marcia smilack - reflectionist - synesthesia and photography





Home Galleries Artist Info Video Clips Synesthesia Calendar Contact Site Map Links Press Blog Exhibitions Researcher Reflections	Print Page How I Became a Photographer: Brief Biography I grew up in Bexley, Ohio and attended the University of Wisconsin at Madison for my undergraduate work. I received my PhD from the English Department of Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island where I taught courses for seven years as a Teaching Assistant. I continued to teach literature and writing at colleges in the Boston area after I completed my degree but the college job market was tough at that time for us baby boomers. I taught part-time at Boston College and decided to try my hand at writing. I published several articles and feature stories for the Boston Globe Sunday Magazine and for other publications. As a result, I was invited back to Brown University for one term as a Visiting Professor of Journalism. (See resume for details). In 1988, I acquired my first camera. I had decided to take a break from teaching to write a book and had moved to the fishing village of Menemsha on the island of Martha's Vineyard off the coast of Massachusetts. The cottage I rented had a second floor study with a marvelous view of the harbor; and while I joke that I became a photographer because of writer's block, the true answer has more to do with what I saw through that window. I was working on a book about the Vietnam War which I found to be a very depressing topic, and I looked forward each day to my one reprieve which I saw arrive through my window: at 4:00 p.m., the fishing boats return to the harbor with their catch of the day. I was mesmerized by the red buoys on board the boats; at that time of day, with the sun shining directly on the red buoys, a powerful set of reflections is produced that elicits a sound I can only describe as that of a siren -- not a loud annoying siren but a Siren like the ones in Ulysses -- a sound that neither he nor I could resist. I grabbed my camera and walked down to the harbor where I took my first photographs of red buoys. I snapped when I heard the sound of red. I noticed that reflections on the surface of the sea stimulate my synesthesia. I found myself literally unable to keep my lens above sea level; I'd try to take normal pictures but before I knew it, I'd be aiming below, down at the water no matter what my intention. I felt positively compelled to document, in photographs, the source of those synesthetic responses though I didn't think of it in that way at the time. I knew that I had no choice so I surrendered to what I think of as my "have to": the same internal voice that has told me, from earliest childhood, what and how to write now commanded me in this new medium to regard my synesthetic responses as reliable signals for when to click the shutter. I used synesthesia to teach myself photography and use it to take my pictures today. I shoot a picture when I hear a chord of color which, for me, is not a metaphor but the way I perceive the world. I named myself a professional Reflectionist (a word I made up) when I chose to ignore subjects above see/sea level and focus my attention on reflected versions which better match the way the experience feels. My first exhibition was held in in 1993. Since that time, I have had several other solo exhibits. My photographs have been shown in galleries, profiled in articles, featured in films and in two books. Author Patricia Duffy devotes a chapter to my work in Blue Cats and Chartreuse Kittens. My art work is featured in three documentary films; the first one focuses on how I use dreams in my work while the others show how I use synesthesia to create my Paintings by Camera. Many articles are not on-line anymore but I can send you versions if you wish; just contact me with your address. I have become a professional speaker on the subject of how I use my synesthesia to create my art work. I combine a slide presentation with a detailed explanation of which synesthetic response was responsible for which image. I sometimes add a short film at the end in which I match music to my images, the reverse of how I take the images but then, my synesthesia works in both directions: I see with my ears and I hear with my eyes. I speak to many different audiences ranging from scientists, doctors, and researchers to linguists, teachers and psychologists; from college art professors and museum curators to executives; and including business retreats where the goal is to expose the employees to a new way to "think outside of the box." I particularly enjoy speaking to children. No matter what the make-up of the audience, there is invariably at least one member who realizes, by the end of my talk, that he or she is a synesthete. I am available for speaking engagements. I have recently returned to the island of Martha's Vineyard where I have lived for many years. It is the perfect match for my interior life. Please feel free to contact me and thank you for visiting. I really do appreciate your interest. Below is my Resume if you want more details about the events that led up to my life today. Resume EDUCATION PhD With Distinction In English Literature Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island Doctoral Dissertation BA With Distinction In Major (English) University of Wisconsin in Madison, Wisconsin LECTURES & PRESENTATIONS Wellesley College Vision and Art Professor Bevil Conway's Class 2008 University of South Florida St. Petersburg, Florida Lecture: "The Language of Synesthesia" 6th Annual National Conference, American Synesthesia Association 2007 The School for Visual Arts Artists Talk About Art Series Lecture: "Synesthesia & Perception" New York City, NY 2006 Department of Clinical Psychiatry and Psychotherapy Hanover Medical School 2nd International Conference on Synaesthesia Hanover, Germany 2006 University of Texas Houston Medical School, Houston, Texas Lecture: "When A Window Is Also A Mirror" Fifth Annual National Conference, American Synesthesia Association 2005 The College Art Association Annual Meeting Atlanta, Georgia Lecture: "Synesthetic Sonar Between Artist and Archetype: Photographic Proof That The Universe Is Dreaming" 2005 Institute of Cognitive and Brain Sciences University of California, Berkeley, CA Lecture: "The Singing Arches" Fourth Annual National Meeting, American Synesthesia Association 2004 The Rockefeller Institute Neurogenetics Laboratory New York City, New York Lecture: "Weekends are Taller than Weekdays" Third Annual National Meeting, American Synesthesia Association 2003 Synergy Design Center Vineyard Haven, MA Lecture: "Synesthesia Evening" With Readings by Author Patricia & Poet Rose Styron 2003 Bunch of Grapes Bookstore, Authors Series "How Synesthetes Color Their World" Vineyard Haven, MA Presentation with Reading By Author Patricia Duffy from Blue Cats and Chartreuse Kittens 2002 Feather Stone Meeting House For The Arts Lecture: "Dreams, Synesthesia and Photography" Oak Bluffs, MA 2000 Feather Stone Meeting House For the Arts Lecture: "How I Write . . . " Oak Bluffs, MA 1999 Yale University Lecture: "How I Used Synesthesia To Teach Myself Photography" The Pierce Laboratory Run by Dr. Lawrence Marks New Haven, Connecticut 1999 Martha’s Vineyard Hospital Lecture: "Synesthesia: What Is It?" Oak Bluffs, MA 1999 Harvard University Graduate School of Landscape Design Lecture: "How I See In Reflection" Cambridge, MA 1999 Martha’s Vineyard Garden Club Lecture: "Reflections by Marcia Smilack" 1998 SPECIAL RECOGNITION IN BOOKS, MAGAZINES AND MEDIA DOCUMENTARY FILMS "The Meaning of Dreams" Discovery Channel Produced by Linda Harrar 1994 “Chroma" By Carrie Schultz 2002 "I Hear With My Eyes” By Richard Skidmore 2002 "Mirai No Hosoku" ("Uncharted Territory") The East Company Japanese Television 2007 MVTV Interview "Vineyard View with Ann Bassett" 2007 MAGAZINES Art & Antiques Magazine Summer Issue 1996 Vineyard Home & Garden "Double-Takes: The Dancing Light of Marcia Smilack’s Photo Surrealism" By Jib Ellis 1999 Vineyard Home & Garden "Double-Takes: The Dancing Light of Marcia Smilack’s Photo Surrealism" By Jib Ellis 1999 Vineyard Gazette "Reflectionist Marcia Smilack Pictures The Sounds of the Sea" By Rachel Nava Rohr 2006 Seed Magazine "The Most Beautiful Painting You've Ever Heard" By Virginia Hughes 2006 Vineyard Style "Wondrous Water works: The Mindful Music of Photographer Marcia Smilack" By John Budris 2006 NEWSPAPERS The Martha’s Vineyard Times “Marcia Smilack’s Camera Sees Double" By Jacqueline Sexton 1997 Colorado Camera "Hearing Red" By Lisa Marshall 2003 Associated Press "The Sound of Photos" By Brandie Jefferson 2007 The Tampa Tribune "Picture A World Where Senses Collide" By Michael Winter 2007 BOOKS Dreams: 1900 – 2000: Science Art and the Unconscious Mind Editor, Lynn Gamwell Cornell University Press 1999 Blue Cats and Chartreuse Kittens Chapter 7: "The Synesthetic Camera Paintings of Marcia Smilack" Times Books 2002 The Neurobiology of Painting "Synaesthesia and Painting" By Amy Ione 2006 The Neurobiology of Painting "Synaesthesia and Painting" By Amy Ione 2006 The Hidden Sense By Cretien van Campen MIT Press 2008 RADIO Weekend America "A Different Sense of Things" By Kara Oehler & Ann Heppermann 2007 Fashionista's Corner 2008 IN PERMANENT COLLECTIONS Permanent Collection JFK University Santa Cruz, CA Permanent Collection Martha's Vineyard Historical Society Edgartown, MA GALLERIES AND EXHIBITIONS (A Partial List) The Yard, Chilmark, MA The X-Gallery, Nantucket, MA The Starr Gallery, Newton, MA Chilmark Library, Chilmark, MA Field Gallery, West Tisbury, MA Gay Head Gallery, Aquinnah, MA Cobalt Gallery, West Tisbury, MA Gallerie Oceanna, Edgartown, MA Firehouse Gallery, Oak Bluffs, MA Dragonfly Gallery, Oak Bluffs, MA Wooden Tent, Vineyard Haven, MA Granary Gallery, West Tisbury, MA The Garden Club, West Tisbury, MA Chicamoo Gallery, West Tisbury, MA Hebrew Center, Vineyard Haven, MA Synergy Design, Vineyard Haven, MA Thaw Malin Gallery, West Tisbury, MA Luce House Gallery, Vineyard Haven, MA IMPACT Safety Programs, Columbus, Ohio OttensSargent Gallery, Vineyard Haven, MA Martha's Vineyard Film Festival, Aquinnah, MA Kelly House, A New Leaf Exhibit, Edgartown, MA Annual Family Planning Exhibion, West Tisbury, MA Association for Dreaming Conference, Santa Cruz, CA Philadelphia Art Show Childrens Hospital, Philadelphia, PA The Feather Stone Meeting house For The Arts, Oak Bluffs, MA RELATED EXPERIENCE Member of the Chilmark Cultural Council, Chilmark, MA RECOGNITION IN WRITING LITERARY CRITICISM THE LUSO-BRAZILIAN REVIEW “Opposition and Interchange: Resolution Through Persona In ‘Tabacaria’ By Fernando Pessoa By Marcia Smilack JOURNALISM Metro/View Section, The Los Angeles Times Magazine Cover Stories, Sunday Boston Herald Magazine Cover Story, Sunday Boston Globe MAGAZINES On Cable Magazine Vineyard Magazine Martha’s Vineyard Life Cape Cod Life Magazine Boston Globe Newspaper BOOK REVIEWS Boston Globe, Sunday Book Section Boston Herald American, Sunday Book Section TEACHING EXPERIENCE Creative Writing, Boston Center for Adult Education, Boston, MA Visiting Professor of Journalism, Brown University, Providence, RI Teaching Assistant, Brown University, Department of English, Providence, RI English Literature and Writing, Boston College Evening College, Chestnut Hill, MA English Literature and Writing, Boston College, Department of English, Chestnut Hill, MA
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