In search of (im)perfection. The aesthetics of digital craft.

A craft of any kind embodies in the final artifact the skill set and long years of experience in processing material. At the same time CAD/CAM/CAE offers accuracy, speed and the ability to create countless copies of a particular object. During the presentation we will try to address the questions about the aspect of (im)perfection in a man-machine cooperation. We will focus on jewelry as a medium that combines a millenia-old tradition with progressive, digital methods. Seeing contemporary culture as a phenomenon rich in digitally generated content we will observe how it influences our daily materiality concentrated in these human-scale, wearable objects. From meticulously selected strings of pearls to digital makeup and instagram filters, from hammered metal to laser-sintered materials, from ephemeral fashion trends to inherited treasures, these previously separate entities suddenly become interchangeable and acquire a similar status of jewels. In this equality we will search for the essence of digital craft.

phd Marta Hryc – Academy of Fine Arts in Gdańsk (PL)
Marta Hryc, PH.D. in Arts, researcher, academic teacher (Academy of Fine Arts in Gdańsk, Poland), designer. She is interested in the juxtaposition of computer algorithms and human’s creative approach. In her research she analyses the impact of additive technologies on aesthetics in design. Speaker at international conferences on frontier areas of new technologies and a careful observer of the impact of socio-economic and cultural changes on the evolution of new aesthetic trends. She is a jewellery designer by profession. The themes of her designs revolve around the socio-economic context of jewellery. She held research scholarships in Mexico and Belgium and took part in numerous international exhibitions and competitions.