Center for Craft Assistant Director and Curator Marilyn Zapf spoke with one of the collaborative teams, Soft Monitor, who received the 2020 Materials-Based Research Grant.

Research shows extended time spent “attached” to screens is detrimental. Can we actually decrease screen-time or, can we change the screen? Looking to the history of visualizations from Lascaux cave paintings to the OLED flexible screens of now, “Soft Monitor” imagines a display for the future. Technologist Julian Goldman and weaver Victoria Manganiello collaborate to invent a screen made entirely from soft, natural, ancient materials such as flax, water, and air to replace the blue light. Prototypes will be accompanied by material and process documentation and interactive educational experiences to test practical feasibility and potential societal impact.