October 6th & 7th 2014, 10-17:00 as part of the SOFT Symposium on Fashion Technology
at The Royal Academy of Art in The Hague

Bodies as Instruments: Masterclass and Symposium at KABK

Workshop Leaders: Marije Baalman, Mika Satomi & Hannah Perner-Wilson (KOBAKANT)

In this two-day workshop participants will explore the human body as a platform for musical interaction. Using Marije Baalman’s Sense/Stage wireless communication boards and a range of textile sensors that can be applied to the body to capture movements and interaction, participants will team up in order to imagine and build their wearable instrument costumes and/or accessories. We challenge participants to consider and design around the personal and intimate spheres of on-body and inter-body interactions. Imagine using another person’s body to create, compose, improvise and/or perform musical scores. How would you approach, touch, graze, stroke, pressure, squeeze, stretch, bend, manipulate a live body in order to create sound? And what kind of sounds would your actions trigger?

No prior knowledge of textiles, electronics, performance or music is required of participants. We encourage people from all kinds of backgrounds and with all kinds of interests in wearable technology, on-body interaction, music & performance to apply.

The workshop will conclude with informal performances of participant’s creations and short discussion to reflect on the workshop as a whole. In a symposium following the workshop, the workshop leaders will reflect on the workshop outcome, participant’s experiences with the medium of textile sensors and musical performance through on-body interaction.

To sign up for this workshop, please email: soft@kabk.nl

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Participant Creations:

Comforting Scarf

Lauren, Veronika
Wrapping the scarf around the neck triggers custom recorded sounds.

Rules of Engagement: Yes/No

Asami, Min
Sleeves worn by two blindfolded performers allow them to explore their intimate body spaces through touch. Depending on how their bodies are intertwined, Yes or No responses are spoken by the system. The unpredictability of the system feeds back into the performance as the performers choose how to interpret what they are hearing in relation to what they are feeling of one another.

Braided Poem

Barbara, Sandra, Wen Chin
The act of braiding the hair is turned into a means for progressing through a recorded story. This wearable interface is worn at the base of the neck. The strips of fabric are woven in with the braided hair and the contacts between conductive and resistive fabric strips sense how long the braid is, and also how it is being braided (tug or gentle).

Endorphin Soundtracks from The Future

Lieke, Dylan, Ilona, Jasna, Merlena, Kayleigh
A pair of tops with fabric pressure and stroke sensors embedded on their backs, detect the act of two people embracing. Firstly the fact that two people are in contact cancels their endorphin soundtracks, since endorphins are now stimulated through social interaction. How the individuals are hugging – are they stroking or patting each others backs – this information is captured by the system in order to create a personal soundtrack that can be shared over social media.

Play Me

Raphael, Dorchess
An interactive wearable instrument. But still a human instrument. Instead of objectifying the person, it maintains the personality of the wearer. The body is divided into zones and different zones correspond to different instrument sounds, such as casual (piano), intimate (cello), sexy (saxophone). Different types of sensors are capable of capturing different forms of touch, from stroke to poke to pressure to slapping. A unisex suit obscures the sexuality of the “instrument”.

Talk Socks

Fieke, Min, Marice
Words taken from an article were recorded in different voices. Loud, angry, gentle, questioning. These words are played back in their different voices depending on how the wearer of a pair of socks steps on their feet. Walking gently or stomping. The socks have textile pressure sensors in each heal and toe.

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Workshop Details:

Date: Monday and Tuesday, October 6th & 7th 2014
Time: 10-17:00 (and workspace is open 9-21:00)
Location: The Royal Academy of Art in The Hague
Sign-up: soft@kabk.nl

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Links:

SOFT >> http://www.kabk.nl/newsitemEN.php?newsid=0876&cat=09
KABK >> http://www.kabk.nl/
Sense/Stage >> https://docs.sensestage.eu/
Marije Baalman >> https://www.marijebaalman.eu/
KOBAKANT >> http://www.kobakant.at/DIY/?p=5301
Workshop Photos >> https://www.flickr.com/photos/plusea/sets/72157648021325690/

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Schedule:

Day 1
Hello and welcome to the workshop
Brief Introductions (Participants)
Intro to KOBAKANT (Projects and E-Textiles)
Intro to workshop theme (Technical Intimacy: Bodies as Instruments)
Intro to sense/stage (Marije Baalman and Jonathan Reus)
Install and get sense/stage running
Introduction to textile sensors (voltage divider, ADC….)
– LUNCH –
Make textile sensors, connect to sense/stage, make sound
Group discussions

Day 2
Groups present their ideas
Feedback
Time to work
– LUNCH –
Time to work
Final presentations

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Inspirations:

Audio Ballerinas (Benoit Maubrey, 1989)
>> http://www.benoitmaubrey.com/?p=1

DrumPants (2014)
>> http://www.drumpants.com

Ruffeletron (Lara Grant, 2012)
>> http://vimeo.com/49555220
>> http://chartreusecircle.com/Ruffletron

Three Dresses (Luiza P, 2011)
>> http://vimeo.com/23361829
>> https://www.flickr.com/photos/doisedois/sets/72157626062354813/

The Human Harp (2014)
>> http://humanharp.org/

Massage me (KOBAKANT, 2006/07)
>> http://massage-me.at/

Intimate Game Controllers (Jenny LC, 2007)
>> http://www.jennylc.com/intimate_controllers/

The Human Violin (V2_, 2009)
>> http://www.kobakant.at/DIY/?p=1593

The Human Cello (Charlotte Moorman and Nam June Paik, 1965)
>> photos

Dimi-S (aka. the Sexaphone) (Erkki Kurenniemi)
>> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yJjY_BarHhA

Make a Baby (Lucky Dragons’)
>> https://archive.org/details/brianclementskatyrobinson

Satellite Skin (Jonathan Reus, 2014)
>> http://www.jonathanreus.com/index.php/project/satellite-skin-2014/103063262.vimeo

Autonomic Resonance (Jonathan Reus, 2014)
>> http://www.jonathanreus.com/index.php/project/autonomic-resonance/

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Exercise:

Face your neighbor. The person closest to the door closes their eyes. The other person touches them.
Where do you touch them? How do you touch them? For how long do you touch them?
After opening their eyes the person who has been touched describes the sensation of being touched. The feeling? The sensation? The apprehension? The comfort/discomfort?