QR codes worked into a tapestry by Guillermo Bert

QR Code Textiles

QR Code Textiles

The work of art is displayed at The Brewery art studio.

Guillermo Bert has announced that his art studio, The Brewery, is now the home of a tapestry that he has woven, which combines older traditions with the latest technology through the use of a pattern that displays QR codes.

This tapestry was woven in order to create a harmonious fusion of the old and new technologies.

Bert has called his exhibition of QR codes on tapestries “Encoded Textiles” and it is now on display at the Pasadena Museum of California Art. It functions by bringing together QR codes with large se tapestries. The barcodes aren’t just a representation of the technology, but they are functional as well.

Smartphone and tablet users can scan the QR codes to learn more about the inspiration behind the works.

By scanning the QR codes, mobile users are redirected to sites that provide them with additional information regarding the indigenous designs of native cultures that were the inspiration behind the pieces on display.

This complex idea first began when Bert’s attention was drawn by QR codes, and they struck him as rather similar to some of the traditional geometric patterns that have been used by the native peoples indigenous to the Americas.

Bert, himself, was born in Chile, but has been living in the United States since 1981. To him, merging the traditional works on old loom pattern technology with today’s QR codes was a natural fit. He explained that “I was mesmerized by how much the technology of loom patterns look like the new technology patterns for the barcodes.”

The journey to arrive at his current exhibition and tapestry pieces was a lengthy one, stretched over years, as he worked with and interviewed members of indigenous groups. This included the participation of southern Chile Mapuche weavers in order to create this project’s textiles. Anita Paillamil, a weaver from Chile, was responsible for the recreation of the abstract designs made by Bert. She worked them onto blankets that were approximately 4 feet by 8 feet in size. When the QR codes on the blankets are scanned, users will also see 20-word stories created by Bert. The artist is currently working on a documentary about the creation of the tapestries.

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