Synesthesia & Art: A Match Made In Heaven

Ever wondered what the note B would look like as a color? Would Tuesday taste like chicken and Thursday taste like fries? When you eat poutine, does it feel pointy, round, or jagged? Do you ever label the people you talk to by colours?Unless you are part of the 4% of the human population that has synesthesia, then the note B is just a sound, Tuesday and Thursday are just days of the week, and eating poutine is just heavenly.Synesthesia is a condition where stimulation of one sense is simultaneously perceived by one or more additional senses. For example, one person with synesthesia might mix sound with sight. The note B might carry a certain colour while the note D has another. Now imagine turning such a fascinating “brain malfunction” into art.Melissa McCracken is a Kansas City-based artist who paints music. She says that the music she hears flows in a mixture of hues, textures, and movements, shifting as if it were a vital and intentional element of each song.Below is a sampling of her art, along with the song she was listening to during the making of each piece:

At Last, inspired by Etta James' "At Last" 

Imagine, inspired by John Lennon's "Imagine" 

Gravity, inspired by John Mayer's "Gravity" 

Lucky, inspired by Radiohead's "Lucky" 

Hallelujah, inspired by Jeff Buckley's "Hallelujah" 

For more information of Melissa McCracken and her art, visit here.Yours Creatively,Rawan Abdelaatty, Online ColumnistImages: Melissa S. McCracken via here