaking or thought provoking, but what I thought was interesting was Mann's use of clothing and the clothing as a reaction or protest, however how is this any different then anarchist or punks wearing lots of black and metal studs?
Perhaps its a more intellectual way of 'giving it to the man'?
Surveillance has the ability to gather important information but it also has an equal ability of gathering nonessential data for the corporate or governments greater good (which might not necessarily match societies).

Posted by itp at 04:11 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

was ass kicking.

Continue reading "wearbles week 2" »

Posted by itp at 11:47 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Much of the women's movement -- dare I say the "F" word (feminism) -- has degenerated into narcissism. Young women now equate "girl power" with the right to wear sequined culottes.

Can you really blame us? We are living in a culture where one of the richest, most powerful women of all time -- a talk-show host and literary queen who single-handedly built a production empire -- has said her biggest accomplishment was losing weight (Oprah).

A prevailing message is that women can't be intelligent and desirable. The smart girls on television are short and fat with glasses and no dates. The cute girls are popular and about as deep as the toliet they purge in.

Yes, our culture is increasingly visual, but women behind the camera and computer are best poised to reap its goodies. Glamorous fantasies touted in Vogue are, surprise, just that: fantasies. In reality, we'll more likely reach success as a webmaster, not a model.

Margaret Sanger pioneered birth control and liberated women sexually much more than Madonna has. Rosa Parks wasn't invited to all the pre-award parties, but her effect surpasses Gwyneth Paltrow's. As far as I know, Sojourner Truth never wore hot pants. In the long run, brains serve better than sex appeal. Beauty might excite men, but so does a box of donuts.

Privileging physical appearance undermines our chances for serious historic achievement. Why focus on shaping our bodies when we can shape history?

Posted by itp at 11:49 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

If you go here you can see some small details and photos from my week 1 assignment in wearable technology.

Posted by itp at 05:14 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Georg Simmel's article on Fashion basically suggest that imitation and the need to be individualistic as much as conform has relevance currently as much as when it was published. Art imitates life, fashion imitates art and life?

Fashion has the obvious social-economic statements also. Only some percentage of our society can afford Gap and even fewer of a percentage can afford Gucci. We wear labels to create a nonverbal dialogue about our 'importance' in our society. (with the assumption being if you wear more expensive clothes you are somehow are more .. rare, important, rich ... person.)

What I find most influenental about fashion (vs say art in the purest form) is fashion is much like good design, it is utilized in our every day life, it is something which everyday we embody.

Posted by itp at 02:41 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

wearable tech project, originally uploaded by girl_onthe_les.

Continue reading "" »

Posted by itp at 09:18 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)