BioLogic’s Living Textile is a project from MIT’s Media Lab that uses 3D printing technology to make active and actuating “second skin”, which in the context of kinetic fabrics has high potential to inspire similar pneumatic, living, or animated wearables.

  • What feature of the work could we specifically evolve into a technique for wearable kinetic sculpture or costume? 
    • The geometric and flexible 3D printed designs on the “second skin” product can be used not only for responsive clothing(in this case, to sweat), but also can be used in artistic wearable contexts to create a garment that expands in the wind, maybe in a very unusual or unnatural way. 

  • What details of the artist or concept are not immediately apparent and how do they inform the work?
    • One detail that stuck out to me while reading was the Tangible Media Group’s concept of “radical atoms”, which they define as “ is our vision of human interaction with future dynamic materials that are computationally reconfigurable.”

  • Are there closely related works?
    • There are many! I linked some below, but something that stuck out to me was the work of Iris Van Herpen, a high-end fashion designer. Designs inspired by her work could be simplified, 3D printed, and used to create a breath-activated wearable art piece.

bioLogic “second skin”

This assignment really got my creative juices flowing. Project Ideas for this class/in general: 

  • Wacky piercing pillow/neck plane thing
  • actuating/dancing stuffed animal(based on stuffed cactus) 
  • Final: glow in the dark extraordinary dress, using sewing + 3d printing + embedded LEDs(e-textile equipment) – wear it to the exhibition lol – with 3d printed “chain” mask and headpiece/face jewelry – learn rhino basics?