Maggie Orth is a pioneer of electronic textiles that combine traditional weaving and sewing techniques with electronics and conductive fibers:
100 Electronic Art Years, 2009 – above
The title of 100 Electronic Art Years refers to the ambiguous lifetime of color change textiles, and all electronic art. All Electronic art fails, all art fails. The question is how, and with what result. As with all color change textiles, the bright colors will eventually become permanently burned into the surface of the piece, creating a permanent record of software and physical artifact. When asked how long each piece will continue to perform, I can only answer in “electronic art years”.
BLIP is one of seven pieces in the “moving toward stillness” series. Color change textiles have a finite working life. Over time, as the piece runs, the bright colors are burned onto the surface of the piece, creating a permanent record of software and physical artifact acting together. I call this process evolving toward stillness. As it’s title suggests, this piece is a “BLIP” of change and action surrounded by an infinity of stillness. All technology art fails. All life fails. We are all a BLIP of action moving toward stillness. The electrical materials of the piece have symbolic and magical properties as well as functional ones. Here they bring life, energy and motion to what is normally still.