Synesthesia
Synesthesia is when you hear music and see shapes and or color.
For as long as I can remember different types of music has not only affected me emotionally but has created color and shapes in my mind. I never thought about it because it just was and I never thought to question if others had this ability or not: it was just a part of life. It wasn't until my kids started asking questions about wanting to listen to music while we were in the car that I began to think about what I was experiencing. Sometimes I would tell them "no" in response to their asking to listen to music. After a while, they thought I was upset at them or did not approve of their music. They took it personally and I had to think through why I would not have the radio on at times while driving. I explained to them that I saw color/shapes from music and that, at times, it was so intense that it was distracting for driving. They had never heard of that and I began realizing that not everyone experienced this. Thus my discovery and learning about synesthesia and understanding the images and colors in my paintings and glasswork.
The imagery is hardly ever static; it moves, flows through my head, sometimes in a very literal sense where I "feel" the colors/shapes moving through and around my eyes and brain. Most of the time, the colors are dense-very saturated; other times, the color becomes transparent or literal light. I think this is why I am so drawn to glass as well as oil paint.
Emotionally, I have a very real affect along with the color and shapes. Sometimes, it is a very spiritual connection; other times, it is very crushing, claustrophobic; other times, it is neutral. My kids like to listen to Post Malone: whenever one of his songs comes on the radio, I immediately feel a suffocating and crushing feeling emotionally as well as in the chest. Dark, muddy colors, sludge images fill my mind. I have to change stations quickly while driving. Other types of music such as punk or acid rock (KORN comes to mind) also produce these types of images and feelings.
Percussion instruments seem to produce the most imagery as well as electronica. Piano is very vivid: from classical to jazz and even popular music. Whenever I listen to Adele's "Set Fire to the Rain", I have a stained glass image of my painting titled "Pianist". The image shimmers in my mind. I love having a client who has this kind of vision for their residence and or commercial space.
The more complex or more components to the music, the more imagery/color I see. Symphonic/classical music as well as opera provide an abundance of imagery from composers such as Beethoven, Bach and Vivaldi. Latin music and other world music also have a lot of fun imagery.
I also notice how the colors change depending on if the sound comes from a real instrument or electronic, if a voice is altered through an electronic device or unaltered. Electronic sounds tend to be more metallic and colder in tone. Natural voice and instruments produce warmer tones.
This has been a very good experience for me: being able to verbalize and express what I am experiencing. It has helped me to understand and explain what I create in painting and glass.
