Picture What You Hear

August 1, 2004 4:00 PM

Sounding Art: Paintings by a synethete. [?]
posted by moonbird (5 comments total)

that would be 'synesthete;' my s kept changing colors.
posted by moonbird at 4:02 PM on August 1, 2004

I like them--it's such an interesting condition...i'm glad people with it can function.
posted by amberglow at 4:07 PM on August 1, 2004

Wassily Kandinsky was, to my knowledge, the first synesthete to paint music as he saw it. It's interesting to see the similarities to his work in Jane Mackay's paintings.
posted by Fourmyle at 11:11 PM on August 1, 2004

there was an interesting related article in the Guardian last week about the composer Vaclav Halek, who composes music sung to him by mushrooms. Some people have put it down to synaesthesia, but I prefer to believe in musical fungus.
posted by gravelshoes at 10:18 AM on August 2, 2004

ah. the "s" makes it make sense now moonbird. i was worried for a moment that by "sounding art" you meant paintings made with the use of some sort of paintbrush-as-sounding rod. that link, i would not have clicked on. synesthesia though, that's worth a look.
posted by caution live frogs at 10:39 AM on August 2, 2004