Synesthesia

Synesthesia is a neurologically-based condition in which stimulation of one sensory or cognitive pathway leads to automatic, involuntary experiences in a second sensory or cognitive pathway.

The media of art effecting the different senses, fine art generates visual stimuli. For the ones not having the ability of sight the pleasure of the reception of fine art works is almost impossible. However fine art not just consists of visually perceptible works. We can face in the galleries and museums more and more audiovisual or completely aural works, which engage not just the eye but the ear as well.

The Synesthesia exhibition would like to actuate blind and partially sighted to perceive fine art with art pieces, which are producing “compassion”, by the operation of one sense activating another. The installations are inviting blind and visually impaired as well as sighted to extend their own perception.

Four young artists from Central Europe prepares audiovisual installations in cooperation with blind and partially sighted volunteers in the framework of workshops.

During 2012 the exhibition will travel to three further cultural institutions of Central Europe, to the Školska28 Communication Space, Prague, to BANSKA STANICA Contemporary, Banska Stiavnica and to Labirynt Gallery, Lublin.

The exhibition will be accompanied by lectures, in which experts from various related fields will raise questions about the relation between blind and audio and accordingly visual arts. The work of the artists’ work is contributed by organisations for blind from the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia.

16.02.2012 5 pm.
SYNESTHETIC FIELD – lectures and discussion about the relation of blind and partially sighted and visual arts

The aim of the series of lectures is to invite speakers who work with the fields of visual arts, pedagogy of blind and partially sighted and those who are personally part of the above mentioned handicapped group. The speakers raise questions such as colour sight, the relation of auditive and visual arts to blind beholders and the role of arts in the special education of blinds. Moreover the exhibiting artists will share their experiences they gained during producing the installations or their previous artistic work with blind.

Lecturers:

Zsuzsa Kroll (1976) is strongly visually impaired. She holds a degree in Hungarian literature (1997), she was singing and playing music in the band Sziámi between 1991-95. She works for the Hungarian Federation of the Blind and Partially Sighted, first she was a cultural and recreation programme manager and from 2006 she is chief executive. Between 2006 and 2009 nine she was the coordinator of a project helping 36 visually impaired to study and to find berth. In 2008 she initiated a nationwide campaign for prevention of blindness among elderly people. From 2009 she coordinates workgroup for realization of secure mobility and environment for visually impaired. The lecture by Zsuzsa Kroll is titled; To catch the incomprehensible. Motto: “if nothing doesn’t exist, it is already something, which is finally more than nothing”. The topics of the lecture: to know and/or to feel – the difference between the experience and the concept. Why is it important for me to know it? Taboos and parries. “Bring me down the star and let me colour it!” One world is given.

István Madácsy finished his biology and visual culture education in Nyíregyháza in 1990, than he got a degree in 1996 at the Academy of Fine Arts Budapest, at the graphic arts department. Between 1996 and ’98 he took part in a postgraduate course of the Academy and from 2004 to 2007 he was the student of the doctorate school where he got his DLA degree in 2010. His dissertation, entitled Transparency – the work of light and the light of the work, is dedicated to the topics of light art, sight research and the oeuvre of James Turrel. He is lecturer at the College of Nyíregyháza from 2000 and at the Academy of Fine Arts from 2006. István Madácsy in his lecture, The light of darkness, will present his research on colour sight. The artist made an experiment with forty-nine visually impaired, who live without colour sight, though they perceive in virtue of the exhibition can be declared that they feel the difference between colours.

Erzsébet Móga Sebok (1959) was student of the Gusztáv Bárczi College for Special Pedagogy (1977-1981) where she got her degree in tiflopedagogy and oligofrenepedagogy. She studied pedagogy at the Loránt Eötvös Science University(1987-1989) and she also gained a certificate in as a pottery education. She worked as a teacher at the Primary School of Blind from 1981 till ’85. From 2000 she teaches at the Special School for Blind. She is the chairman of the “Kézzelfogható” Foundation. Erzsébet Móga Sebok will compare in the first part of her lecture, entitled See with your hands, the perception of blind and partially sighted with the perception of sighted. In the second part she will introduce her experience gathered during the work with blind, partially sighted and deafblind while they were comprehending arts (tactile exhibitions, potter education, museum visits).