Spark your senses
OKC ART COLLECTIVE’S ‘SYNESTHESIA’ BRINGS FREE IMMERSIVE EXHIBIT TO OU
NORMAN — In a hidden room occupied by strangely angular snails, otherworldly sounds match the colorful glimmers illuminating the undersides of soft, squishy toadstools.
Elsewhere in this rainbow-hued section of the Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art, a giant kaleidoscope slowly turns overhead, velvet coral reefs, crocheted mosses and gauzy storybooks beckon visitors to touch, and bucket drums and clanging chimes invite adults and children alike to make music.
“It’s our newest immersive art experience ... so, of course, we have the sound elements, the lights and other kinds of technology,” said Kelsey Karper, one of the cofounders of Factory Obscura.
“It’s more abstract than, I think, anything else we’ve ever done, and I think it’s because we were ... starting from the colors and trying to figure out, ‘How do you create an experience of color: What does that color sound like? What does that color smell like?’”
The Oklahoma City artist collective partnered with the Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art for “Synesthesia,” an interactive art exhibition inspired by colors and textures in the museum’s permanent collection. Open to the public through June 4, admission to “Synesthesia,” along with the rest of the University of Oklahoma’s art museum, is free.
“I love to introduce even more people to what we do. (Being) here lets us introduce more people to have these kinds of wonderous and joyful experiences,” said fellow Factory Obscura co-founder Tammy Greenman.
How did a former OU art student’s work influence ‘Synesthesia?’
The exhibit’s title comes from the extraordinary sensory condition of the same name. People who experience synesthesia — from the Greek for “to perceive together” — automatically experience one sense through another. Synesthetes might hear in colors, taste in shapes or literally feel music (on their skin and not just in their emotions), according to the American Psychological Association.
In the case of the Norman exhibit, the 20person “Synesthesia” team also was inspired by the dynamic works of Olinka Hrdy (1902-1987), an Oklahoma native who studied art at OU from 1923-1928.
Born to Czechoslovakian immigrant parents in a one-room sod hut in Prague in 1902, Hrdy is widely regarded as Oklahoma’s first modern artist. After studying at OU, she painted murals for influential Oklahoma architect Bruce Goff at Tulsa’s Riverside Studio and was invited by icon Frank Lloyd Wright to paint more murals.
“The pieces that we were specifically looking at were studies for those murals she did for the music conservatory in Tulsa, where each panel represented a different style of music,” said Karper, Factory Obscura’s director of logistical creativity.
One of Hrdy’s watercolor mural studies, along with her oil on canvas painting with color pencil titled “Moving Sound,” are exhibited just outside the entrance to “Synesthesia.”
“When she passed away, she left a huge body of work to the museum. ... They’re stunning to look at and realize there are so many layers in the color and the texture —
This year it’s April 7.
Also in Tulsa, but on April 14, is the Art Crawl on 66, which is a great chance to see original works of art up close at a variety of local establishments. Every month from April through December, on the second Friday, local businesses and vendors will open their doors to the public and host live performances by musicians, performers and visual artists.
April 22, Sulphur’s Artesian Plaza hosts Southeast Native American art during the Artesian Arts Festival. Live music, local food and more will be available.
The Chisholm Trail Heritage Center in Duncan hosts an annual fall festival called Reining in the Arts on April 8 to honor the community and artists. There will be art vendors, food trucks, wine and beer booths and many activities for children and adults of all ages. All the activities will be held at several locations around the museum. See Native American dancers, dance soloists, musicians and cowboy poets perform live as part of the festival.
And don’t forget The Arts in April Festival in Durant on April 14; Stillwater Arts Festival, April 21-22; the Walkin’ on Chalk Arts Festival in Altus on April 16; and the Montmartre Chalk Art Festival in Chickasha on April 6.
I do want to mention four film festivals taking place in the near future:
• Sunny Side Up Film Festival:
March 24-26, Coleman Theatre in Miami, Oklahoma.
• Oklahoma Jewish Film Festival:
March 26-30, Circle Cinema in Tulsa.
• Tonkawa Film Festival: April 1415, Wilkin Hall at Northern Oklahoma College.
• Bare Bones International Film Festival: April 26-30, Roxy Theatre and various other venues in Muskogee.
Lastly, one of the more unique events is the Medieval Fair in Norman. This year it will be taking place March 31-April 2. If you have never been to this, you are really missing something quite fun! The location for the Medieval Fair is Reaves Park in Norman.
April 27-29, you can’t go wrong attending the entertaining Norman Music Festival.
For a comprehensive list of festivals and events, go to the official website of the Oklahoma Tourism and Recreation Department, Travelok.com.
Dino Lalli is the co-host and one of the feature reporters for the weekly television travel show “Discover Oklahoma.”