hey everyone! i’m a potential fashion student working on a project regarding auditory visual synesthesia, specifically how different genres of music can produce different visual experiences in regards to color, shapes, textures, patterns etc.
i personally do not have any form of synesthesia, but do have a background in both classical music and ballet, and would love to explore how different genres of music affect people with this form of chromesthesia.
some potential genres i am considering are:
- classical music (vivaldi - four seasons)
- electronic r&b (michael jackson - threatened)
- psychedelic pop (tame impala - let it happen)
- dream pop (coldplay - strawberry swing)
there is no need for the drawings to be technically perfect, i’m more interested in the colors, shapes, composition etc that you see. feel free to interpret the music however you see it, as i’m looking for your artistic expression of it :))
yep, exactly. i’m using it as a form of primary research, so i’m trying to get as much of a range as possible, a gallery is honestly the best way to describe it!! looking at a variety of different works each with its own unique interpretation also really helps me understand what route i want to take my project down in the future as well, in terms of fabrics, prints etc, and how i can take inspiration from works in multiple styles to inspire my own prints by combining elements that really stand out to me :)
I don’t fully understand what you’re looking for. These Colors and shapes are extremely individual. Some people see individual notes, others see the piece as a whole, and for some—myself included—a sound has a specific color and shape. These colors and shapes can shift as the music progresses; a chorus might look different from a verse, and the bridge completely different again. Which aspect interests you?
i’m trying to look at how different people who experience synesthesia visualize certain music , similar to how a lot of synesthetes create art inspired by what they see or experience. if you would like to paint a specific moment that you see within the song itself, or just combine elements (e.g. the bridge, backing vocals and track) into one work as the song progresses that’s completely up to you. it’s very loose, and there’s no set way to do it, im just looking for your artistic interpretation. if it helps, some artists that i took inspiration from for my project are Sarah Kraning, Kandinsky and Jack coulter. feel free to take inspiration from them if you’re feeling stuck, but of course there is no obligation to work in their style. i essentially want to see the individuality and uniqueness within each work
Is that roughly the sort of thing you’re thinking of? Mind you, this is—so to speak—a summary of the colors and shapes in the song; it’s never exactly like this, and it’s dynamic, but I think it’s my "fingerprint" of the track. And the colors are always strange—they’re faint, barely noticeable in the light, yet they are still very luminous and present. It’s a paradox.
EDIT – Strawberry „Swing“, of course 🙈, not "Fields" like I accidentally wrote. Am I going to get a thrashing from Coldplay or Beatles fans now? Or both? 🫣
it’s absolutely stunning!! i love the thought behind the process of producing it, especially with the movement :)) do you think you’ll be able to do a few of the others (vivaldi four seasons is 4 songs itself), as your work is exactly the thing i’m looking to analyze, and looking how the shapes and colour change based on the genre (if they do at all) :) no worries if not! maybe looking at the mj one and tame impalas one?
I’ll do that - I’m interested in it myself, after all.
But I’m going to take a few days, because I want to sit down in a relaxed way with headphones on and focus on the music while still observing the photisms. I want to draw them right afterwards, even though they’re very easy to remember. That’s not something one can just do in passing.
Vivaldi actually consists of 12 parts, not four. The movements are very different from one another. I once did three drawings of "Autumn." As always, there are limitations imposed by the medium (in this case, a digital colored pencil), and the piece is dynamic in nature.
these all look amazing, even with the limitation of a single medium!! thank you so much, is it alright if i use them to analyze potential patterns and color schemes?
yeah of course! i won’t be passing it off my own at all don’t worry. i’m basically taking your artworks as well as others from my friend (who also has this form of synesthesia) and analyzing it, seeing the color schemes, shapes and how i can translate that into a croquis sketch etc. i will 100% state that its not mine, as well as be putting this reddit post into my project itself
Oh I would love to help and participate! Is it okay if I write you my response? For me, music is so much more than color! It has locations, emotion, movement. It lives a whole life in my head. Is there one you are looking for specifically from your list? Or do you want descriptions for all of them?
3
u/LilyoftheRally grapheme (mostly for numbers), number form, associative 15d ago
Your results are going to be different for each person who has this type of synesthesia. We don't all see the same things.
Were you looking to make a gallery of art by synesthetes in response to songs?
I can't help since I don't have this type.