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Beholding: The Neuroaesthetic Experience of a Synesthetic Dress

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Abstract

Presently, there is a cultural phenomenon whereby technology-enabled dresses are displayed for aesthetic appraisal in museum contexts. This study was an exploratory investigation of museum visitors’ aesthetic experiences from beholding a synesthetic dress using three distinct data elicitation approaches. As a qualitative study applying a grounded theory approach, physiological measures, observational data and interview data were collected. This study investigated how 44 millennial participants aesthetically processed a synesthetic dress during four different dress viewings. Results support that apparel with music and colored LED lights create a much richer aesthetic experience due to participants reporting this dress to be most impressive, wanting to see more dresses like this, and having prolonged viewing times. This research is applicable to inform such fields as apparel, performing arts, and museum research.

Keywords: aesthetics, eye-tracking, Synesthetic dress, multisensory

How to Cite:

Rolling, V. & Teel, K. P., (2019) “Beholding: The Neuroaesthetic Experience of a Synesthetic Dress”, International Textile and Apparel Association Annual Conference Proceedings 76(1). doi: https://doi.org/10.31274/itaa.8817