Susan,
Welcome to the Olgapainter blog! I had originally intended to attach all of this in an email to you but my computer decided today that it would not allow me to upload anything ever again. I will drop a complete packet in the mail and overnight it to you as well. It will not arrive before Tuesday because I had not anticipated having to send anything via snail mail. Sorry.
The entries are backwards, so please use the entry icons to access individual parts of the packet. I will remedy this in future packet submissions!
Images are available on facebook, under "Goddard Packet One".
Sincerely,
Nicole
Sunday, September 14, 2008
Packet One Bibliography
This was a short article regarding Neel’s struggles with failed marriages, domestic violence and raising her children as a single mother. One can track Neel’s life experiences through her work which became calmer and more confident with age, whereas her earlier work exhibited strife and turbulence.
FARR, et al. Francis Bacon – A Retrospective. Harry N. Abrams, Inc., 1999.
This book recounts the traumatic upbringing that presumably fed Bacon’s unusual and pioneering aesthetic. It explains Bacon’s need for extreme privacy and his strict adherence to his self-imposed rule to never discussing his work.
This article recounts a woman’s journey from victim to survivor through a combination of talk therapy and creative writing. Through her writing, the woman is able to develop a sequential narrative, receive feedback from an audience and empower herself by becoming the narrator instead of victim.
HERMAN, JUDITH. Trauma and Recovery: The Aftermath of Violence – from Domestic Abuse to Political Terror. Basic Books, 1997.
This book enumerates some of the major causes of trauma, as well as how that trauma manifests itself in negative ways psychologically. Herman also describes the methods through which one may triumph over tragedy.
HOWARTH, MAGGIE. The Complete Pebble Stone Mosaic Handbook. Firefly Books, 2003.
This books describes the history of pebblestone mosaics, as well as a variety of methods used in the creation of psm.
“Interview with Emmanual Jal”. Fresh Air with Terry Gross. 2008. http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=90283154
This interview was with Emmanual Jal, a former Sudanese child soldier. Jal has been making hip-hop music about his experiences fighting in
LIPPARD, LUCY. Eva Hesse. Da Capo Press, 1992.
This is a biography of Eva Hesse’s short life. It recounts her rise to star status as one of the first women recognized as an artist during the Abstract Expressionist period. Lippard remembers
LUNA, JAMES. The Art of James Luna. 2008 http://www.jamesluna.com.
Native American performance artist, James Luna, works and lives in
STEAVENSON, WENDELL. “Dispatches from
This article documents an Iraqi professor’s foray into the messages delivered via graffiti that have sprung up in hundreds of places throughout the city of
“The Individual: Therapy and Theory – Sigmund Freud: Conflict and Culture”. 2007. http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/freud/freud02.html.
This article discussed in further detail the psycho-analysis of Dora by Freud. There are pictures documenting hysterical fits that Charcot’s patients exhibited. The article describes the battle of wits that occurred between Freud and Dora.
The Painter’s Keys. “Suffering Art Quotes”. Gaye, Marvin. http://quote.robertgenn.com/getquotes.php?catid=296.
The title says it all.
WALKER, JAY MICHAEL. All the Saints of the City of
This book follows
YouTube. “
This is the link that I posted regarding the powerwash muralist. Curtis makes art by cleaning surfaces, a method he developed by accidentally spraying a wall while working as a dish washer. The imagery in this particular mural depicts plants that would have been where the host site is located over a century ago.
Nicole Ponsler 9.10.2008
Reflection and Commentary
RESEARCH
In reading Judith Herman’s Trauma and Recovery, I have found new insight into the effects of and psychological coping strategies associated with trauma and the individual. I was taken with the description of a hysterical patient by the name of Anna O. who termed the phenomenon of psycho-analysis the talking cure. The description of Anna O. and her contribution to modern psycho-analysis prompted me to do some further research into the woman who ultimately “found her voice and her sanity in the women’s liberation movement”.[1]
Anna, whose real name was Bertha Pappenheim, went on to be a “prominent feminist social worker, intellectual and organizer”. Bertha was able to overcome the initial by-products of trauma through talk therapy. Her long term well-being, however, seems to have been acquired through dedicating herself and her life experiences to others. Working in orphanages and with exploited children the world over, Bertha found her voice and was subsequently able to heal her childhood wounds. Herman notes that “women who discover some meaning in their experiences and who are able to transcend the limits of personal tragedy are those who find meaning by helping others and joining in social action”.1 This concept has me thinking back to the biography of Artemesia Gentileschi and how her contributions as both a female painter, as well as a social justice pioneer still resonate over 400 years later. Needless to say, the narrative of Bertha’s life has been great fodder for painting imagery for my own work (see attached sketch #1). I am beginning a 6’x4’ painting under the working title of Bertha Confronts the Snake.
In reading about the three main psychological responses to trauma; hyperarousal, intrusion and constriction, I have found similar insight into an existing painting. I am exploring visual means of representing the notion of idée fixe, whereas the traumatic incident is played over and over, continuously in the mind of the victim. This cycle plays out like a fragmented film reel, whereas memories are disjointed and repeated, rather than sequential in nature.1 I hope to articulate the significance of what’s missing in the psychological narrative of the Nori painting. Because the Nori painting illustrates the physical manifestations of combat neurosis, I am hoping to use the visual representation of dissociation, fragmentation and a “severing of events from their normal meaning”.1 (See accompanying sketch #3)
The story of Anna O. struck me as such a strong example of early feminist action and how those with the most power to help individuals experiencing trauma are those who have personal experience.
I am experiencing this coming together of community through art with regard to the pebble stone mosaic project. The enthusiasm of interested volunteers has been very inspirational and has allowed me to reframe my thinking about the project, its meaning and the positive bi-products of building community through art. A volunteer contacted me this week to discuss the mosaic. She explained that she had lost her husband this year and that she was looking to put some of that pain and energy into the project. Unbeknownst to her, the psm functions as the floor to a memorial plaza to commemorate those community members who are no longer with us. Similarly, in her will, Anna O. expressed her wish that “those visiting her grave leave a small stone as a quiet promise to serve the mission of women’s joy courageously”1. I am finding that particularly the female volunteers thus far have expressed a need to use the psm project in order overcome some tragedy or begin a new chapter in their lives. Perhaps what’s been most interesting is their need to convey this reason without provocation. The setting of stone is certainly repetitive and meditative in nature, allowing for one to personalize their contribution through thoughtful reflection. There is also a healing social interactive element to this project that is by nature community-
Having worked in schools for a number of years and witnessing the clear lines that divide culture, class and ethnicity in our community, I am completely surprised that I have found the most perfect woman to act as a liaison to the reservation for all things psm related. Rose has worked as a youth services coordinator for the Pomo reservation. Per my discussion with Susan, I decided to create a position for the project that would be paid and that would allow someone to work as my assistant with an emphasis on reaching out to under served communities. Rose has been an absolute blessing. I have basically turned the phone tree over to her and I am finding that she is generating an unprecedented number of volunteers.
The artistic research I’ve been doing has focused largely on Emmanual Jal, Eva Hesse, Jay Michael Walker, Hilary Carlip, Paul “Moose” Curtis, Mierle Laderman Ukeles, Sherman Alexie, Angela Ellsworth and Francis Bacon. In these instances, I’ve been interpreting how various artists use art as means of expressing and overcoming turmoil, as well as the artist’s response to, and incorporation of, community. In the same way that Kehinde Wiley and Jay Michael Walker use ordinary people as models for their extraordinary portraits, I am interested in incorporating the everyday lives and experiences of people around me who have encountered some form of trauma4. I want to convey these life stories beyond their novelty or pathology, in a way that is new. I want this body of work to speak to the whole of
The study of artists who work in community has allowed me to begin an internal dialogue regarding what I want out of my own community-based art. In thinking about Moose Curtis and the environmental imagery associated with his power wash murals, I began to reflect on the symbolism of the stones used in the mosaic.5 Because both the stones and the tradition of psm are ancient, those of us creating it are compelled to reflect on our connection to the earth as well as our role as creators in a permanent creation of public art.
ARTWORK
After meeting with relevant parties and poring over The Complete Pebble Stone Mosaic Handbook by Maggie Howarth, I have made some alterations to the original mosaic sketch.
Lastly, the sketches that I have prepared for paintings originate from my interest in the intersection of art and trauma. Sketch #1, or Bertha Confronts the Snake is a fairly straight forward narrative regarding one of the epiphenous moments that Anna O. encountered during her therapy. The hands and string are meant to evoke tension, as well as a reference to hypnosis. The multiple panels are an attempt to capture the disjointed memory associated with Bertha’s trauma. In sketch #2 (Nori painting) I am attempting to narrate the sequence of events that lead to the main character’s overcoming events
associated with WWII. I am trying to articulate the chaos of dissociative thought patterns amidst a list of visual cues that I found so colorful upon first hearing the story.
It is very difficult for me to delineate the historic and aesthetic references in my work because I feel that almost every artist I look at has an affect on the imagery and/or the
methods I use. If I had to, I might say Julie Speed, David Salle, and Jay Michael Walker. In terms of their political reference, I am interested in articulating a presence of feminism, victimization/empowerment as well as the notion of how the power of memory serves us both to a positive degree as well as to our detriment.
1 HERMAN, JUDITH. Trauma and Recovery: The Aftermath of Violence – from Domestic Abuse to Political Terror. Basic Books, 1997.
2
3 “The Painter’s Keys”. Suffering Art Quotes. Gaye, Marvin. http://quote.robertgenn.com/getquotes.php?catid=296.
4 WALKER, JAY MICHAEL. All the Saints of the City of
5 YouTube. “
6 HOWARTH, MAGGIE. The Complete Pebble Stone Mosaic Handbook. Firefly Books, 2003.
Selected Journal Entries
Nicole Ponsler
08/10/2008
Page One
8.26.’08
I’ve been reading, sketching and processing in addition to cleaning the studio which has taken on the appearance of Frances Bacon’s disaster of a work space.
I’ve in negotiations with LexArts re: the mural panels, which has been like pulling teeth. I’m not quite sure what’s hindering communications with them. I just know that they are wasting my time. I’ve been really rethinking my approach to mural production. I’ve been looking at Angela Ellsworth’s Flexible Detection of Sound project while thinking about Susan’s approach to public art. I want to create murals that are relevant to my own interests and that take a more innovative approach to community involvement. I love the concept of multiple artists simultaneously responding to the same theme without verbal communication. I’m intrigued by the idea of creating a large scale mural in a day while the audience interacts with the artists and watches the process evolve in front of them. The Flexible Detection of Sound project took place at an all-day Jazz and Blues Festival during which five student-artists created a mural that responded to the music that they heard. The artists were not allowed to communicate with one another and they each drew for up to 12 hours in one setting. All the while, audience members were watching the development of the mural in real time.
I’m reading Trauma and Recovery which is taking me forever to get through because each page is filled with valuable insight. I am particularly intrigued by the notion of the three psychological responses to trauma: HYPERAROUSAL, INTRUSION AND CONSTRICTION. The description of the responses elicited imagery I hope to incorporate into my painting. I can relate to dissociation and fragmented thinking/memory….feel like that’s how my brain is permanently wired. I’m reworking the Nori painting to include visual reference to this notion of fragmentation.
8.29.’08
I just got off of the phone with the VA in hopes of getting dad into a long-term facility (advanced stages of Alzheimer’s). Beurocratic nonsense for those who served…
Today, I’m taking a much needed respite at the river with books, including the biography of Eva Hesse by Lippard. Hesse’s story of fleeing Nazi Germany reminded me so much of my friend textile artist, Jacquetta Nisbett and how she came to live in the
I found myself particularly drawn to the early stage of
8.30.’08
I wish I were in
9.01.’08
I’m thinking about a course in Art History addressing women’s response to trauma through art beginning with Artemesia Gentileschi, leading up to contemporary women’s voices. Artemeisa arguably fought and won the first rape trial in legal history during the 16th century. She accused her former mentor of rape at a time when women were not even allowed to think of themselves as painters. She had to hide her work and show under a pseudonym. I find this funny because her paintings are so clearly created from a woman’s perspective. The theme of Judith and Holofernes, which had been painted many times by men such as Titian, Tintoretto, etc., was presented from a whole new perspective when Artemesia addressed the topic. Her Judith aggressively severs the head of Holofernes while her maid assists in the attack. In previous canvases addressing this theme, male painters present a Judith who timidly, almost by accident, attempts to delicately remove the head of Holofernes. In this scenario, her maid usually acts as look-out while Judith commits the deed. Similarly, male painters usually depicted the murder scene in pristine condition, void of the gore one would expect from a decapitation. Not Artemesia…oh no. She chooses to paint blood spatter and blood-stained sheets as added gore.
9.3.’08
LexArts nonchalantly removed $3000 off of the top of all muralists’ contracted allowance, in order to cover PR/documentation fees that were never previously outlined or discussed. We are all standing united in our refusal to complete the project under these terms. I am awaiting word that they have found the money elsewhere and that I may begin actually painting this mural that has been in the works for 6+ months. Grrrrrr.
I met with the mayor, etc. re: pebble stone mosaic today. We hashed out volunteer plans, discussed infrastructure needs, hired a contractor and began eliciting volunteer support. I hung fliers detailing the project and requesting volunteer participation. I talked to the
9.4.’08
We started receiving calls of interested volunteers for the PSM project. I located a former student who is native to work with me closely for the duration of the project. She has hopes of attending SFAI next year. Love that kid!
RNC…uugghh…Sara freakin’ Palin…uugghh.
Woke from a dream where a former student refused to give me a ride somewhere when I was stranded. I yelled at her, saying that I had done so much for her and this is how she pays me back? I think this is probably anxiety due to the anticipation of working w/youth again after a long hiatus. I find teaching HS aged students rewarding only after a few years of reflection.
Just found out that my former student who is the youngest person ever in
9.07.’08
I nearly finished Sherman Alexie’s newest novel. Words cannot express my love for this man who I had the great pleasure of meeting years ago. His description of life on the res fits so closely with that of what I’ve been able to glean from my native students. He talks about how much more understanding and tolerant native people used to be generations ago before their adoption of white people’s prejudices like homophobia, racism, etc. He also discusses the notion of fighting in res life-how prevalent it is and how a fight between two boys always seems to grow to include the families and friends of those involved. Similarly, Alexie details the closeness that exists between native families. All this seems so relevant to the trail of my former student. I sent him the book.
9.08.’08
I listened to interview with David Lovelace, author of Scatter Shot, while driving to the 1st day of murder trial for my previously mentioned former student. The book is a memoir of a family dealing with bipolarity and how creativity is both a product of the disorder, as well as a product of its symptoms, particularly during the hypo-manic state.
Sat through the terrible presentation of defense and prosecution summary. Marcos smiled when he saw us there. Everything seems like a terrible reminder that this kid is still a kid. I do not have a good feeling about the outcome. Marcos’ mother told me that this is just more of the same for her people. I cannot argue with that assessment.
Cover Letter, Packet 1
Nicole L. Ponsler
09/10/2008
This packet period, I read various texts regarding art and trauma as well as pain and recovery. In keeping with this theme, I researched a myriad of artists whose work responds to personal, environmental and cultural trauma. I began preliminary work on the pebble stone mosaic project. I re-negotiated my contract regarding the LexArts mural and am awaiting word of its acceptance. Lastly, I maintained a journal, sketchbook, as well as blog correspondence, compiled a list of “art and suffering” quotes and revamped my website (www.4pawportraits.com). As a result of this work, I am feeling very inspired and focused on a substantial theme that continuously reveals new avenues of study and inquiry.
The reading that I have been doing has lead to two sketches, particularly Judith Herman’s, Trauma and Recovery which I am still wading through at a snail’s pace because every page seems so relevant to me and to my intended area of study. Similarly, I finished reading the three articles that you gave the group regarding art and trauma. I also found the biography of Eva Hesse by Lucy Lippard very stimulating in the study of
In addition to the previously mentioned artists, I have also looked at contemporary and historic artists from the standpoint of those who respond to traumatic life experiences through their work. Those artists include Artemesia Gentileschi, Oto Dix, Eduard Munch, Julie Speed, Kehinde Wiley, Scott Greene, Max Beckmann, Miao Xiaochun, Mathew Cerlety, Frieda Khalo, Alice Neel, Wangechi Mutu, Andrea Lehrmann, Goya, Rebecca Belmore, James Luna and Walton Ford.
I have been looking at various artists who work in the realm of public art and/or who incorporate community into their practice. These artists include, Jay Michael Walker, Hilary Carlip, Paul “Moose” Curtis, Mierle Laderman Ukeles, Angela Ellsworth, as well as various graffiti artists working in
I spent much of these three weeks planning and in meetings for the pebble stone mosaic. To this end, I revised the working sketch, met with the mayor and city employees regarding infrastructure, hired and brought up to date an assistant and solidified outreach plans for volunteer participation. At present, I’ve compiled a list of volunteers to begin stone collection while we await the completion of necessary infrastructure. I have organized a community meeting to announce the particulars of the project and recruit additional volunteers. I have also been developing two sketches for upcoming paintings. These sketches reflect much of the reading that I have been doing regarding art and trauma, particularly, Judith Herman’s Trauma and Recovery.
As you peruse through the attached packet, I would like you to bare the following questions in mind:
-Should I define a course description for Art History for the duration of my study plan as I am considering continuing my education in that field, following my studies at Goddard?
-How effective are the sketches that I’ve provided? Any suggestions would be appreciated.
-Your thoughts on my description of the pebblestone mosaic project to date, especially insight involving community development/incorporation.
-Have I provided what you are looking for in a packet? Any specific details that I’ve left out…I’m feeling a little uncertain that I’ve covered all the bases.
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