Post by sciwriter on Sept 4, 2006 20:54:30 GMT -7
Synesthetes are people in whom one sense triggers another. Their senses are
Connected so they can both see
a painting such as "Composition VIII, 1923" by Vassily Kandinsky
the Russian painter and hear sounds which the painting triggers.
Are you a Synesthete? Do you know any of them? Carl
news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060904/en_nm/science_senses_dc
Paintings can be heard as well as seen, study shows By Patricia Reaney
Mon Sep 4, 10:36 AM ET
NORWICH (Reuters) - Artists such as Wassily Kandinsky appeal to more than just
the visual sense because their work can also be heard -- at least by some
people, a British neuroscientist said on Monday.
Synesthetes are individuals in whom one sense triggers another. Their senses are
connected, so as well as seeing a painting such as "Composition VIII, 1923" by
the Russian painter, the work also triggers sounds.
"What Kandinsky wanted to do was for it to appeal to hearing as well," Dr Jamie
Ward, a neuroscientist at University College London (UCL), told a British
science conference.
Whether or not Kandinsky was a synesthete is not known but Ward said the artist
certainly knew about the sensory phenomenon.
Synesthetes make up only about one to two percent of the population but Ward
believes everyone links music and art unconsciously.
To test the theory, in a series of experiments he asked synesthetes to draw and
describe their vision of music played by the New London Orchestra.
Other people without synesthesia, who acted as a control group, did the same and
a professional artist created animations of the images related to the music.
"We played them musical notes and got them to draw and describe what they see,"
Ward said.
When more than 200 people were shown 100 images and asked to choose the
animations that best suited the music they consistently selected the images from
the synesthetes.
"It's almost as if everybody can appreciate these synesthetic images even if
they don't have synesthesia," he added.
People are born with synesthesia, which runs in families. Ward and other
scientists believe that by studying the phenomenon they can learn more about how
the senses and thoughts are linked in the brain.
"Kandinsky wanted to make visual art more like music -- more abstract. He also
hoped that his paintings would be heard by his audiences," Ward added.
Connected so they can both see
a painting such as "Composition VIII, 1923" by Vassily Kandinsky
the Russian painter and hear sounds which the painting triggers.
Are you a Synesthete? Do you know any of them? Carl
news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060904/en_nm/science_senses_dc
Paintings can be heard as well as seen, study shows By Patricia Reaney
Mon Sep 4, 10:36 AM ET
NORWICH (Reuters) - Artists such as Wassily Kandinsky appeal to more than just
the visual sense because their work can also be heard -- at least by some
people, a British neuroscientist said on Monday.
Synesthetes are individuals in whom one sense triggers another. Their senses are
connected, so as well as seeing a painting such as "Composition VIII, 1923" by
the Russian painter, the work also triggers sounds.
"What Kandinsky wanted to do was for it to appeal to hearing as well," Dr Jamie
Ward, a neuroscientist at University College London (UCL), told a British
science conference.
Whether or not Kandinsky was a synesthete is not known but Ward said the artist
certainly knew about the sensory phenomenon.
Synesthetes make up only about one to two percent of the population but Ward
believes everyone links music and art unconsciously.
To test the theory, in a series of experiments he asked synesthetes to draw and
describe their vision of music played by the New London Orchestra.
Other people without synesthesia, who acted as a control group, did the same and
a professional artist created animations of the images related to the music.
"We played them musical notes and got them to draw and describe what they see,"
Ward said.
When more than 200 people were shown 100 images and asked to choose the
animations that best suited the music they consistently selected the images from
the synesthetes.
"It's almost as if everybody can appreciate these synesthetic images even if
they don't have synesthesia," he added.
People are born with synesthesia, which runs in families. Ward and other
scientists believe that by studying the phenomenon they can learn more about how
the senses and thoughts are linked in the brain.
"Kandinsky wanted to make visual art more like music -- more abstract. He also
hoped that his paintings would be heard by his audiences," Ward added.