I was lucky enough to stumble across Behnaz Farahi’s “Caress of the Gaze”. What struck me about the work by the 3D designer and architect located in Los Angeles is the seamless integration of art and science. Her work explores the possibilities and pushes the limits of how we define what we know as normally immobile objects. Imagine clothing no longer being inanimate, but something that responds and reacts to the person who perceives it and the environment in which it exists. Farahi’s 3D Printed Gaze Actuated Wearable does precisely this.
The vest piece that covers the shoulders and chest is made of porcupine like monochromatic quills and is equipped with a small hidden video camera that observes its surroundings.
The video (filmed by Charlie Nordstrom & Elena Kulikova) created to originally portray the attributes of the piece shows the model moving ever so slightly, accentuating the flow of the vest. Her hair is braided and twisted mimicking the curvature of a snake. Her make up is a mirror of the tones of the piece, and as the vest shifts it responds to the man’s eye movement in front of her. The camera flows up and down smoothly, flawlessly displaying the key elements of the design. There is a synchronicity in the video between the flexing of the vest, the tones, and the music that is reminiscent of an animal’s dance.
Behnaz Farahi’s designs are not limited to garments. Her work extends to walls, and architecture, incorporating the same elements of movement in these usually stationed designs.
“Her goal is to enhance the relationship between human beings and the built environment by implementing design/motion principles inspired by natural systems.” – http://behnazfarahi.prosite.com/204244/gallery
I am so thrilled to see the evolution in design through the innovation of great artists turned inventors, and to see how the potential in this field is being reached.