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[[File:Digital-art-pic.png|center|frameless]]
 
=== Forest Walking ===
 
https://titipi.org/wiki/images/8/89/Digital-art-pic.png
 
Tactile Analytics
 
Touching as a Collective Act
 
Playing with the small, knitted swatch of alpaca wool in my hand, I lost
 
track of time. The small piece of textile had become a riddle for me. The
 
swatch was made up of rice stitches overlaid with a large diamond shape
 
that formed a braided design. I kept feeling the weave, the tautness of each
 
knot, rubbing my fingers
 
back and forth. But at first my touch was blind
 
to the culture and craft of the artisan’s work. It would take me months to
 
learn to feel the material qualities of alpaca wool, to appreciate the knowledge
 
conveyed through touch. The knitted surface was as important
 
as
 
the design; it interlaced sociocultural negotiations, histories, and layers of
 
meaning (Alvarez Astacio 2015). To appreciate the density of this surface,
 
I had to learn a different
 
form of touch that could recognize the ontological
 
complexity of this material surface. At the very least, I need to recognize
 
the gap between my own conditioned tactility and that which is materialized
 
in alpaca textiles.
 
Within the fashion industry, alpaca wool is considered a luxury material;
 
it is softer, lighter, and stronger than cashmere or sheep wool. Alpaca
 
wool garments and accessories are especially valued for their ability to
 
trigger imaginaries of pristine Andean indigenous communities. They
 
are marketed as eco-friendly,
 
long-lasting,
 
and resistant to stains, odors,
 
flames, and wrinkles. Alpaca wool is indeed a high-quality
 
material, valued
 
by twenty-first-
 
century
 
consumers and contemporary
 
indigenous artisans
 
in the highlands, but for different
 
reasons.

Latest revision as of 12:42, 10 May 2023

Forest Walking

https://titipi.org/wiki/images/8/89/Digital-art-pic.png

Tactile Analytics

Touching as a Collective Act

Playing with the small, knitted swatch of alpaca wool in my hand, I lost

track of time. The small piece of textile had become a riddle for me. The

swatch was made up of rice stitches overlaid with a large diamond shape

that formed a braided design. I kept feeling the weave, the tautness of each

knot, rubbing my fingers

back and forth. But at first my touch was blind

to the culture and craft of the artisan’s work. It would take me months to

learn to feel the material qualities of alpaca wool, to appreciate the knowledge

conveyed through touch. The knitted surface was as important

as

the design; it interlaced sociocultural negotiations, histories, and layers of

meaning (Alvarez Astacio 2015). To appreciate the density of this surface,

I had to learn a different

form of touch that could recognize the ontological

complexity of this material surface. At the very least, I need to recognize

the gap between my own conditioned tactility and that which is materialized

in alpaca textiles.

Within the fashion industry, alpaca wool is considered a luxury material;

it is softer, lighter, and stronger than cashmere or sheep wool. Alpaca

wool garments and accessories are especially valued for their ability to

trigger imaginaries of pristine Andean indigenous communities. They

are marketed as eco-friendly,

long-lasting,

and resistant to stains, odors,

flames, and wrinkles. Alpaca wool is indeed a high-quality

material, valued

by twenty-first-

century

consumers and contemporary

indigenous artisans

in the highlands, but for different

reasons.