Weaving with Fiber-optic Thread

The collaborative art team of Nora Ligorano and Marshall Reese transform text into textile designs using handwoven fiber-optic threads and information feeds from the Internet. 50 Different Minds is the first piece in their interactive series. Scroll down in this article to watch a video about the making of this ingenious project. The piece was inspired by a quote by a influential Bauhaus painter and color theorist Josef Albers.

“If one says Red—the name of color—and there are fifty people listening, it can be expected that there will be fifty reds in their minds. And one can be sure that all these reds will be very different.”

—Josef Albers


Above: Nora Ligorano and Marshall Reese, 50 Different Minds (with detail), 2010; fiber-optic threads, custom electronics and software, live Internet feed; handwoven; 50" x 50". Photos by the artists.

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The project is sponsored by the New York Foundation for the Arts and made possible with funding from the Jerome Foundation and the New York State Council for the Arts. Additional donations were made by individuals through Kickstarter.com. Research and development was undertaken during residencies at the Sally and Don Lucas Artist Programs at Montalvo Arts Center, Saratoga, California, and at the Eyebeam Center for Art and Technology, New York, New York.