Poetry-reading dresses have tales to tell

(Credit: Pieter Claessen)

It's always nice to encounter poetry in everyday life. But imagine wearing it -- literally. Lace Sensor Dresses by artists Anja Hertenberger and Meg Grant feature embroidered poems that are prerecorded and play aloud through tiny speakers sewn into the frocks.

Specific gestures trigger the poems to broadcast through the speakers, which are covered with decorative conductive lace custom-made with help from the Dutch Lace Factory Museum (and detachable in case something breaks or needs to be resoldered).

The speakers are covered with crocheted conductive lace patterns. (Click to enlarge.)

To play a poem about death and remembrance, for example, the wearer embraces herself by crossing her arms over her chest and pressing the pressure sensors on the sleeves.

Another poem, about the pain of physical labor, begins playing when the wearer massages her neck while holding her right wrist. And another, about gaining independence and autonomy through acquisition of a a skill, requires the wearer to stand with hands on hips -- a stance that exudes confidence. The fir... [Read more]