Synesthesia: to hear colors
Syn·es·the·sia
noun
a sensation produced in one modality when a stimulus is applied to another modality, as when the hearing of a
certain sound induces the visualization of a certain color.
Until Ric Standridge read an article in a 2006 Newsweek Magazine, he was not completely aware of what synesthesia was.
Excerpt from this Newsweek Magazine article:
"As a child, Julian Asher had a theory about the symphony concerts he attended with his parents. 'I thought they
turned down the lights so you could see the colors better,' he says, describing the 'Fantasia'- like scenes that
danced before his eyes. Asher wasn’t hallucinating. He’s a synesthete - a rare person for whom one type of
sensory input (such as hearing music) evokes an additional one (such as seeing colors). In Asher’s ever-shifting
vision, violins appear as rich burgundy, pianos as a deep royal purple and cellos 'the mellow gold of liquid
honey'.
​
It wasn’t until Asher began studying neuroscience at Harvard six years ago that he learned there was a name for a
phenomenon – “SYNESTHESIA”, from the Greek roots syn (together) and asthesis (perception). Almost any two senses can be combined. Sights can have sounds, sounds can have taste and, more commonly, black-and-white
numbers and letters can appear colored.
It is possible that most of us not only have these connections but use them regularly, although at such a low level
that we don’t realize it consciously. After all, we describe subzero weather as 'bitter' cold, while a taste like
cheddar cheese maybe 'sharp' and a color like hot pink 'loud'.”
"I HEAR COLORS!" says Ric Standridge. "The most important and effective technique I have in my making art is MUSIC AND SOUND! Music, is NOT an inspiration, it is as much of a tool, as a brush or palate knife."
​