Prof. Dr. Berit Greinke
NOISE SAMPLERS
Seminar, English/Deutsch, 3 SWS, 2 ECTS, 3 places
Thursdays, 14-18 h, 9 dates: 28.4., 5.5., 2.6., 9.6., 16.6., 23.6., 7.7., 14.7.2022
Straße des 17 Juni 118, room 206
Online pre-meeting (Informationsveranstaltung): 21.4., 18-18:30 h, where a brief overview and info on the expected outcomes will be provided.
For more information see https://design.udk-berlin.de/lehrangebot/samplers
Please register via Email to b.greinke@udk-berlin.de.
Achtung: Für Design-Studierende nicht als kulturwissenschaftliche Studium-Generale-Leistung anrechenbar!

Embroidery has a rich history which, in different forms, has existed as long as the making of textiles. Bridging the utilitarian and the decorative, hand embroidery only requires the most essential of tools and materials, i.e. a needle, a thread, and a fabric to stitch on. In recent years, embroidery has also been explored by designers and researchers for the prototyping of soft electronic circuits, or even fully embroidered electromechanical computers (The Embroidered Computer, Irene Posch, 2016). Here, old crafts provide means and a strategy to imagine other narratives for technology development.

In this seminar, we will bring together old techniques of embroidery with noise-making integrated circuit (IC) chips. You will receive introductions to electronic textiles and ICs to create sonic and/or interactive embroidery. On the basis of a historical embroidery technique of your choice, you will then explore logic and noise patterns in an embroidery sampler. Our approach will be hands-on, exploring aesthetics and function through materials and critical crafting.

The seminar is aimed at students who are interested in textile crafts, while being curious about art-tech interdisciplinary inquiry. No previous knowledge in electronics required, but commitment and self-motivated learning is crucial. Interdisciplinary collaborative projects are possible.

„The English word ’sampler‘ derives from the Latin ‚exemplum‘, or the old French term ‚essamplaire‘, meaning ‚an example‘. Before the introduction of printed designs, embroiderers and lacemakers needed a way to record and reference different designs, stitches and effects. The answer was to create a sampler – a personal reference work featuring patterns and elements that the owner may have learned or copied from others, to recreate again in new pieces.” (Embroidery – a history of needlework samplers: https://www.vam.ac.uk/articles/embroidery-a-history-of-needlework-samplers)

Berit Greinke is a junior professor in Wearable Computing at Berlin University of the Arts and Einstein Center Digital Future (ECDF). Her research focuses on engineering design methods and fabrication techniques for electronic textiles and smart materials, combining crafts with novel manufacturing technologies. Her work is multidisciplinary, informed by research and practice within design, art, physics, materials science and electronic engineering. She aims to initiate innovation and foster a collaborative relationship between arts and engineering disciplines, fluidly crossing boundaries by producing designed objects, installations, performances and cross-disciplinary workshops. She completed a diploma degree in Textile and Surface Design at Berlin Weissensee School of Art (2007), and an MA in Design for Textile Futures at Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design (2009). She has gained a PhD in Media and Arts Technology at Queen Mary University of London (2017). Between 2016 and 2018 she has worked as a researcher and post-doc at Design Research Lab, Berlin University of the Arts and at German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence. Her work has been shown internationally, and has been supported by, amongst others, the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (UK), Medical Research Council (UK), Leverhulme Trust and DAAD.