Conceptual artist Alyce Santoro has come up with a fascinating use for old cassette tapes, in a most fashionable way. I love when old technology is used and recreated in interesting ways that make it still relevant today.
She mixed strips of the old 1/8-inch audio tape with polyester fibers to create a material called “sonic fabric.” The tape and polyester are woven together on a loom — fittingly, older technology seems to work better on audio tape. The audio tape retains its magnetization, which means it can play sounds. The tape, Santoro told DNews, is actually new — it comes from a company that makes audiobooks.
In order to HEAR the fabric, the wearer runs a cassette tape-player head across the garment. The sound is a “warbling” noise rather than the original soundtrack since the weaving process restructures the tape. I’m not sure if this has a practical application but I love the experimentation and craft that has gone into this technique.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=la8GSebZuog&list=PLF487A1EA6AEC31C8&index=6
