Art Burn

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Looking for a scintillating summer dress? Look no further than… an art gallery?

La maison des artistes viseuls françophones is exhibiting a stark white cotton shift by Montreal artist Valerie Lamontagne. This is a dress to shine in — because it literally lights up as sensor information activates a network of tiny light-emitting diodes embedded in the fabric.

A dark, sinuous scribble overlaid with a waveform pattern scrolls from one shoulder of the garment, branching out across the torso and to the hem. The esthetic is garden-variety modernism, calling to mind an Ikea bedspread or Umbra wallpaper.

The dress, displayed on a dress-maker’s form, is accessorized with a flashlight which can be switched on and used to activate the frock. A small flower-shaped button near the hip is actually a LilyPad Arduino microcontroller — a sort of miniature computer. Changes in luminance, like the kind created by shining the flashlight’s beam on it, cause the lights at the ends of the ‘branches’ to spring to life — randomly lighting up, glowing brighter, extinguishing or shimmering in rapid succession.

What’s fascinating is not so much the dress or what it does, but how it was made. Close inspection reveals that each textured line has been embroidered with a thick silver thread. The thread is conductive, connecting the nodes in the circuit to the microcontroller and battery. Junctures are made with an elegant French knot — a novel alternative to solder. The zipper, which runs the length of the back of the dress, also serves to conduct power throughout the garment.

The making of this dress is further unravelled for viewers — the whole cloth onto which the pattern piece outlines and graphics are printed is hung high on one wall, leading to an interesting exercise in mentally assembling the jigsaw pieces of the dress. Another wall is draped in a ream of cotton printed with the lining pieces and indicating the placement of the electronic components. Suspended between the two lengths of cloth is a large plastic capsule, stuffed with everything necessary to make the dress, sold under the name Symmetrical Modern 001.

Lamontagne began her investigations into wearable circuits in 2005 while creating a series of dresses made from impossible materials — moonlight, sunshine and wind — inspired by the fairy tale Peau d’Âne. Costume and new media have both been integral to her art practice for much longer. It has also long been her practice to create an active role for art viewers — with her newest wearable creation, Lamontagne presents not only opportunities to interact with her work, but the chance for anyone to become a creator themselves.

Under the banner of 3lectromode, Lamontagne and her collaborators seek to "inspire a future where wearables are democratized, aestheticized, and playful." Symmetrical Modern 001 and Asymmetrical Modern 001 can be purchased on the 3lectromode’s website (www.3lectromode.com) for $250.

Lamontagne’s dress will be on display as part of Premier Pas, an exhibition with two recent graduates from the programme de Communications en multimédia du Collège universitaire de Saint-Boniface, until June 23.

Sandee Moore left the mild climes of her B.C. home for the warm embrace of the Winnipeg arts community six years ago. She is an intermedia artist, a former director of Video Pool and occasional arts writer.