Sat, Jan 18
|Palo Alto Art Center
Cut from the Same Cloth: Textile and Technology
Textiles have not only fueled the creative inspiration of artists throughout history, they also have provided the catalyst for technological innovation. This art exhibit explores these themes.
Time & Location
Jan 18, 2025, 12:00 PM – Apr 06, 2025, 5:00 PM
Palo Alto Art Center, 1313 Newell Rd, Palo Alto, CA 94303, USA
About the event
Textiles have not only fueled the creative inspiration of artists throughout history, they also have provided the catalyst for technological innovation. Joseph Marie Jacquard, a French merchant, invented the “jacquard machine” in 1801, which simplified the manufacture of textiles and later became the inspiration for IBM's first computer introduced in the 1940s and 1950s. This exhibition investigates the many unexplored relationships between craft and technology and demonstrates, through the work of a group of artists, how contemporary art practice has seamlessly embraced both.
Innovation provides the touchstone of tomorrow. Emerging technologies in artificial intelligence, data collection embedded in threads, and new production methods are currently being applied to the apparel industry. At the same time, weaving and tapestry are making a return as a vital art practice of the 21st century.