Pictorial storytelling

What you might not know is something that I too recently discovered, the fact that Lolita’s conceptual father suffered from  a condition called synesthesia. Well, ‘suffered’ is just a way of saying, and rather an exaggeration since this condition allowed him to experience the world differently than most of us. And it was this way of seeing things in a different manner that played an important role in transforming Nabokov into one of modern literature’s greatest writers.

Synesthesia is “neurological condition in which people experience a mixing of their senses” (source) and in which perceptivity of sense-data, the visual, audible, and olfactory are recombined, in a way that is natural and unsuppressible in the synaesthete.” (source)

Let me exemplify this better with the words of Nabokov himself, as he tries to describe the way in which he perceives letters: “Since a subtle interaction exists between sound and shape, I see ‘q’ as browner than ‘k’, while ‘s’ is not the light blue of ‘c’, but a curious mixture of azure and mother-of-pearl.” (source)

He also makes a beautiful and sensitive description of the perceived distinction between two pronunciations of one letter: “The long ‘a’of the English alphabet . . . has for me the tint of weathered wood, but a French a evokes polished ebony” (source) As much as it sounds as if Nabokov is simply creating metaphors, the difference is that the associations come naturally, thus being created unconsciously.

Among the beautiful people who engage more than one of our senses with their creations is Isabela from LaChatterie. She re-wrote the story of Lolita through delicate fabrics and soft colors. Isabela’s Lolita is utterly feminine, and yet still a child, as the predominant color in her wardrobe is a pale pink. 

Ceea ce s-ar putea sa nu stiti este ceva ce am descoperit si eu recent, si anume faptul ca tatal conceptual al Lolitei suferea de o stare numita sinestezie. De fapt, ‘suferea’ e un fel de a spune, sau mai degraba o exagerare de vreme ce aceasta stare i-a ingaduit sa experimenteze lumea diferit decat majoritatea dintre noi. Si este acest mod de a vedea lucrurile intr-un mod diferit ce a jucat un rol important in transformarea lui Nabokov intr-unul dintre cei mai mari scriitori ai literaturii moderne.

Sinestezia este “starea neurologica in care oamenii experimenteaza o amestecare a simturilor” (sursa) si in care “felul in care sunt percepute datele senzoriale, vizualul, auditivul, si olfactivul este recombinat, intr-un mod care este natural si de nesuprimat in sinestet.” (sursa)

Ingaduiti-mi sa exemplific asta ceva mai bine prin cuvintele lui Nabokov, asa cum el insusi incearca sa descrie felul in care percepe literele: “De vreme ce exista o subtila interactiune intre sunet si forma, eu vad ‘q’ ca fiind mai maroniu decat ‘k’, in timp ce ‘s’ nu este un bleu deschis al lui ‘c’, dar o mixtura curioasa de azur si sidef.” (sursa)

El face de asemenea o frumoasa si sensibila  descriere a distinctiei percepute  intre doua pronuntari ale unei litere: “Lungul ‘a’ al alfabelului englez . . . are pentru mine tenta de lemn invechit, dar un ‘a’ francez evoca abanosul lustruit” (sursa). Oricat de mult ar suna ca si cum Nabokov doar creeaza metafore, diferenta este ca aceste asocieri vin natural, fiind astfel create inconstient.

Astfel, pot numai sa incep sa spun cat de incantata am fost sa fiu rugata sa modelez cateva dintre noile creatii LaChatterie. A fost de asemenea o placere sa lucrez cu Catalin Margescu, fotograful, care reuseste sa creeze un mediu de lucru relaxant si distractiv. Sper sa va incante, pe mine cu siguranta au reusit!