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'.

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     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." 

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