This essay explores the potential for narrative art (film, literature, comics) to be a transformative experience in the life of the consumer (viewer, reader) through a sensuous, embodied interaction with that work of narrative art. Drawing from film, narrative and comics theory as well as primary sources, I show that there is potential for consumers to engage in reading and viewing in an embodied way that allows them to take on these experiences as new memories, highlighting the ability of art to engage our senses in a manner that is similar to everyday lived experiences. In contrast with some theories that challenge the “realness” of these mediated experiences, or relegate narratives to the sidelines of fiction and fantasy, I find that the immersive experiences of art are not only constructed from real, lived experiences, but indeed make up significant portions of those experiences. Furthermore, reading and viewing can potentially offer healing and transformation of the person in a way that remedies lived experience.
","abstract_html":"<p><strong>This essay explores the potential for narrative art (film, literature, comics) to be a transformative experience in the life of the consumer (viewer, reader) through a sensuous, embodied interaction with that work of narrative art. Drawing from film, narrative and comics theory as well as primary sources, I show that there is potential for consumers to engage in reading and viewing in an embodied way that allows them to take on these experiences as new memories, highlighting the ability of art to engage our senses in a manner that is similar to everyday lived</strong><em> </em><strong>experiences. In contrast with some theories that challenge the “realness” of these mediated experiences, or relegate narratives to the sidelines of fiction and fantasy, I find that the immersive experiences of art are not only constructed from real, lived experiences, but indeed make up significant portions of those experiences. Furthermore, reading and viewing can potentially offer healing and transformation of the person in a way that remedies lived experience.</strong></p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Keasler, Carrie"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Master of Fine Arts (MFA) in Illustration & Visual Culture","degree_level":"Thesis","degree_discipline":"Graduate School of Art","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2023,"date_issued":"2023-05-10T07:00:00Z","date_published":"2023-05-10T07:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T06:12:17Z","subjects":["Prosthetic memory","autobiography","empathy in comics","Kunstlerroman","subjectivity","Art and Design","Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies","Film and Media Studies"],"languages":["English"],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier.doi","label":"DOI","values":["https://doi.org/10.7936/ggjt-d365"],"render_values":[{"text":"https://doi.org/10.7936/ggjt-d365","href":"https://doi.org/10.7936/ggjt-d365","code":true}]}]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://openscholarship.wustl.edu/mfa_illustration/17","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Keasler, Carrie"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2023-05-11T07:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Graduate School of Art"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Fine Arts (MFA) in Illustration & Visual Culture"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Prosthetic memory","autobiography","empathy in comics","Kunstlerroman","subjectivity","Art and Design","Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies","Film and Media Studies"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:language","label":"Dc Language","values":["English"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://openscholarship.wustl.edu/mfa_illustration/17"]},{"key":"dc:identifier.doi","label":"DOI","values":["https://doi.org/10.7936/ggjt-d365"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["This essay explores the potential for narrative art (film, literature, comics) to be a transformative experience in the life of the consumer (viewer, reader) through a sensuous, embodied interaction with that work of narrative art. Drawing from film, narrative and comics theory as well as primary sources, I show that there is potential for consumers to engage in reading and viewing in an embodied way that allows them to take on these experiences as new memories, highlighting the ability of art to engage our senses in a manner that is similar to everyday lived experiences. In contrast with some theories that challenge the “realness” of these mediated experiences, or relegate narratives to the sidelines of fiction and fantasy, I find that the immersive experiences of art are not only constructed from real, lived experiences, but indeed make up significant portions of those experiences. Furthermore, reading and viewing can potentially offer healing and transformation of the person in a way that remedies lived experience.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Prosthetic Traveling Companions"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:creator":["Keasler, Carrie"],"dc:date.available":["2023-05-11T07:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["This essay explores the potential for narrative art (film, literature, comics) to be a transformative experience in the life of the consumer (viewer, reader) through a sensuous, embodied interaction with that work of narrative art. Drawing from film, narrative and comics theory as well as primary sources, I show that there is potential for consumers to engage in reading and viewing in an embodied way that allows them to take on these experiences as new memories, highlighting the ability of art to engage our senses in a manner that is similar to everyday lived experiences. In contrast with some theories that challenge the “realness” of these mediated experiences, or relegate narratives to the sidelines of fiction and fantasy, I find that the immersive experiences of art are not only constructed from real, lived experiences, but indeed make up significant portions of those experiences. Furthermore, reading and viewing can potentially offer healing and transformation of the person in a way that remedies lived experience.
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