Category: Softness of Things

  • WEARABLE WALL

    Worn as a backpack, the wearable wall is a portable structure that has the conceptual flexibility to be used in a variety of situations. In thinking about self-conscious or self-managed space, there are many times in our daily lives when it is advantageous to make ourselves smaller or bigger than our actually physical form. On a crowded subway car, one might make themself smaller so as to squeeze into a narrow seat. In dressing ourselves, we often don high heels or large, puffy jackets so as to create a larger physical impact. The Wearable Wall asks the question – what if we could be even bigger? Because of our relatively small size, we as people seldom have the physical vocabulary to have a conversation with the architectural forms that surround us. The Wearable Wall enables you to contribute to or critique the space around you. You can extend a preexisting wall or create one wherever you see fit. You are also empowered to alter or direct pedestrian traffic flow. The Wearable Wall also redefines the human-wall relationship. So often we lean against walls as we wait for things to happen. In this scenario, it is the human that provides support for the wall. Without us, this wall cannot stand.
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  • HAND-CRANKED VIDEO MIRROR

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    The Hand-Cranked Video Mirror is a device with which you have to operate a crank in order to generate the power necessary to see yourself. It is composed of a small LCD screen, a surveillance camera, and a power generating crank hacked out of a flashlight. Ideally I wanted to have the entire setup powered by the crank, but for now I am just able to power the video camera. The monitor is powered via wall power or battery, but it remains blank and the camera stays off until you operate the crank to generate the power for the camera. I removed the battery charging circuit from the crank so the voltage goes directly to the camera. As a result, your image disappears as soon as you stop cranking. Steady, rhythmic cranking provides the best image – frantic, fast cranking tends to get you nowhere. I like the idea that it takes energy, focus, and consistency to see your own image.

  • “TIN-CAN” TELEPHONE NETWORK

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    For our network assignment, Vincent Dean Boyce, Britta Reilly, and I decided to make a unidirectional network following the tin-can telephone model. Telephones were constructed with plastic cups and string. Each member of the class was given a transmitting end and receiving end of a different telephone. Three different networks emerged and messages were passed from one person to another through the network. Images of the network in use can be found at Vincent’s flickr account.

  • LIGHT BOX

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    A small strip of copper foil allows any small card, photo, or paper item to take on the role of connector. When placed in the frame, the card closes the circuit and causes the box beneath it to light up. The idea is that any small scrap of paper may be a link to a memory, and by giving that scrap of paper attention and a moment of reflection, the memory is highlighted and has the opportunity to surface.

  • PUSH PIN ELECTRONICS

    The bulletin board and thumb tacks are a standard system of connectors to be found in any office. The addition of batteries, wire mesh, and LEDs transform this system from physical to electrical.

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    The the left and right side of the bulletin board are covered with wire mesh which is connected to the power and ground of the battery. LEDs are connected to push pins with wire. A bit of copper foil is placed at the base of the tack to ensure a connection with the wire mesh.

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  • C-TOWN DRESS

    The C-Town Dress is a look at modules and my obsession with plastic bags. On the modules side, I was thinking about modules as pockets or containers and I wanted to see how I could reinvent or take a second look at some preexisting form. As for plastic bags, I feel as though I am plagued by them. I hate waste and these are materials that accumulate rapidly and involuntarily. I spent a lot of time trying to avoid them and realized it was close to impossible, so have recently been trying to come up with creative ways to repurpose them.

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    The dress is composed of 46 plastic C-Town shopping bags (C-Town is my local supermarket). The handles are snipped off and the sides are tucked in and then sewn to provide reinforcement. The top of the pouch is then rolled over to provide support for the soon to be pocket. The pouches are assembled in columns and then in rows, forming the front and back panels. The two panels are then sewn together, leaving the appropriate openings for arm and neck holes. All bags are left open as pockets, including those that comprise the sleeves.
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  • THE MUTTERING HAT

    The Muttering Hat is a physical embodiment of the negative thoughts that often crowd one’s head space. Displayed it the form of a hat, a pair of angry, muttering balls (representation of the negative thoughts) are tethered to one’s head. These balls can be placed in a variety of location to indicate the intensity of the thoughts. Times when the thoughts are very loud and overwhelming can demonstrated by the balls being stuck to hat, covering the ears. This causes all other sound to be obstructed by the muttering. When the negative thoughts are less present, the balls can hang at the shoulders where the muttering can barely be heard. This is, in a sense, a play on the “voices in your head”. The advantage of having them be externalized and detachable is that you can share them with a friend.

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    Audio is played from a hacked MP3 player. Speakers are embedded in the angry balls.

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    The play button of the MP3 player is intercepted and replaced with a soft switch so the system can be activated and deactivated by squeezing the tether line.

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    The muttering audio can be heard here.