Guillermo Bert: Encoded Textiles December 14, 2012

Los Angeles-based artist Guillermo Bert's exhibition Encoded Textiles is inspired by the latest generation of bar codes (QR codes), their capacity to hold 200 times more information than traditional bar codes, and the graphic similarities between the bar codes and the textiles of the indigenous peoples of the Americas. With the use of high-tech software and industrial processes, Bert transcribes the stories, poems, and narratives of six influential leaders of indigenous communities into QR codes, which are then re-created into tapestries by indigenous weavers. Bert's project, an exploration of technology, language, and cultural heritage, seeks to open a dialogue about the effects of globalization on the worlds indigenous population.