Can Beethoven’s 5th symphony taste like peanut butter? Can Georgia O'Keeffe's From the Lake sound like an A-flat minor scale? Can Taylor Swift’s “All Too Well” smell like a vanilla latte? The answer lies deep within the brain.
Synesthesia is an involuntary neurological phenomenon in which the stimulation of one of a person’s five senses triggers a perception response from one (or more) of their other senses. For example, when a person with synesthesia sees a letter, they may strongly associate it with a specific color, scent, or even flavor. Others may associate sound with shapes, or even numbers with personality traits. Though there are over 80 variations of synesthesia, some of the most common relate sound with color or color with emotion (Jiang & Yuan, 2022). Synesthesia is a relatively rare condition, with self-diagnosed synesthetes composing only 4% of the population. However, a high percentage of those with synesthesia identify as artists (Fernandez, 2022). Numerous successful artists and musicians, today and throughout history, claim that synesthesia deeply influences their craft.
Synesthesia has ties dating back to ancient Greece, when Aristotle worked with his students to sort colors by “brightness” in an attempt to understand how color connects to all five human senses. While this particular experiment did not yield conclusive results, the work of philosophers during this period created a quantifiable system for linking color to personal thought (Jiang & Yuan, 2022). This system laid the foundation for much of today’s research.
For centuries, so little was known about the neurology behind synesthesia. After all, how could there be a scientific explanation for why strawberries taste round or why the color red smells like chocolate or why C major looks purple? Consequently, many scientists argued that synesthesia did not exist (Jiang & Yuan, 2022). Recently, however, research has demonstrated that synesthesia is, in fact, a very real neurological phenomenon (Palmeri et al., 2006). Still, though, we have little actual understanding of the scientific basis behind synesthesia.
Research efforts have been aided by the specific study of artists with synesthesia. Some of today’s most popular musical artists claim that their synesthesia helps them create their art. Frank Ocean claims his album Channel Orange was written about the color he sees when falling in love. Lorde states that her song Tennis Court was “the worst textured tan color” in drafting stages, but became “incredible greens” after editing. Billy Joel sees strong, lively rhythms in reds, oranges, and yellows. Even Stevie Wonder, though blind, says he sees the color of his music in his head (Gordon, 2020).
Additionally, famous studio artists use their synesthesia to their advantage while creating. Painter David Hockney sees colors in response to musical stimuli. Wassily Kandinsky utilized the “sound of colors” to create his classic abstract paintings. Even Vincent Van Gogh, perhaps one of the most famous painters of all time, is a suspected synesthete; he saw colors in piano music, an assumed-to-be symptom of insanity at the time (Taggart, 2020). Today, this is recognized as what may be what made his paintings so fluid and lively.
The study of these artists gives no information about why some people have synesthesia, or how synesthesia develops and manifests in so many different ways. It does, however, give us insight into the effects that synesthesia has on the human psyche. It is suspected that synesthetes may have a greater capacity for creativity than those without synesthesia (Jiang & Yuan, 2022). Perhaps the ability to meld the 5 senses provides an ability for an enhanced imagination that the possession of 5 separate senses does not. Regardless, a clear link exists between synesthesia and successful artistry.
Next time one looks at Van Gogh’s Starry Night, imagine the soft tune that might have inspired it. When listening to Piano Man, imagine the warm colors Billy Joel must have seen while writing the music. Recognize the manifestations of synesthesia, and appreciate how varied sensory experience can be.
About the Author
Hannah Shell is a sophomore at Harvard College concentrating in Human Developmental and Regenerative Biology.
References
Synesthesia is an involuntary neurological phenomenon in which the stimulation of one of a person’s five senses triggers a perception response from one (or more) of their other senses. For example, when a person with synesthesia sees a letter, they may strongly associate it with a specific color, scent, or even flavor. Others may associate sound with shapes, or even numbers with personality traits. Though there are over 80 variations of synesthesia, some of the most common relate sound with color or color with emotion (Jiang & Yuan, 2022). Synesthesia is a relatively rare condition, with self-diagnosed synesthetes composing only 4% of the population. However, a high percentage of those with synesthesia identify as artists (Fernandez, 2022). Numerous successful artists and musicians, today and throughout history, claim that synesthesia deeply influences their craft.
Synesthesia has ties dating back to ancient Greece, when Aristotle worked with his students to sort colors by “brightness” in an attempt to understand how color connects to all five human senses. While this particular experiment did not yield conclusive results, the work of philosophers during this period created a quantifiable system for linking color to personal thought (Jiang & Yuan, 2022). This system laid the foundation for much of today’s research.
For centuries, so little was known about the neurology behind synesthesia. After all, how could there be a scientific explanation for why strawberries taste round or why the color red smells like chocolate or why C major looks purple? Consequently, many scientists argued that synesthesia did not exist (Jiang & Yuan, 2022). Recently, however, research has demonstrated that synesthesia is, in fact, a very real neurological phenomenon (Palmeri et al., 2006). Still, though, we have little actual understanding of the scientific basis behind synesthesia.
Research efforts have been aided by the specific study of artists with synesthesia. Some of today’s most popular musical artists claim that their synesthesia helps them create their art. Frank Ocean claims his album Channel Orange was written about the color he sees when falling in love. Lorde states that her song Tennis Court was “the worst textured tan color” in drafting stages, but became “incredible greens” after editing. Billy Joel sees strong, lively rhythms in reds, oranges, and yellows. Even Stevie Wonder, though blind, says he sees the color of his music in his head (Gordon, 2020).
Additionally, famous studio artists use their synesthesia to their advantage while creating. Painter David Hockney sees colors in response to musical stimuli. Wassily Kandinsky utilized the “sound of colors” to create his classic abstract paintings. Even Vincent Van Gogh, perhaps one of the most famous painters of all time, is a suspected synesthete; he saw colors in piano music, an assumed-to-be symptom of insanity at the time (Taggart, 2020). Today, this is recognized as what may be what made his paintings so fluid and lively.
The study of these artists gives no information about why some people have synesthesia, or how synesthesia develops and manifests in so many different ways. It does, however, give us insight into the effects that synesthesia has on the human psyche. It is suspected that synesthetes may have a greater capacity for creativity than those without synesthesia (Jiang & Yuan, 2022). Perhaps the ability to meld the 5 senses provides an ability for an enhanced imagination that the possession of 5 separate senses does not. Regardless, a clear link exists between synesthesia and successful artistry.
Next time one looks at Van Gogh’s Starry Night, imagine the soft tune that might have inspired it. When listening to Piano Man, imagine the warm colors Billy Joel must have seen while writing the music. Recognize the manifestations of synesthesia, and appreciate how varied sensory experience can be.
About the Author
Hannah Shell is a sophomore at Harvard College concentrating in Human Developmental and Regenerative Biology.
References
- Fernández, M. L. R. (2022). Synesthesia in Contemporary Music. Human Review. International Humanities Review/Revista Internacional de Humanidades, 11(2).
- Gordon, E. A. (2020). 15 Iconic Musicians with Synesthesia. Popdust.
- Jiang, Q. and Yuan, Y. (2022) Literature Review on Western Audiovisual Synesthesia and Art Experiment Research. Sociology Mind, 12, 121-133. doi: 10.4236/sm.2022.124008.
- Palmeri, T. J., Blake, R. B., & Marois, R. (2006). What is synesthesia? Scientific American.
- Taggart, E. (2019). Synesthesia Artists Who Paint Their Multi-Sensory Experience.
