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Dear Liz:

I think your observations are very valid and would like to read what you have to say after you see the show. The initial concept for the exhibition was very much metaphorical in nature - that is, this is not a show of work by people who experience synesthesia or "have the condition", although at least one artist does. The curatorial statement explores the idea of synesthesia as part of the urbanized human condition - synesthesia as phenomenology rather than pathology. However, many of us who imagine synesthesia do think of it in terms of a heightened sense of perceptual awareness. After all, the synesthetic experience has been show to actually activate various regions of the brain at once! The one exhibiting artist who experiences synesthesia reports sensations that are overwhelming (like sounds that make her salivate) as well as other experiences described very much as hyper amplified sensorial phenomena. That being said, I don't think any of the artists or the curator pretend to be neurobiologists or experts on the subject, but many of us certainly drew plenty of inspiration from the idea that synesthesia is a common condition. I agree wholeheartedly with Dr. Paul Grobstein when he describes synesthesia as a continuum and not merely defined as "a" or "b". The quote you included was written by the someone advertising the show as one that is diverse and playful in nature and intent - I hope you enjoy it as much as we enjoyed developing it and installing it in the galleries.