IAD and College of Music professors awarded an MDS Grant for joint research in textiles and music
Professor Stephanie Sickler of Interior Architecture and Design and professor Karen Large of the College of Music were recently awarded a $25,000 Multidisciplinary Grant from the FSU Council for Research and Creativity for their project “The Hidden Code: An Exploration of the Intersection Between Woven Textiles and Music”. The Multidisciplinary Support (MDS) program supports the initial formation of multidisciplinary FSU alliances that undertake research and creative activity. The award supports a project that combines the initial joint efforts of two departments that will result in new programs of research or creative activity, lead to external funding and benefit FSU from the establishment of new multidisciplinary research and creative projects.
Dr. Stephanie Sickler
Stephanie Sickler is an assistant professor and foundations coordinator in the Department of Interior Architecture & Design at Florida State University. Karen Large is an assistant professor of flute and teaches flute lessons, ensembles, and pedagogy in the FSU College of Music.
Usually people think about fabrics’ impact on interior design through its utilitarian usage and aesthetic appeal such as with a chair’s upholstery. These fabrics can often elicit an emotional response, particularly comforting us or inspiring us in our everyday spaces. Sickler wanted to find a way to expand the sensory components of textiles beyond the visual and touch senses. More specifically, how can design enhance the user experience for all? Not everyone can appreciate visual or tactile sensations. Sickler and Large created an interdisciplinary research model to examine the relationship between fabric and music to find an answer.
Usually people think about fabrics’ impact on interior design through its utilitarian usage and aesthetic appeal such as with a chair’s upholstery. These fabrics can often elicit an emotional response, particularly comforting us or inspiring us in our everyday spaces. Sickler wanted to find a way to expand the sensory components of textiles beyond the visual and touch senses. More specifically, how can design enhance the user experience for all? Not everyone can appreciate visual or tactile sensations. Sickler and Large created an interdisciplinary research model to examine the relationship between fabric and music to find an answer.
In their research proposal, Sickler and Large identified that only 30% of people are visual-spatial thinkers. Despite spending more than ninety percent of their time indoors, most people have trouble envisioning their interior spaces using only their imagination. In addition, visually impaired people do not usually experience the fabrics of their interior spaces in the same way as the visually able. As a result, many people experience their interior surroundings in a limited, singular way that falls short of a full sensory experience of meaning
Dr. Karen Large
Sickler and Large seek to expand the sensation and meaning of fabrics by conveying the experience of fabrics and the interiors in which they are present through musical expression. Their approach links visual and touch with sound in an unusual way: the thread patterns of jacquard weaving are translated into notes and rhythms in music, then enhanced to form musical compositions. In an upcoming study, the researchers will have participants match fabrics with musical tracks and images of interior spaces. Through this project, Sickler and Large hope that participants become more conscious of their living spaces through building an awareness of their sensory and emotional connection to their surroundings.
“As a celebration of the significant impact of the jacquard loom on the textiles industry, this inquiry explores the potential outcomes of translating the binary code for jacquard looms into musical composition,” said Sickler. “The music produced through this process, when played while examining the textile by sight or touch, may enhance the user experience, painting a picture in the mind’s eye with melody and instrumentation.”
Click above to watch more on Sickler and Large’s research
Sickler and Large have presented preliminary work from this project at both the Interior Design Educators Council and Environmental Design and Research international conferences this year so far, with other work under review at additional venues. The next steps of the project include developing additional algorithms for producing new compositions and administering their study exploring how the addition of music aids users in imagining and perceiving the built environment.
“In addition to the exciting work we are currently doing in the field of design, our future research may include musical compositions derived from textile code that can be performed in concert settings as well as exhibitions that highlight the ways that music and textiles intersect,” said Large. “These two artforms appear in nearly every facet of life so it makes sense to explore how they relate and share that research in a public setting.”
“A logical next step in accessibility, unraveling the code within textile design, has the potential to transform the way people experience spatial elements,” explained Sickler. “This project is fun and innovative; a general departure from our traditional research.”