1 black-and-white plate, 1 color photo, 72 color plates

Sensory Crossovers

Synesthesia in American Art
By Sharyn UdallNancy Weekly



Synesthesia in its simplest terms refers to sensory fusions or crossovers. Interest peaked between 1890 and 1930, when synesthesia became a focus of serious attention in the fields of visual art, music, literature and linguistics. During that period, Edvard Munch and Wassily Kandinsky were probably the best-known painters to respond visually to non-visual sensory stimuli. This catalogue brings alive synesthesia's underpinnings, with a broader study documenting the formal and expressive purposes these crossovers have served for American painters.

Subjects: Art

Contributor Bios
Sharyn R. Udall is an Art Historian, author, and independent curator who has written, taught and lectured widely on the art of the Americas.
Nancy Weekly is Head of Collections and the Charles Cary Rumsey Curator, Burchfield Penney Art Center, Buffalo State College, New York.