Visualizing Music: Walker’s Gallery celebrates anniversary with new call for art

The Walkers’ Gallery celebrated its 24th birthday this July — having opened its first exhibit with the San Marcos Activity Center back in 1997.

With seven exhibits a year, the gallery has displayed many unusual themes inspiring and supporting area artists, both emerging and professional and reaching out beyond Central Texas to represent unique artistic responses to those themes.

As a birthday cake with candles seems to trigger the singing of “Happy Birthday,” images and music are often partnered — as complementary forms of expression.

Many, if not most, visual artists work with music playing — absorbing its emotional energy, helping to stay focused and sometimes insinuating itself into their imagery.

The current call for art, themed “Visualizing Music,” inspired numerous local responses — some quite literal, like the Hill Country Dulcimer crafted from recycled wood by local artist/ craftsman/musician Terry McDowell. Hanging it evoked many questions as it was originally played in the Appalachian region of the United States, and not seen that often in Texas.

Googling the theme linked to a young artist in Provo, Utah, whose social media handle was “Visualizing Music Art.” Breeana Carter had launched herself into a process of poured paint art that she created to abstractly visualize popular musical compositions by specific artists. She was delighted to allow one of her paintings to be used for the poster and also sent that and five other of her stunning canvasses for the exhibit.

Combining imagery with sound — and music — for a small population of people around the world with synesthesia is not an associative choice but a builtin reality.

Synesthesia is a neurological condition that cross-wires two or more of what most of us experience as separate senses. Not a one size fits all condition, synesthetes can often “see” sound as colors when they hear it, and/or, for example, “taste” textures like “rough” or “pointy” or “smooth" when they eat foods.

It is thought that possibly 2-4% of people have one or more symptoms of synesthesia and a number of famous artists such as Wassily Kandinsky are known to have had this condition.

Having posted the call for art in an online newsletter for synesthetes, inquiries came in from artists from different countries — Argentina, Spain and Canada — as well as from Florida and California.

Some sent digital images, including two animated videos which are playing looped in the gallery; a few shipped actual artworks. Each artist has his or her very unique style of expression.

One artist, Paula Marcos Gutierrez, from Madrid, Spain, shared this description of her experience as a synesthete:

“My synesthesia has been always with me. I have several types, but I usually work with crometesia (chromesthesia) because it is one of the easiest to describe this experiences. In this project I present a series of pieces trying to help people without synesthesia to understand it.”

For most, seeing music directly may be abstractly understood by looking at sound waves — vibrations at the frequency and volume of sound that travel through the air or other medium.

Soundwaves Art Foundation, is an Austin nonprofit (soundwavesartfoundation. com) whose founder/owner, Tim Wakefield, makes art from the actual sound waves of songs from wellknown bands, local and national (Los Lonely Boys, Coldplay, David Bowie…). The company has highquality prints made from the original paintings, in many cases signed by the musical artists, then sells the prints to raise money for various charities. Wakefield contributed six images to show in the exhibit and a representative from Soundwaves Art Foundation will be attending the reception to talk about their organization.

The public is invited to the artists’ reception for this exhibit on Saturday, August 14, from 5 p.m. - 7 p.m., at the San Marcos Activity Center.

Light refreshments will be served, but because of rising Covid numbers, most will be pre-packaged rather than the usual open serve plates. In an abundance of caution, please wear a mask, vaccinated or unvaccinated.

The exhibit will be on display and can be visited without appointment or charge during regular Activity Center hours through August 27.

For more information please contact the curator: lindakelseyjones@gmail.com.

Art exhibits at the Walkers' Gallery are sponsored by the San Marcos Area Arts Council and the City of San Marcos with support from the San Marcos Arts Commission.