Text by CLOT Magazine
In 1995, Nicholas Negroponte predicted that “being digital” would have us entering a realm increasingly unconstrained by the materiality of the world he was mostly right. Two decades later, our everyday lives are indeed even more suffused by computation and calculation. However, materiality persists and continues to reassert itself.
More and more, in recent years, artists and designers have been incorporating technological and material advancements in their practice, either as a reflection and critique of our society or as an aesthetic or design exercise to push boundaries forward.
Design is a means of speculating how things could be—imagining possible futures. Moreover, sometimes these speculative scenarios become a reality in the hands of researchers and designers that push forward the boundaries of materiality to create new materials that can be described as the convergence of sciences, technologies and design. From programmable matter, 3D/4D printing, wearable technologies, or bio-inspired design, these new disciplines have captured the attention of engineers, scientists, designers and artists.
In this talk, Lula Criado* and Meritxell Rosell*, CLOT Magazine’s editors and directors, will explore some of the latest trends in materials and digital technologies, giving an overview of new disciplines such as biodesign, future materials, digital couture and digital fabrication. They will showcase recent developments playing an accelerating role in shaping the perception of and the relationship to contemporary culture —art, design and fashion, through the work of the most exciting creatives blending the digital and the material.
