ABOVE: climbing ropes manufactured by Edelrid, on display at the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum until October.

So perhaps this exhibit of “extreme textiles” at the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum isn’t, strictly speaking, the fine, fine art that you have come to expect to see in the pages of ADD. These materials—like the wire mesh to lay in the ground to prevent soil erosion, or the nanofiber gloves to protect your hands while handling razor wire—are a little too geeky and mass-produced to be ahht, dahling. But this is an important show from a technical and aesthetic perspective, and some of these textiles are already being used by multimedia artists, like Maggie Orth, who contributes a piece called “Leaping Lines,” made of conductive synthetic yarns that use heat and electricity to produce different colors.

The Cooper-Hewitt has put together an excellent online exhibit of the show, including video and perhaps the most pointless online Flash™ game in the history of pointless online Flash™ games. But the materials on show are worth a look. And if you’re in New York, there are some public talks and demos to go to, so you can see the various super-polyesters in action.

Cooper-Hewitt — Extreme Textiles: Designing for High Performance [Click on exhibit title]