Eyeborg or synesthete - can you hear the art?

Eyeborg ~~ © IH

For some artists, the whole experience of art creation is much like playing a piece of music.

For artists with synesthesia, they can see a certain colour in response to a certain sound. They paint or draw what they hear, and listening to music helps drive their creative process.

Wassily Kandinsky is one of the more famous abstract painters that had the ability to hear colour. His paintings were all about his experience of seeing music in colour, line and form. To him, certain tones were represented by specific colours. As stated in the painter of sound and vision,

For centuries visual artists have referenced music within their art. They have either incorporated elements of musical notation or have explored the process of visually representing music through motion and colour.

“He believed shades resonated with each other to produce visual 'chords' and had an influence on the soul”.

How do you hear this art if you are not a synesthete?

It turns out Neil Harbisson, a Colour blind artist, has unveiled the world's first 'eyeborg' device. With this device he can hear colours after having a chip surgically implanted into his skull. This chip induces a synesthetic experience by converting images to sound vibrations. According to Neil,

“every colour has a different vibration, meaning different paintings, images or even faces have a different note or sound.”

So, if you are willing to become an eyeborg, you too can simulate synesthesia and hear your art. However, depending on both your artistic AND musical compositional abilities, what you paint or illustrate may not be the next great musical hit. Just be prepared with some earplugs.

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