Precedent Research

Balance from Within

This work by Jacob Tonski takes an antique sofa and uses robotic elements to precariously and dynamically balance with a teetering motion on one leg. I saw this piece displayed at the Miller gallery on campus and I really enjoyed the subtle movements and ideas of balance that could be carried into a wearable kinetic piece because even when someone tries to remain absolutely still, they are always moving and balancing.

Playtime

This piece is more fabric/fashion based and is a dress-like garment that reacts to the light of a camera flash by moving and blurring the body. I like how the kinetic movements where the dress undulates are activated by the lights of a camera flash.

Possible Tomorrow

Another dress by Ying Gao, this outfit responds to the presence of strangers and start curling and moving when they sense the contact of an unfamiliar fingerprint. I like the way that the artist works with the idea of clothing as a protective device that responds to unknown people and the concept of physical contact with others triggering a visual response.

Ex Nihilo

In this project, Alex Pegna creates interesting geometric clothing out of spaghetti formed into rigid geometric shapes on body forms. While this piece doesn’t have much movement, I like the medium and the potential for more mobile linkages this could have.

Samples

Frilled lizard inspired dress that has a large neck frill that can open and close like a fan to give a visual warning/ fear response
A dress that has a fringe made of folded fan-like shapes that open and close, releasing glitter from inside them, like pollinating plowers, so that the more the wearer moves, the more traces they leave behind
An outfit that is a mix between a pillow fight and a molting bird, this pillowy dress has moving wire tracks that run around different parts of the body. These wires have loosely-attached feathers that are flung off over time until the dress loses its feathery-ness.