What Happens When You See and Make Art with Synesthesia?

March 29, 2018

By Chelsea Reed

Days of the week are in colors, printed numbers have personalities, and splashes of color flash in front of you with loud sounds and music. No, it’s not Alice in Wonderland or Fantasia, it’s a very real sensory phenomenon called synesthesia.

This special neurological condition wires two senses together in the brain, so when you experience something with one of your senses, another sense picks it up, too. Synesthesia is not a disease, it’s a genetic mutation.

About 4 percent of people have the synesthesia gene, and with artists the odds are higher at 25 percent per 100 artists. The ones who do have it consider this gift a valuable treasure. Some even desire to share it with the world – and that’s where making art with synesthesia comes in.

The Art-Mind Connection

Does synesthesia make artists more creative? Yes! Famous artists like the painter Vincent Van Gough and musician Billy Joel had it, along with many more.

Some painters paint the abstract images they see from hearing sound, while others try to capture their visual perception of time in paintings.

Did you know that people with synesthesia are 8 times more likely to have an artistic career?

Pharrell Williams, another famous musician, depends on his synesthesia to make music. And that’s just the beginning!

Scientists are learning more about synesthesia every day. There is still a long way to go. Over 80 types of synesthesia have been identified so far! The more common ones are:

• Grapheme Color – Printed letters have consistent corresponding colors, such as red ‘A’s’ and cobalt blue ‘B’s.’
•  Sequence-space – Numbers, days of the week, or months in a year have consistent color patterns called ‘inducers,’ such as orange Wednesdays.
•  Ordinal linguistic personification (OLP) – Ordered sequences like numbers, letters, weekdays or months have personalities. For example, “G” is a busy mother with a kind face.
•  Chromesthesia – Sounds and music notes are translated into different colors, also known as music-color.
•  Spatio-temporal – The perception of time is literally visualized in the mind’s eye. Some artists have described it as a long, stretched out orb with different points of history in different colors and textures. Painters and filmmakers seem to have this particular form more than other artists.

Synesthesia: an Amazing Art Superpower 

The results that happen when artwork is made with synesthesia are simply amazing. Colors are richer and concepts become even deeper than before.

Whether you have synesthesia or not, we can all enjoy artwork that is inspired by synesthetes. (That's people who have synesthesia.) Which pieces inspire you? Take a look through our collection at Seaside Art Gallery and pick a favorite!

Chelsea Reed is a freelance copywriter. She writes articles, blogs, websites and online content from her base in North Carolina.

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