Project Proposal

Courtney Clarke
Courtney_clarke919@hotmail.com

H.E.M.D- Heart, Evoke, Movement, Dance

In my final project I will be looking at movement through dance. In contemporary dance the body tests it boundaries and extremities, and allows the dancer to move in a way which allows them to explore what their body is capable of. I myself being a contemporary dancer, have lately been paying close attention to what sort of areas in my body which are most relevant to me, and which areas I can push in interesting ways. In this study of my body I have become most intrigued with the elbow, hips and shoulder. These areas I feel can create unusual shapes in space and along the body, and through this project I would like these movements to harness power and light the garment. The lights will be located on the left side of the garment close to the heart, I choose this location to represent a personal attachment to dance and this way of expression. I myself use dance as a way to express myself and allows me to feel empowered and at the same time an emotional protection. The garment will be a type of full body suit which will exaggerate the sections of the body I'm particularly interested in. This will allow visually a distortion of the body which is essentially what is trying to be done when performing. Contorting the body in an elegant and beautiful way is something i want to focus on. Inside these exaggerated forms i will integrate the mechanical aspects of the suit which will allow for the powering of the LED’s. I don’t want these aspects to be viewed and I'm hoping that if they are integrated into these forms they will not irritate the user. Comfort will be an important aspect of the project, because to fully examine movement you must be comfortable and free to move. Therefore I must make sure the exaggerated areas do not hinder what the dancer can do. The interaction scenario will consist of the dancer dancing in the suit. The more the they move the brighter the lights will become, the harder they train the more connected they will become with the shapes they make in space. The light will refer to their personal enjoyment to dancing and making these shapes with your body.

Materials

The fabrics I would like to use in this project is a type of fabric close in nature to Luon which is a fabric that is best used for high performance clothing. The fabric responds well to sweat and is stretchy in every direction which will allow the dancer to move freely. The fabric is very durable and relatively thick.
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The interior exaggerated sections of the garment will be done with plastic ties which can be found at any hardware store. I used this material in the previous project and it quite successfully produced a rigid support for creating exterior forms but is also very flexible and strong. The LED’s I plan on using will be red because of the connection I'm trying to make between the heart. I will need to find a pattern for the body suit then make my own adjustments to the pattern later.

In completing this project i will need a lot of guidance in creating a flow in which all these power sources can link to my LED’s and integrating it into the fabric. As I mentioned before I will need to find a body suit pattern then do some of my own variations to change the shape to what i would like. I’ll need to research in what type of stitch I should use with the 4-way stretch fabric.

Inspiration

A dancer that really inspires me. I love his movement and I feel the way he dances really captures what I'm trying to portray.

Dancer: Chaz Buzan
Choreography: Tokyo
Studio: Breaking Down , New York City, New York

Sketches







My Second Skin

In the reading Skin Surface substance and Design the author is revealing the various ways to look at skin and the many forms it can take in our lives. Skin is generally seen as a transparent fairly strong substance that is found not only on a human but is incorporated in every day design. Skin in my opinion is a layer in which protects the interior “ guts” to not be damaged and preserve its mechanics. It can be seen as something beautiful but contains a memory of all that has interacted with it. Your own skin contains a memory of everything that you have encountered throughout your life. Scars, freckles and wrinkles all produce their own story of what you have encountered in your life. Objects also have this type of memory on their skins. These synthetic skins receive a type of memory which keeps evidence of scratches and dents which can be linked to the type of scaring we experience. Today I feel that society is trying to remove this memory from their skins but using cosmetics and synthetic materials to erase the evidence of the past. Collagen and reproduction of skin in test tubes and other scientific methods is transforming our skins into something that is more like a reptile. Like a snake we are shedding our previous memories and growing or surgically adding new skin to start fresh again.

sketches Before In class conslutation



In progress Final Piece

Project Two Research

Research Presentation
Dart 339-Project Two
Courtney Clarke
Courtney_Clarke919@hotmail.com

Looking at mobile solar power: Solar power is a good solution to sustainable energy but in my research I discovered that maybe its no the most effective power source to use in clothing because of its bulkiness and to allow the solar panels to work to their full capacity you must have a lot of surface area and the human body doesn’t necessarily allow for that. I did however find some examples of solar power clothing but i don’t necessarily like the aesthetic, and i still fee like it is quite bulky and kinda ugly.



The second piece I looked at was a piece made by Jeannine Han and Dan Riley. This suit uses sensors similar to ipod technology and depending where you touch the suit it creates a variation of noises. These noises are infinite from the sound of piano keys to more robotic sounds. The designers decided to use a more organic look to the piece and the sensors are placed in every inch of the suit.




The starlight skirt by Shannon Henry is a evening gown which incorporates fiber optics in a wrap tule skirt. When the wearer spins the lights on the dress light up in different colours controlled by a Lily Pad which is placed in the center of the garment. This project is very close to what I'm thinking of doing cause I would like to play with movement which controls the brightness and intensity of my piece.


* All above examples are from TAlk2myshrit.com

The next very interesting discovery i made was with Nancy Tilbury explorations in a more biological approach to wearable art. In her pieces she explores gas a a form of clothing, and programable pieces. The cloud dress for example uses gas to cover the body and creates a series of delicate forms. These ideas are more conceptual but I think its important to look at these pieces therefore you can take you tangible piece further, then just a bolt of fabric.

Digital Skins Body Atmospheres from Nancy Tilbury on Vimeo.

http://www.electricfoxy.com/2010/03/nancy-tilbury-infuses-biological-experiences-into-couture/

Michael C. McAlpine of Princeton has developed the idea that even couch potatoes can generate power. In the New York Times article this scientist is looking how small movements in our body generate power, even breathing can emit at least one watt of power. Mr. McAlpine is attempting to harness this power with his small rubberized piezoelectric crystals which can divert this human power to re-usable energy. He hopes that this can eventually harness enough power to charge and continue charging an Mp3 player.



http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/02/science/02obribbon.html?hpw

Lucy McRae is a designer which i particularly like because I really enjoy how she uses the body as an architectural form. I enjoy how she expands the body to create new interesting shapes which are not necessarily comfortable for the wearer but are beautiful to look at. Her work inspires me to maybe stretch what the ideal human body should look like and distort that image to make a more interesting and provocative piece.



I decided to include this video because I still am not comfortable with circuits and i believe that watching these type of video can further help me in my project to create something successful

How To: Sew a Circuit on Fabric from Michael Ryan Moore on Vimeo.

The Soundie is a touch sensitive sweater which uses sound and light to demonstrate intimacy. Depending on how hard or soft you touch area the pitch and light of the sweater will change. This sweater demonstrates the ideas of intimacy and closeness we were exploring in class and how touch can effect the way an object reacts. I like the idea that the brightness or loudness of an object can change depending on how much you interact with it and I would very like the implement this idea in my project.




http://www.talk2myshirt.com/blog/archives/3814

The hug Shirt uses the popular idea of intimacy with loved ones by creating warmth and sensation of touch and caress but through a bluetooth technology. By calling a loved one anywhere around the world the bluetooth embedded in the cloth can sense the other persons body through sensors that measure heat, pressure and emotional feeling. I found this idea interesting that you could create your sensation anywhere around the world just by the dialing a number. It creates a whole new level of intimacy which goes beyond just a voice on a phone.



http://www.cutecircuit.com/products/wearables/thehugshirt/

Communicating Physical Memory

My project is looking at child's play and how children view the world. which relates to memory because some of my most vivid memories are from my childhood. My object is a hood skeleton which creates a doom around the child. When they jerk their body forward they are brought to a certain area of their imagination where they view the outside world through a series of different filters which brings them away from their reality. The hood holds the memory of the last exploration and keeps it stored till the next time they journey in the hood.