Once a year we invite a leading professional in his or her field to bring a new perspective to FiberScene. This year J.R. Campbell, Assistant Professor at ISU, shares his technological expertise in digitial textiles.

Curator's Statement:

As a human culture, we are each in contact with textiles at almost every moment of our lives. Textile concepts have become inherent in our way of thinking and patterns of speech (ie., the "string theory of the universe", "hanging by a thread", the "moral fabric" of the country, etc). Textiles are an excellent medium for the expression of identity and transmission of new ideas. We can attach imagery to the surface of cloth and instantly give the image new meaning. We begin to associate with the image, perhaps wear it, walk through it as it is draped in a passageway. We might see it as having a spiritual significance, a functional purpose or an expressive or symbolic ability.

Textiles and textile concepts also spur our technological growth. The jacquard loom helped to inspire the invention of the first computers with its punch card mechanism for lifting warp yarns. Computer manipulated imagery can now be applied to cloth through the use of digital printing technology.

The artists exhibiting in "Digital Wanderers" each are involved in creating artwork that explores new modes of expression made possible through the use of digital printing technology for textiles. My intention with the collection of artists who are showcased in this online exhibit is to highlight/document a few of the leaders in explorations related to digital textile printing and fiber art. The show will provide a visual glimpse into each artists' approach and development with digital printing on fabric, illuminating the potentials and limitations of the technology, referencing the historical development of inkjet printing on fabric and suggesting future directions. The artwork displayed focuses on the application of digital imaging to textile surfaces including the relationship of 2D surface to 3D form. The interplay between surface, structure and human form is an integrating theme.

Each of the showcased artists has been actively involved in asking questions, such as: What is the effect of digital technology on the development and form of fiber art? Which tools and techniques are most effective for the design and development of this relatively new art form?

Collaborative work, promoting the recognition of artistic partnership as part of the design process, is crucial in the efforts to bridge this new technology with fabric printing. Jacqueline Rice and Uosis Joudvalkis, Jean Parsons and I often work in close collaboration to integrate imagery with garment forms. The pairing of the skills are quite unique, because they involve merging a knowledge of computer image manipulation, digital printing technology (hardware and software), textile dyeing and finishing, and patternmaking and construction.

In applying digital textile printing technology the artists involved have often set aside their traditional paradigms, allowing for new models to develop. As they do, the relationships between form and function, creative expression and production will evolve. Digital printing to cloth provides a rich forum for new directions in textile art and surface design, as well as in the textile and apparel industry.

Click here to view individual Artists' Statements and Biographies