EXAMINATION OF THE VIEWS OF FINE ARTS HIGH SCHOOL PAINTING DEPARTMENT STUDENTS ON THEIR SYNESTHETIC EXPERIENCES

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to make sense and raise awareness of synesthetic experiences of high school art students, and to ensure that students discover and consciously use their creativity skills in artistic creation processes. The study adopts a qualitative approach and is based on the phenomenological design. The study group consists of 15 art students, aged between 15 and 18 and seven visual arts teachers. A participant identification form was given to 115 students to determine the study group. To obtain data, qualitative data collection methods including interviews, observation and document analysis were used. The data obtained in the study were analysed through content analysis. When the results of the study are evaluated, the synesthetic experiences of the students are experiences such as numbers having colors, seeing colors or shapes while listening to music, and associating words with certain tastes. However, a significant number of students were not aware that these experiences were a special case of synesthesia. Most of the participants thought that these experiences were not unique to them and that everyone perceived them similarly. This situation caused the students not to use their synesthetic experiences in their creative processes or academic lives before. Having learned about the concept of synesthesia during the research process, the students were able to better describe their experiences and expressed that they felt creative and different. The visual arts teachers stated that they had never heard of synesthesia and should have knowledge of the phenomenon.