Yaad.....

The presentation for fianl in class can be seen at :

itp.nyu.edu/~rjs425/Yaad.ppt



Above, is the representation of the malenge of technology and traditional artwork

below shown are the conductive threads extensions that connected to the conductive fabric to complete the circuit.

Yaad, my blouse is hand embroidered by me and is a part of a very traditional exercise of creating things for one’s trousseau. It brings out the Rabari Tribal handwork from a place where color is synonymous to life- the states of Gujarat and Rajasthan in India.
The garment is a fascinating patchwork, with a glistening array of floral patterns a fascinating patchwork composition that is sewn by hand and embroidered with shiny sequins and beads. The cloth is first soaked in salt water for a day and then dried in the sun. The patterns are then traced out onto the cloth and spaced out keeping in mind the required space for the stitching. The embroidery is usually a collage of different patterns such that the based cloth is never visible. I selected to keep it simple and tried not to make it flashy as it is usually the case. I chose floral patterns with a row of peacocks. Usually most animal or animate figures come at the base of the garment while the lighter elements are arranged or dispersed all over the garment. The colors used are bright, joyous and seemingly random and an elegant fusion of magenta, red green and blue hues is maintained so that the garment is not just a piece of art but instead a blouse that can be worn occasionally. To differentiate from the traditional blouse, I have completely left out the use of mirrors and have sparingly used sequins. Mirrors are usually used to reflect off evil spirits. The light reflected would bring out the color of the thread used by reflecting light off them. To this traditional piece I wanted to add my touch of technology without really destroying its traditional appeal. In place of the mirrors, I used LEDs to do the same purpose.

Introduction:

Traditional art and crafts have always intrigued me and having talked to creators of this type of art work and my personal experiences with working in traditional art forms, I have observed that most of these art forms have their patterns inspired from nature and its elements. Whether it’s the making of a garment or art work that uses natural dies or the design patterns that are usually prints of birds, animals and plants; every single element is an expression derived from the environment around them. Using this as a basis, I wanted to create a garment that would be a traditional work of embroidery with inherent presence of technology in it.

Reading - The Fingerprint of the Second Skin

Having grown up reading and watching Sherlock Holmes solve almost impossible mysteries through logic and traces, I almost believed that Sherlock Holmes had special powers. Its funny how those non-living traces and marks on bodies and clothing actually become the basis of solving a problem. Moreover as observed in the reading, altered properties due to wear and tear of the clothes worn become great input for forensic studies. The reading thus, gave a realistic aspect to the kind of investigation done by Sherlock Holmes.
Till date often footwear and footprints were used for investigation along with clothes that were stained or had anything foreign on it. But the interpretation of patterns on jeans that define unique characteristics, come out of usage patterns and inherent properties of the material itself.
Clothes are mostly taken for granted and rarely the unique formation of barcode like patterns created out of the patterns of usages goes onto becoming a major differentiation factor among jeans apart from the make or brand.
Clothes define a language that is almost like the DNA of a garment that remains inherent and individual to each person or wearer. It will be interesting to watch how this language translates into proof and leads to gives justice and define the way forensic studies are carried out. This becomes the basis of new language, new representation, and after reading the Talking Knots article, it almost feels like on a daily basis through the wear and tear of our clothes we are creating a new language unknown to ourselves.

Senses

The gift of senses that we have has always added an element of magic to the human body and rather than considering the body as a machine (like in the Some Simple Reflections on the Body article by Paul Valery), it accentuates feelings and thought and adds an element of life to it. I loved the topic and feel that though I did get to create a wearable for it; I did not do justice to the topic since it has so much scope to ideate for.
Sense of touch was something that I wanted to explore. The touch defines a degree of closeness and touching something is always reassuring rather than just seeing it. Taking thing forward to the idea of how touch is used as an identification and assurance of the correct, I wanted to apply it to the humans and the ways we connect to each other. Any new connection between humans has some kind of touch associated with it. Whether it is the introduction of somebody new or reassurance touch is always there. This got me thinking about the ways of greeting and connecting through a handshake; that happens to be the most common form of greeting and is also a touch. A lot has been written about defining a person’s personality based on his handshake. This was interesting since shaking hands is something that we do so often that we don’t even have to think before thrusting the hand forward to greet somebody. I wanted to add an element of difference to my handshake and that’s when I came up with the idea of the funny handshake.

I created a hand gear that when worn, creates a little vibrating feeling in the hand of the person who is shaking hands with the wearer. The person who is shaking his hand with the wearer does not realize that he is actually initiating that action by closing the circuit when he shakes hands with the wearer.

Readings - Talking Knots

Civilizations , lifestyles in the past and lost cultures have always been one of my favorite topics. And this reading was specially interesting since I visited the Museum for Natural History in the spring break and loved the artifact uncovered from South America. The article defined a new communication medium that was drawn out of things that are so ordinary in the lives of people. This remined me about a folkart that i learnt, it is called Madhubani or Mithila painting and is named after the place of its origin. It was done on handmade paper, walls of houses, silk and saries too. This art carried out by women to kill time and very often depicted stories, folklores, Gods and Goddesses and their own family propsperities. But like the khipu knots the real meanings of most of these works of art is unknown. Each color used, each image depicted seems to have a significance in itself and inassociation to the other images around it in the painting. While this defines a traditional way of representation very much like any other written script, the Khipu defines a new way of communication and representation where the sense of touch and sight. Its surprising how knots become manuscripts and chronicles of events through intricate weaving. It would be even more interesting to see how the entire system would work in case of adding an element of electronics to it.

LUNCHMAN

The other day I saw my little cousins packing their lunch and snack bags, and that got me wondering when I ever did that. I guess I was just a wee bit spoilt since I had a lunch man bring me lunch to school. He would pick it up about half hour prior to my lunch break at school and hence I always got fresh and hot food for lunch. This was all though school and I can’t recall a day when I would have carried a lunch bag on me. My grandmother spoilt me further by bringing in food for me to school the day the lunch man missed picking up my bag.
I miss that indulgence especially since I have to now cook, and remember to carry as well as bring back the container that I carried my food in. I always forget my flask or lunch box in the office or in a class. Tried of buying new food savers every week, I came up with the idea of LUNCHMAN - making a lunch bag that was mobile as a part of the wearable assignment.
To make LUNCHMAN, I hacked 2 remote controlled cars. While the one that used infra- red did not too work well since the receiver, though in the line of sight, was always inside the bag and that offered interference for the incoming signal. I then tired the same with a radio controlled car. This worked great and also covered a greater distance if the antenna range on the remote was increased. While looking at the bag there is no way of knowing that there are wheels on the bottom and that it moves.
My LUNCHMAN is ready to bring me lunch when I ask it to.!!

Readings

The Design Process

Following a methodology in design is something that is not only taught but also followed rigorously in all areas of designs. The process gives definition and structure to something that is considered a creative act, thus give meaning to every step taken in this creative course. I would consider the act of solving a math problem as a creative process since we look at arriving at the simplest and correct solution in the shortest number of steps and the least amount of time.
Having done a course in Product Design, I have been grounded with a number of the methods mentioned in the reading. It was surprising to see how designing for completely different areas still has the same base structure of approach. While the process usually starts with the problem identification, in each case, to get a better understanding of the problem extensive literature survey is of foremost importance. Along with this to get to the root of the problem before solving it, a user study is necessary to get a true representation of the problem. This is usually done through a combination of observation, communication and questionnaire or simulation of the situation to get a clearer understanding of the problem. In doing so, we can identify other associated problems and sometimes ideas that one think could be solutions would now seem to be additional problems. This is where the problem definition helps by prioritizing and defining the areas that need attention. Thus problem definition seems so focused and yet extensible to other design ideas.
The ideation process that follows is the solution generating stage. Among the techniques mentioned in the readings I have often used the brainstorming method, and have also directly addressed issues in a product by providing direct solutions for them. The Synectic method, the Manipulative verb method and the mind mapping methods, explained in the reading seem very interesting and creative approaches and after the reading I would consider them to be better than just brainstorming. Like it is said in the reading, a lot of the good ideas come up after sleeping over an idea or after a brainstorming session, and these methods are great food for the idea generation.
The selection of ideas among the generated ones is an even harder process since we are asked to choose between the best of our own ideas. I guess maybe that’s why, using empirical and graphical means of selection where selection is done on the basis of the highest rank, or most features is usually used to select the idea.
The final step of evaluation, as mentioned, characterizes the actual start of design since the decision taken to go with solution needs to be authenticated to be the best solution to a given problem. And thus the design cycle begins again.

Rang De

I love the season spring, it defines a new beginning and everything positive, everything beautiful. It is a period of lush green nature, bright colors and festivity. A lot of Indian Marriages are scheduled during this time. Our marriages are elaborate affairs that involves dance, music and fun that spans over a week. And with the spring in the backdrop, it is a scene of happiness in totality.

Though I am not sure about what I really want to do, but I do want to explore traditional Indian themes through a wearable that is techie and yet could be culturally associated with India. This is more to do with the fact that I love bright colors, noise and the hustle – bustle of daily life, clinking of metal, the sound of frying something, the wearing of brightly colored saris with almost non existing blouses, the use of Red in almost everything that is considered holy, and beautiful brides draped in 9 yards of cloth that has the fine work of a weaver and craftsman who had in mind the perfect bride while he weaves and sews sequence and thread to great a masterpiece. I am still not sure as to what I want to do, but yes it will be an extension of that’s craftsman’s work.

Reading

Reflectionism and Diffusionism : New tactics for Deconstructing the Video Surveillance Superhighway by Steve Mann

This reading left me with mixed feelings. It reminded me about the movie Minority Report and also about something that Scott Bukatman had said – “The body must become a cyborg to retain its presence in the world, resituated in technological space and reconfigured in technological terms. Whether this represents a continuation, a sacrifice, transcendence, or a surrender of "the subject" is not certain.”
This in a way does define the change that we are experiencing due to the penetration of technology to such a large extent in our lives. And somehow I have never felt threatened by the presence of cameras around me except in toilets and in my room. Especially in this country where, with just the social security number any kind of information can be obtained, the boundaries that define privacy are getting blurred. While the author’s theories of reflectionism and difussionism are both strong reactions to the existing use of camera and video surveillance, I hope that these find better use than just as means of getting back to the system that I believe maybe using it to protect the citizen body.
However the idea of monitoring our protectors seem seems like a great solution for the corrupt and lazy officers that I have seen in developing countries. Something like this has to be implemented there to keep the officers on their toes especially since bureaucracy and red-tapism is so largely prevalent there.
Among the various projects, it was the wearcam - “Cyborgian Primitive“ was something that caught my attention the most. I am currently looking up the other works that the author has done in the same direction based on the references that he has mentioned in the article.

E-broidery and Construction Kits

E-broidery: Design and Fabrication of Textile-based Computing by E.R. Post and A Construction Kit for Electronic Textiles by Leah Buechley

Both these readings bring forth the making and creating aspect of wearable products. Though wearable technology is an area that is interesting and exciting to work in, the actual making of fine circuits that can be included as a part of the wearable itself is a difficult task. The idea of using a basic kit to start off with initially and then take projects into more complex circuitry is a great way to get a hand of the technology. The technicalities are well explained in the E-broidery article but seem very theoretical since I have never had a chance to work with these techniques, the maximum I have done is sew with conductive thread. These articles seem to define the crux of how the actual implementation happens and to a large extent help me clarify the technicalities of the wearable-product ideas that I have conceived.

Readings

Dress Codes: Meanings and Messages in American Culture By Ruth P Rubinstein

This reading defines how though we know “never to judge a book by its cover“ we still end up doing it at least when we meet somebody for the first time. Yes, I do agree that clothing express just what we are trying to convey and if it is relevant in that particular situation, then clothing can have a great influence to the entire situation.

For a country like USA that is a blend of various societies and cultures the need of standardized appearance becomes important. While, I am sure that though in India the sari and salwar kameez are formally worn to work places and considered office wear, there are no Indians who would ever wear it to their workplace in the US. Again, it can be assumed to be driven by cultures that exist in different countries and the need to follow the norm and be accepted. I like the thought mentioned in the reading, that attire that denies the body, leads to self –restraint, almost like self denial since we want to fit into the ways of the culture and society.

This reading opened to me the dress code aspect of the American culture with its historical view. For an outsider like me, I am now rather clear about the dos and the don’ts of the American Culture, especially since I am trying to learn and fit into the ways of the country.

Clothing with a Purpose

Another thing I wanted to do was to use the act of tying as a switch to initiate the element to the heat up. I experimented with 2 pieces of conducting fabrics at two ends that one need to tie together to get the circuit to work. It was very erratic and never got around including it in my scarf.

Hacking these samples I realized that it was nothing but the carbon fabric that had positive and negative electrodes attached to it for the input power. And since the surface area of the carbon was small it was easy to heat it up with an input of 9v.

This concept, I applied in the warm scarf that I made for the class project. It was a funny wearable since the connecting cables were partially cable and partially conducting thread since it was difficult to attach the attach the thread to the battery pack. Also the heating elements came with a cable that I cut and used as buttons that complete the circuit to allow the elements to heat up. I also used some of fabric to insulate the heating element and uniformly dissipate the heat, so that the wearer has a feeling of the temperature slowly rising and yet not getting too hot.

Another thing I wanted to do was to use the act of tying as a switch to initiate the element to the heat up. I experimented with 2 pieces of conducting fabrics at two ends that one need to tie together to get the circuit to work. It was very erratic and never got around including it in my scarf.

Hacking these samples I realized that it was nothing but the carbon fabric that had positive and negative electrodes attached to it for the input power. And since the surface area of the carbon was small it was easy to heat it up with an input of 9v.

This concept, I applied in the warm scarf that I made for the class project. It was a funny wearable since the connecting cables were partially cable and partially conducting thread since it was difficult to attach the attach the thread to the battery pack. Also the heating elements came with a cable that I cut and used as buttons that complete the circuit to allow the elements to heat up. I also used some of fabric to insulate the heating element and uniformly dissipate the heat, so that the wearer has a feeling of the temperature slowly rising and yet not getting too hot.

Clothing with a Purpose

Last semester, as a part of my Pcomp project I was working on creating a jacket that would keep a person warm based on the dynamic weather feed that it was receiving wireless from a computer. I wanted to work further to eliminate the excessive electronics and computer related components and yet achieve a similar effect. I researched further during the break and understood the concept of heat transmission and how that can be done without crossing the threshold value of the material and cause it burn. I played with ceramic discs and thin copper wires to see how these respond when electric was given to them. At high current inputs, I was able to heat these but a simple 9v battery did not heat up. Around the same time I got in touch with a company that creates heating elements for industrial use. Though they had no mention of the technology used in their products. Looking at their products it seemed that it has to be some kind of cloth that dissipated heat when current was supplied to it. Carbon gauze had similar properties and it could be woven into sheet-like form. I got in touch with the company and went down to Stratford to pick up samples.

Venus of Riddhima

My culture and traditions are an important part of my upbringing. While I don’t blindly follow these traditions, I do derive a lot of inspiration from the traditional ways of living and clothing. India had been known as the golden bird before the British in its flourishing days, artisans and creator poured their creativity in everything that was made. Whether it is the carvings on temple walls or jewelry in gold and gems or simply the creation of patterns on woven silk that was created keeping the wearer in mind, each piece was a creation that drew inspiration from nature, abundance and the festivity that were prevailing all the time.

My wearable “rakkodi” has the traditional red bindi on it that signifies prosperity, long live and the very essence of a woman in the Indian culture.

Having learnt classical Indian Dance for close to 15 years, I have realized that it has been a great medium of expression of feeling and thought for me. Emoting to music is something that I have been able to do. Too much of “abhinaya” , my teacher used to say.

I also have a weakness for antique jewelry, (possibly inherited from my mother), and have always enjoyed analyzing pieces that my mother collected. I love analyzing the pieces for the kind of work done on it, understanding the style and perfection that creator wanted to achieve. I guess these two vastly differing reasons form the basis of my wearable piece. My inspiration is the rakkodi that sits on the back of the head. It is originally a round, gem-studded piece of jewelry that has a small clip to pass the hair through and to hold it in place at the back of the head is very often inherited. In my case , this was a piece that my mother was given by her grandmother, before it came into my possession. This was a piece that I wore as a part of my classical dance attire and it has a scientific reason associated with it. It is used to protect the medulla oblongata of the head. It is very fascinating to know that each piece of ornament that is worn as a part of the classical dance attire has some kind of significance that is backed by a scientific reason.

Fashion by George Simmel

The reading throws light on how fashion rises out of the need of humans to differentiate and stand apart but yet not be excluded out of the society circle. It interesting to know that though as human beings we are easily demarcated as male or female, each of us have within us a united masculine and feminine principle. This I reminds me of an avatar that we in classical Indian dance form associate with creation, the " Ardhanareswari" avatar which is represented by a being who’s body is made up of two halves; one the male half and the other being the female half.
His association of the word fashion with two contrasting ideas , one being the act of camouflaging of oneself, to be accepted into the folds of the society and the other to stand apart from those who do not belong to the same class in the society, has become the very basis of the class and society. More interestingly how the people who are more visibly in the society, are usually those who have camouflaged well, never seem to deviate from the general opinion, in a way don’t dare to think independently, almost like they do not want to identify with their individuality and prefer to stick to the ways of the world. Fashion is about creative imitation and yet demarcation among peers, whether it is in the well defined societies of the modern world or among the tribal clans that are untouched by the modern ways. The only difference is that rate of change that fashion brings to the city dwellers is faster than what it would be among people living in tribal communities untouched the modern society.
Another interesting statement was the fact that the sometimes things that are in vogue may actually be the most repugnant thing and yet in the name of fashion it is labeled as the creative and personal expression of the designer. This work of fashion, by designers get appreciated and is often considered art, and not something that can be worn, but it is usually left to be a collector’s item. One such designer in India, is Manish Arora who found it to be a struggle initially since his “art” and creation was rarely accepted by the main folds of the society and was considered to be too radical to be thought as wearable.He is doing rather well now since there is this new section in the society of the nouveau riche, who not only have the means but are willing to deviate from the united ways of the society and stand apart.
For me, the reading is almost like an insight into the mind of a set of people who we define as society, and how their constant need of demarcation and of yet fitting into the crowd gives rise to fashion and form the basis of its existence.

Clothing : The Portable Environment by Susan M WAtkins

Clothing as a personal space, this is something I have never thought of or rather even considered. But, yes it has always been something that I think would define me as a person. Associating this also amounts to the fact that even personal spaces then become an extension of the person itself. The idea of defining a space suit one such extension, almost like a house is great. Keeping aside the logistics of the workability of something like a house that you can wear, the entire idea seem to redefine the meaning of house and gives rise to a very thought that is there is a suit that will serve as a house and will fulfill all the needs of a house. I will be home wherever I go. This idea, as mentioned in the reading, may result in the application of this concept into other areas especially in high risk jobs that are associated with chemicals, toxic materials or any other harmful substances that people will be handling. Or just extending the idea of ones personal space and environment we can have a specialized suit for painters, travelers and so on that caters to their individual needs.