Come join us on Friday, September 29, at 5:30 pm, when we unveil our latest piece, Sensory Bop, by the interdisciplinary artist Sleepyfoot?, aka Manon Casimir-Sainton. Click here to register. This is event free and open to the public. Walk-ins are welcome.

Sensory Bop, an audiovisual work, is inspired by insightful conversations the artist had with numerous scientists and post-docs, revolving around connectivity in the brain and how senses work together. Sleepyfoot? hopes the work will encourage the public to make more positive connections to the world by stimulating their senses and each other in order to create more salient experiences and, therefore, more happiness.

Sleepyfoot? (aka Manon Casimir-Sainton)

Sleepyfoot? is an interdisciplinary artist who creates visual and sonic work. Her art is closely linked to her synesthesia. Synesthesia is when two senses that don't normally work together collide. Some synesthetes, for example, may associate certain letters and numbers with specific colors or perceive a taste when they hear a certain sound. Sleepyfoot? sees colors and shapes when she hears certain types of music or creates her own music. Synesthesia is considered a type of neurodivergence, a term we use to refer to those who have a brain that works differently from the average or “neurotypical” person. (Click here to take a test to find out if you have synesthesia.)

Sleepyfoot? met with a number of Zuckerman researchers, 

including Arnav Raha, Paul Linton, Carol Mason, Margarita Dillinger, and Mentong Li, pictured here.

Much of the inspiration for Sensory Bop came from Sleepyfoot?’s conversations with scientists at the Zuckerman Institute, including Rachel Frazer, Andre Toussaint, and Sara Sorensen Ogata of the Abdus-Saboor Lab; Arnav Raha of the Gadgakar Lab; Paul Linton of the Kreigeskorte Lab; Carol Mason and Margarita Dillinger of the Mason Lab; Prachi Patel of the Mesgarani Lab; Daniel Salzman and Erica Rodriguez of the Salzman Lab; Michael Shadlen of the Shadlen Lab; and Mentong Li of the Zuker Lab. Through these sessions, Sleepyfoot? learned about how different senses work in the brain and how emotion plays a role in perception. They also theorized on how chromesthesia, the ability to see sounds, may happen.

A clip from Sensory Bop by Sleepyfoot?

Sensory Bop is a short neuroaesthetic video composed of a number of clips that were created by coding using p5.js. p5.js is a Javascript framework used to create generative art. After coding a number of animations, Sleepyfoot? took the clips and arranged them in Adobe Premiere Pro. She also included a sound piece she had previously created (using ProTools) that samples French musician Charles Aznavour's song "Qui ''.

More About the Artist

Sleepyfoot? is New York City based interdisciplinary artist Manon Casimir-Sainton. Her paintings mirror her synesthesia induced by personal multi-genre sound compositions and mental health experiences. She is self-taught and intersects her work from a background of art, education, and technology.

Sleepyfoot? deeply immerses herself in color, sound, and visuals through lens, mixed-media painting, digital, and audio production. Her work explores themes of identity, spirituality, race, and psychology. Her introspective process includes sound layering, creating colorful templates, and rendering her internal state of being to canvas or digital format for viewers to engage with.

Sleepyfoot?’s work has been exhibited nationally. She has shown locally at Site:Brooklyn,The Sheen Center, Plaxall Gallery,  and has been commissioned by music and spirituality based organizations in NYC. In addition, her work has exhibited at a number of art centers including the Orange County Center for Contemporary Art (CA), AnnMarie’s Sculpture Garden and Art Center (MD), and The Art Center at Highland Park (IL).

Sleepyfoot? at work (credit: Janrey Serapio)

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Learn about our work with previous Artists in the Education Lab: Damali Abrams (2023) Dister Rondon (2021) and Ivan Forde (2020).

To get involved, tell us your ideas, or find out more, email us at [email protected].