Table of Contents
Nicole Ponsler
October 26, 2008
Packet #3
1. Table of Contents
2. Cover Letter
3. Journal Entries
4. Artwork sent as attachment, posted to: http://goddardf08.blogspot.com/, http://olgapainter.blogspot.com/
5. Reflection and Commentary
6. Bibliography
7. Posting of new work on http://goddardf08.blogspot.com/ for critique.
Cover Letter
Nicole Ponsler
October 26, 2008
Packet #3
I have been giving a great deal of thought to live painting performances this packet period. I have also been working on two new paintings as well as effigies of Bush and Cheney. I have been working with a community organizer responsible for an upcoming celebration (Nov. 1) that will incorporate both effigy burning and my first 2-3 hour live painting performance. I have set up my new studio in such a way that allows for Nate’s band to play while I do interpretive paintings. So far, I have only worked on the Bush effigy while they play, but the idea for future gatherings is for myself and others to create paintings that respond to the music. I just started reading Judith Butler’s Precarious Life as well as Viktor Frankl’s Man’s Search for Meaning. However, my work for this packet has consisted largely of painting.
I have found the preliminary band/interpretive painting sessions to be most inspiring not only for me but for those in the band as well. My hope is that the same enthusiasm can be duplicated in a larger and more public setting. I am inspired by my paintings, although I certainly have my moments of wanting to burn them. At present, I am working on successful resolution of issues in my work, rather than abandoning them which has always been a problem in my practice.
I am feeling similarly inspired by the upcoming live painting performances. I am very anxious to experience the audience’s reaction to the process and imagery. I am looking forward especially to the second live painting installment to be held on election night. I would love to research any other artists you may know about who produce live paintings.
I would like you to address my paintings with the understanding that they are still very new. I have some particular questions regarding color in the balloon and roses and would like to hear your thoughts. Is the color too local? I am trying to pair down the intensity of my palette after reading Touched by Fire by Kay Jamison’s who suggests that people with manic disorders tend to use bright colors. I do not know what’s going on with the sky in this painting, so I would like to hear your thoughts on the background color.
Lastly, I just finished my application materials for an instructor’s position at the SRJC. Wish me luck!
10/13/08
I’ve been building effigies. I’m making a Bush and Cheney effigy for our “Odd Saints Ball” in Point Arena. I’m asking that community members write their thoughts on these past eight years on the effigies before we set them aflame. They are being constructed on large sheets of cardboard. I took a pic of Bush and Cheney and reduced the color, etc. in order to make it look like block prints. I transferred the reduced images onto cardboard that I painted black and white. The plan is to set them on fire the night of Nov. 1st in the middle of HWY 1…we have few laws or ordinances that are observed here.
10/16/08
The following is an article I was asked to write for Business Lexington regarding the great mural debacle of 2008…It pretty much explains what happened. I had totally moved on when the reporter called a few days ago. Regarding your questions about the project in packet 2…no, there is no resolving this issue. LexArts is completely incapable of communicating, negotiating, or accepting responsibility for their incompetence.
I have no intention of applying for mural projects in the future. I have had two huge projects fall through this year after giving countless hours, unpaid. I am feeling very defeated in this department. My intention is to step back and reassess my intentions and expectations with regard to public art. I know that I do not want to spend my time dealing with crap like this…
I began the process of applying for the Lexington Outdoor Mural Project last March. Following successive missed deadlines on the part of LexArts, I was notified in July that I had been selected to be the muralist for the Southland Association. From that point on, all my communications with LexArts were with an intern. The intern promised that I would be receiving paid travel to
The next communication from LexArts came in the form of a contract. The project dates as stated in the contract were beginning August 1st and continuing through October 15th. The contract arrived late on August 29th with no explanation. They did, however, mention that “time was of the essence” largely because LexArts had squandered six months spent in administrative limbo. The contract also failed to include the travel addendum. Finally, the contract stated that $3000 had been taken off of the top of each muralist’s budget to cover “documentation and publicity fees”. There was no mention of this in the original RFQ, interviews or in subsequent communications. Muralists were told up front that materials were to come out of the artists’ budgets, so why would they not divulge this added $3000 expenditure in the six months leading up to the submission of contracts? It was clear to me then that the Community Arts Manager had simply forgotten to set aside funds for this at the onset of the project and expected the artists to cover their mistake (a common and reoccurring theme in my dealings with LexArts).
When asked about these contract issues, I was offered a vague statement supposedly in support of their assertion that LexArts had the right to arbitrarily reduce mural funds at their whim. When asked why we received a contract 28 days after the project start date, I was told that I should’ve already been working on the mural with no contract, no money, no sign board and very little communication with LexArts. When I forwarded my email correspondence with the intern regarding his insistence that he procure the sign board for me, my concerns were met with silence. This burying of one’s head in the sand rather than communicating like professionals became commonplace in my dealings with LexArts. When I stated that I would not accept the $3000 deduction in pay, there was no room for negotiation. I was to either accept the previously undisclosed budgetary deduction, or quit the project. Because I take particular issue with an arts organization undervaluing artists, and because LexArts offered no room for negotiations, I was forced to step down.
Following this debacle, I wrote a detailed letter to the President and CEO of LexArts enumerating my concerns. I was assured that my experience was exceptional and that he was not aware of any of the problems that had arisen with regard to LOMP. I was told that this was his fault for placing too many responsibilities on the Community Arts Manager and that he would get to the bottom of the situation by finding documentation funds elsewhere. I never heard back from Jim.
In my years working as a muralist and youth mural coordinator, I have never encountered such an extraordinary lack of professionalism as I have with LexArts. Ignoring obvious issues when they require attention and resolution implies faulty administration. This pattern of denial and the inability to acknowledge and correct mistakes suggests that it is time for the Board of Directors to review their policies to determine if their organization is adequately meeting its stated mission.
10/19/08
I spent yesterday in the studio. I’m finally completely moved into the new space and absolutely loving it. Last night, Nate’s band came out to play in the new space for the first time. I was really energized and inspired by the music. I kept painting while they were playing and was reminded of your post regarding Mona Caron (which I’ve pretty much thought about non-stop since you forwarded it). My intention is to continue impromptu paintings in reaction to the music. I think this painting will be more abstract per your suggestion in response #2. Last night, I worked on the Fish Taco painting and on the Bush effigy while the band played. The Bush effigy looks appropriately evil. I was imagining painting large canvases behind the band during a yet-to-be planned party at the studio. I like the performance aspect, but I think I’m most interested in others witnessing the act of creation. This is a new direction in terms of my thinking about public art. I’m inspired and the band was inspired too…very cool.
10/20/08
I’m voting right now for President Obama. Why on earth do we have a proposition on the ballot forcing farms to allow animals to stretch their legs or touch the ground a certain amount of times per day? Reading that made my stomach turn. Are we so inhumane that we have to have legislation telling us how to treat animals? Ghandi said that “Societies can be judged by the manner in which they treat their animals”. If that’s the case, we are so screwed.
10/21/08
I met with the contractor regarding the pebblestone mosaic (PSM). He says infrastructure’s still a week and a half out. Rock collecting continues. I’ve been cutting sections of plywood to act as templates for sections of the mosaic.
Just finished reading about Mirror Neurons and how they relate to empathy. I’m waiting on Precious Life by Judith Butler in hopes of drawing some parallels between her research and that of current neuroscience. I have always been fascinated by the notion of why people do not relate to the plight of Iraqi, Pelestinian, Darfurian, etc. families. I’m hoping that some research into these matters clears some lingering questions I’ve had for at least these past (terrible) eight years.
Nicole Ponsler
Reflection and Commentary
October 26, 2008
Packet #3
RESEARCH
I have been giving a great deal of consideration to producing art happenings or live painting performances since researching Mona Caron’s work. I have started painting in response to my partner’s weekly band practice. So far, I have painted effigies of Bush and Cheney during these meetings. My intention is to eventually create more abstract paintings and collages in response to the music. I have created a space within my studio that accommodates both the band, as well as several drawing areas where other band mates or friends are invited to create along with me. In addition, I have three scheduled performances this week. I will be presenting the effigies to townsfolk at a November 1st gathering. Locals will be encouraged to write their thoughts about Bush and Cheney on the effigies before we set them on fire in the middle of Highway One. During the same event, I will be creating a live painting piece that addresses the upcoming election. During election night, I will be making a live painting at a friend’s art opening reception. Both pieces will be created in 2-3 hours and both will address in some way the affects of war/occupation. These performances also speak to my interest in the Herb Kohl quote that you offered:
"One can study physical environment. One can also create environments. Recently I worked with a group of youngsters who created a suburb out of cardboard tubes, string, and paper. As we developed the suburb we became the residents of our environment and acted out the lives of people we created. Using the simplest and cheapest materials one can create the world in the classroom. One can look at contemporary art, at the environments of [Edward] Kienholtz, Claes Oldenburg, Allan Kaprow, or study theater as a means of creating a simulated environment."1
I am interested in exploring art forms that are more applicable to audiences or that actually engage the audience in the act of art-making. The first night that the band played while I worked on Bush, people were so inspired. They were inspired by my space, the work on the walls and my dedication to my art practice. I find this enthusiasm to be contagious. They felt inspired by my work and I was feeling very motivated by their enthusiasm. If this same model could be presented to a larger audience or one that is less likely to participate in such activities, more people would be affected and/or inspired. I feel like we are standing on the precipice of a kind of cultural renaissance. To this end, I am interested in doing my part to encourage others to be a part of this shift in thinking, perception and motivation. I have also been thinking about these art happenings with regard to the following quote:
“Public art that is public mourning allows us to remain with loss, returning us again and again to a sense of human vulnerability and to our collective responsibility of the physical lives of others”2
I am endeavoring to make live paintings that speak to my own heartbreak and anger regarding the war in
“It is necessary to posit the “I” in unknowingness…Once the grief is made personal and identifiable, one can move past melancholia into the consideration and vulnerability of others”2
The more I think about this, the more I am inclined to say that this is a significant and crucial role for artists in a post-traumatic society. The audience that is reached through public art takes the message from museums and galleries and lays it at the feet of mainstream
I have been researching mirror neurons and their relation to empathy. Mirror neurons are responsible for human’s ability to identify, register and empathize with the emotions or actions of others. Mirror neurons allow people to become so impassioned during a sporting event or a movie. To this end, if we were allowed to see pictures of the suffering Iraqi people, we as a society would be more likely to be outraged and demand the cessation of war and occupation. Similarly, if the accounts of our returning soldiers were presented through more mainstream media, we would be more likely to see the unspeakable damage that we are eliciting on those that we propose to support. I am reminded of the recent attacks on
The existence of mirror neurons suggests that humans are meant to be social and that we, in fact, take most developmental cues from the observation of others. The author Chuck Palahniuk talks about people’s need to “create structure and friendships through mutual interests”4. For Palahniuk, that means participating in writing circles. For others, that may mean establishing a quilting circle or volunteering for a pebblestone mosaic. For me, it’s graduate school and a small circle of friends who consider living an artful life among their priorities. These circles of connectivity speak to the group of volunteers who have been squirreling away stones to be used in the pebblestone mosaic for weeks now. I know that for myself, whenever there has been a particularly obvious or public display of volunteerism within our community, I have felt the need to give more of myself and my skills. It will be interesting to note the affects of such a public endeavor (in the middle of our town!) on others in the community. Similarly, I am anxiously awaiting audience responses from the live painting performances. I anticipate that the next packet will discuss these responses pertaining to audience as witness and the inclusion of the “I” as a testimonial response.
ARTWORK
The balloon and roses painting (working title: Tania, the Revolutionary) represents an image that I’ve had in my head for some time now. The image speaks to my relationship with my dad that came into being as a result of his funeral where white balloons were released. It seemed oddly celebratory to me that we were standing outside on a beautiful day with blue skies and 90 degree heat, releasing white balloons at the gravesite. As I let my balloon go I tried my best to let my animosity towards him go with it. We watched as all the balloons were carried away further and further until their tiny outlines resembled sperm. Nate wondered aloud what critter would subsequently choke on them once their migration came to an end-an appropriate metaphor for my father’s legacy, indeed.
The hands that are intended to ultimately stem from the thorny vines reflect my attempt to demonstrate a sense of not belonging, or otherness. This was also a theme of my trip home for the funeral, as I am adopted and my family never misses an opportunity to point out our dissimilarities. The hands will ultimately hold square pegs and seeds. The roses represent my unwavering love for all things Baroque. It is a symbol that I intend to continue throughout this semester’s work. For me, the roses symbolize beauty that has the possibility of being deceptively painful. I also like the idea of creating tension between the balloon and the adjacent thorns. The balloon will eventually have a reflection of me that will be partially covered in thorny vines. I think these vines will in some way outline the two ravens that are meant to be fighting over some nesting material. I do not know what’s going on with the sky just yet. I do know that the right side will contain many more roses than the left and that they will function to direct the viewer’s eye throughout the painting. Possible contemporary influences include, Fang Lijun, Haley Hasler, Barnaby Whitfield, Roberta Tewes (local painter) and Julie Heffernan. Historic references include Dutch still life artists.
The second pastel painting narrates my friend Fish Taco’s (yes, that is his name!) experience as a fighter pilot in WWII and the decades since spent trying to recover from the trauma he sustained as a young man. He was once relaying a story to me about his experience with Rolfing and how it manifested his complete transformation into a pterodactyl. He later learned that the teeth that had been painted on the side of fighter planes during the war had sparked this transformation. The landscape to the side and behind Fish Taco narrates an evening spent, much to his wife’s dismay, perched as a pterodactyl in a nearby
Bibliography
Nicole Ponsler
October 26, 2008
Packet #3
BUTLER, JUDITH. Precarious Life. Verso, 2004.
I have read very little of this book, as I only recently purchased it. I am currently reading the chapter regarding ungrieveable lives and public mourning.
FELMAN, SHOSHANA. “Education and Crisis”. Trauma: Explorations in Memory.
This article discusses artists’ testimony, the role of the audience and the necessity of truth-telling through testimony. Felman argues that trauma testimony should be integral in the pedagogy of teaching as the individual’s creative response to trauma can be instructive in terms of establishing a discernable place and time to said event. Felman explains her own hands-on experience with teaching poetry inclusive of artistic testimony.
KOHL, HERBERT. The Open Classroom. 1969
I am only referencing the quote that you provided in the packet #2 response. I have not read the book.
PALAHNIUK, CHUCK. Stranger than Fiction: True Stories. 2008
This book is a combination of non-fiction essays mixed with short fiction. The premise of the book is essentially that people need people and that we generally align ourselves with people who have similar interests. Palahniuk writes about public sex acts on display as part of an annual bike rally in
Table of Contents
Packet two
Nicole Ponsler
October 6, 2008
Cover Letter
Packet two
Nicole Ponsler
October 6, 2008
My work for this packet period has been entirely research-based. Because I was traveling, I was unable to pack art supplies, although I deeply mourned their absence. I’ve been reading Trauma: Explorations in Memory by Cathy Caruth, as well as Touched with Fire by Kay Redfield Jamison. I am very inspired by my research and am finding that I am increasingly considering some sort of art therapy pursuit. I am wondering what your experience has been with art therapy. I know you do not offer those services, but do you refer clients to an art therapist? I wonder if it would be better off eventually getting my Masters in Psychology, rather than art therapy certification. Thoughts?
Nicole Ponsler
Journal Entries
Packet two
Nicole Ponsler
October 6, 2008
Mom called today to say, “your dad died”. It was sudden but not all-together unexpected. He had Alzheimer’s and had been in an elder care facility for a few months. He just stopped breathing. I had a friend find me a flight home while I packed. Packing for a funeral is, well, depressing. I just kind of threw everything in a bag, said good-bye to the dogs and Nate and started the three hour journey to San Francisco. I hate SFO…try to never fly out of there but circumstances being what they are…I am numb.
I got into Indiana late at night. My cousin Larry picked me up from the airport. We stopped by my uncle Bill’s house to pick up the spare car for me to drive around for the week. His house had the most peculiar smell…like burning rubbish. I later learned he had set a steak on fire in the microwave (!?!?), which subsequently set the microwave ablaze. Hmmm. This from the uncle who says the more education I get, the less common sense I have.
We visited the funeral home and finalized plans. I don’t get the whole open casket thing, but this isn’t about me. Cops keep stopping by. My dad was a Captain for 35 years. Cops, cops, cops...
Nate flew in today, thank god. He pointed out that he could tell I’d been at home for a few days because I was so quick to serve him food. So true.
We met with the Reverend and extended family for eulogy planning. As it turns out, my parent’s church was destroyed last week when a 103’ tree smashed into the nave exactly two hours after the congregation departed. Needless to say, the reverend was a little overwhelmed! We eulogized, we visited the church, we ate.
We had the visitation today. I think maybe 100 people came. It felt like one long line of, “You don’t remember me, do you?”. It was really nice seeing so many (kind of) familiar faces. My art teacher from high school came. A bunch of old friends showed which made the event feel more celebratory than sad. I’m not a fan of open-casket funerals. My feet hurt and my throat is dry from talking so damn much, saying over and over, “I live in CA, I’m in graduate school, I’m an artist”.
Mom’s hanging in there after 55-years of marriage.
September 24
Day of the funeral.
Honor guard.
Lots of guns, a flag, blue skies.
Back to what’s left of the church for food.
More cops.
Schlepping flowers home.
Mom’s freaking out.
Mom’s crying because her sister just left for Florida. I wish she would just move there so they can be closer. I decide to let her grieve privately because it seems like something that should inevitably happen.
Nate leaves.
Mom and I visit Nate’s sister in IN. We play with the kids. It was good for mom to watch them playing…good for all of us. Nate’s two-year old nephew, George looks like he’s in a fight club. The entire left side of his face is black and blue from where his older sister decided to plant her foot while he was attempting to go down the slide. Siblings…
Went to Bloomington (home of my alma mater) to get away from the ‘burg and to get my studies back on track! I ended up reading Henry Krystal’s essay on trauma and aging which was beyond relevant in terms of explaining some of my mother’s idiosyncrasies! Thank-you Mr. Krystal…I was about to lose my mind.
She is the queen of operative thinking, judgment, alexithymia, psychic closing off, cognitive dissonance, and pseudophobia. I know I am an asshole for saying these things the week my dad died, but her crazy is in overdrive and I am the one left dealing with it.
I’m sure you can deduce by now that I have moved nearly 2000 miles away for a reason. I was not close to my dad for reasons I have been enumerating to my counselor for years. He was terribly abusive, mean, sadistic, cruel…and did I mention he was also a cop?! A cop with a penchant for guns! So, I just spent a week surrounded by cops who never helped us who were also packing heat. Not my idea of a good time. Hence, the interest in art and trauma.
Reflection and Commentary
Nicole L. Ponsler
October 6, 2008
The audience plays an important role in the symbiotic relationship between testimony and art. The reality of occurrence can be made so through an audience, thus creating a new truth for both willing and unwilling participants[1]. It has been said that contemporary culture has given birth to a new genre of literature being that of testimony[2]. The prevalence of testimony in contemporary art, poetry and literature has allowed for the dissemination of truth to a larger and more dynamic global audience. This distribution of truth and power has inevitably affected the way that diverse audiences interpret the artist’s conveyance of trauma and truth. This notion is reflected in this semester’s theme of sustainability and social justice whereby we discussed the artists’ role as truth-teller and witness to all manner of contemporary issues. I believe that the affects of artists telling their truths shapes our very understanding of the world, our shared history and our potential to change the many maladies that negatively impact contemporary life. It is through a “birth of knowledge via the testimonial process”1 that truth is identified and made real since memory is void of space and time3.
In order to better understand the outcomes of testimony, we must identify that “to testify is to form a “speech act” rather than simply formulating a statement”1. To testify is different from simple narration. Felman goes on to say that testimony is “not a statement of, but rather as mode of access to the truth”1. Through testimony, trauma is given a discernible place and time (to be simply located) through the artists’ conveyance of an event. Because so often psychological responses to trauma maintain a latency period, wherein a delay is registered prior to the recognition of traumatic occurrences (either consciously or unconsciously), the act of narrating the trauma through art presents a means of identifying a truth, discernible in place and time. To this end, Felman states, “By virtue of the fact that testimony is addressed to others, the witness, from within the solitude of his own isolated stance, is the vehicle of an occurrence, a reality, a stance or a dimension beyond himself.”1
By further examining the affects of the artists’ testimony to trauma, a question arises regarding the use of traumatic testimony in educational curriculum. Felman presents the question, “Can trauma instruct pedagogy and pedagogy shed light on the mystery of trauma, especially in a post-traumatic century”?1 In this instance, the individual’s experience can contextualize a moment in history, thus giving that period of time greater relevance as it relates to the human condition. As seen with the Holocaust, it is easy to become overwhelmed by instances that are difficult to “assimilate into full cognition”1. The use of artists’ testimony, in this instance, allows for a frame of reference. This testimony offers an unique understanding and perspective, allowing the student to integrate the reality of the occurrence. The use of artistic testimony provides the audience (in this case, students) the “appointment to bear witness”1. Inherent in this process is the paradox of the witness as medium, wherein the witness “transgresses the confines of an isolated stance, to speak for others and to others”1.
This pedagogy of trauma can be overt or made obvious through a deeper examination of the life of the artist. To this end, the French poet Mallarme “bears witness to the far-reaching transformations in the rhythm of life and to the momentous cultural, political and historical processes of change through the art of accident and/or the accident of verse.”1. In this instance, Mallarme chooses phrasing that reflects the cultural and political climate, albeit subtle and discernible only through a closer examination of his life and times. Similarly, Felman explains that “Writing and dreaming is conceived of history, not without previous experiential reference, as are all expressions”1. Mallarme presents an example of the difference between narrating and being a medium of the testimony. Felman explains that, “Narrating/reporting is different than being a medium of the testimony/medium of the accident…to pursue the accident without knowing its full meaning, where the journey leads and what is the precise nature of its final destination”.1 This concept of the testimonial medium relates to the need for resisting the artist’s urge to deconstruct and create simultaneously, wherein the two processes are separate and unique. It is difficult to imagine how effective testimony can be created amidst the messiness of justification.
The use of testimony of one’s own unique experiences versus the appropriation of the experiences of others presents a philosophical quandary. Jamison suggests that “The extent to which an artist survives, describes and then transforms psychological pain into an experience with more universal meaning, her own journey becomes one that others can take”4. The effectiveness of the artists’ message is directly related to how she interprets and provides testimony to her own unique experience. It can be said that many great works of art relate a kind of palpable sadness “that somehow becomes a generating motor that makes the artist persist even when she has lived an experience”4. Similarly, the extent that the artist has lived through crisis has a direct correlation to the conveyance of universal meaning. The path that the testimonial artist forges allows the audience to appreciate a unique experience from a human standpoint, while opening the door to successive and varied acts of art as testimony. To this end, Antonin Artaud said “Art first heals the artist and subsequently helps heal others”5. Speaking from your own history and about our own experiences creates the most powerful testimony that is capable of eliciting real change and understanding.
Examining the Antonin Artaud quote, one finds reference to the use of art and artists who heal themselves. Testimony through art not only educates the audience, it presents a creative outlet for the artist’s experience. John Ruskin wrote, “The artist is closer to the fundamental pulse of life because her daily and yearly rhythms are more similar to those of the natural world”6. This touches upon the notion that artists are more sensitive to the plights of humanity and thus responsible in some way for articulating their observations through their artistic practice. This artistic sensitivity and in some cases outright depression, enables the artist to observe the “finite role played by man in the history of the universe”4. I would argue that this concept is a necessary force in relevant contemporary art. It speaks to both the artist’s unique perspective, while educating an audience to issues that they might’ve previously been oblivious to. In this instance, creative practice is a gift to the artist and to those experiencing their art. To this end, Henry Krystal’s research into trauma and aging suggests that only in “exceptional cases, like those endowed with artistic or literary skills, are the effected able to develop and reconstruct damaged functions”7.
Theodore Roethke said that “The greatest piece of luck for high achievement is ordeal”8. It can be said that artists living with manic brain disorders have ongoing and life-altering trauma and ordeal. In the exploration of artists, poets, composers and writers who have parleyed their manic/depressive states into fodder and means of creating art, I have come to understand how mania translates specifically in the canvases of effected painters. In the instance of Theodore Gericault who is thought to have exhibited signs of a manic disorder, one can see many examples of how such psychological trauma is manifested through his art.
Gericault’s crowning achievement, The Raft of the Medusa portrays one of the worst disasters in maritime history9. Massive in scale, the 23’ canvas depicts the disastrous events following the sinking of the Medusa carrying 148 passengers. Huddled together on a raft, the survivors spend 13 days without food or water, resulting in murder, suicide and cannibalism.9 Gericault’s choice of subject matter is interesting when compared with the list of painting characteristics associated with artists suffering from manic disorders as prepared by Kay Redfield Jamison. It is suggested that “Artistic expression changes across mood states”, whereas “manic patients tend to use vivid and highly contrasted colors”10. Similarly, the composition of paintings created by those experiencing mania tends to reflect greater motion and gesture combined with subject matter often relating to “bright portrayals of natural phenomena such as fires, waterfalls and landscapes”10, as represented in the Raft of the Medusa. Paintings created during mania typically exhibit an “agitated or swirling quality”10. These qualities, coupled with the use of opposing mood states, constitutes many of the tenants associated with Romance artists like Gericault. The period of Romanticism was the first in the history of art where emotion was obviously conveyed through use of formal and compositional devices11. The opposing emotional state of depression is also adequately demonstrated in Gericault’s famous sketches of severed limbs and bodies that he sketched at the morgue. In this instance, the use of darker colors, coupled with the “paucity of ideas, a lack of motion and the themes of death and decay”10, form a clear example of depressed mood reflected in painting.
The qualities associated with manic painters are exemplified in the Raft of the Medusa, as is the art of accident as previously described using the poetry of Mallarme. To this end, The Raft of the Medusa represents the first painting of a historical narrative. However, this painting is beyond a simple narrative as it is teaming with references both overt and subconscious as they relate to the life and psyche of Theodore Gericault. These references are formal, compositional, personal, psychological, historical, political and cultural. In viewing this painting, we are free to peel away the layers of association, representation and narration to unveil a complex testimony of true experience unique to Theodore Gericault.
[1] FELMAN, SHOSHANA, “Education and Crisis, or the Vicissitudes of Teaching”, Trauma: Explorations in Memory. John Hopkins University Press, 1995.
[2] WEISEL, ELIE. Dimensions of the Holocaust. Northwestern University Press, 1977.
3 CARUTH, CATHY. Trauma: Explorations in Memory. John Hopkins University Press, 1995.
5 ARTAUD, ANTONIN, ed. Sontag, Susan. Antonin Artaud: Selected Writings. University of California Press, 1988.
6 RUSKIN, JOHN. Modern Painters. Wiley & Halsted, 1857.
8 BERRYMAN, JOHN. Writers at Work: The Paris Review Interviews. Viking Press, 1976.
9 MILES, JONATHAN. “The History of the First History Painting” Art News, pg.112, May 2008.
Bibliography
Packet Two
Nicole Ponsler
October 6, 2008
This book reviews selected poetry of French poet, Artaud Antonin. Many of his poems address his assertion that madness and the artist are inextricably enmeshed.
This compilation includes the writing of Theodore Roethke. In particular, Roethke’s writing addresses the notion of artist and adversity and how adversity actually works in the artists’ favor. I will offer my favorite quote:
What madness but nobility of soul
At odds with circumstance…
The edge is what I have
BECKER, GEORGE, The Mad Genius Controversy: A Study in the Sociology of Deviance. Sage Publications, 1978.
Becker explores the link between genius artists and their link to psychological disorders. In particular, Becker describes the beginning of the Romanticism movement, wherein the expression of emotion, movement and erratic compositions became commonplace for the first time in the history of art.
This is a compilation of essays complied to address trauma, memory, how trauma affects generations and how trauma can instruct. I have only read articles by Cathy Caruth, Shoshana Felman and Henry Krystal so far. These readings discuss the pedagogy of trauma as well as trauma and aging.
This article discusses artists’ testimony, the role of the audience and the necessity of truth-telling through testimony. Felman argues that trauma testimony should be integral in the pedagogy of teaching as the individual’s creative response to trauma can be instructive in terms of establishing a discernable place and time to said event. Felman explains her own hands-on experience with teaching poetry inclusive of artistic testimony.
Touched with Fire examines the relationship between manic-depressive illness and artistic temperament. Redfield provides data demonstrating the link between artistic expression and manic disorders, including cyclothymia, manic-depression and bipolar disorder. Redfield presents her thesis form the stand-point that artists who have manic disorders are gifted, rather than handicapped.
Krystal researches Holocaust survivors for decades, describing coping mechanisms enlisted by those victims. He describes a grief limit, wherein survivors may never be able to assimilate the magnitude of their trauma. Overall, the essay addresses the elder person’s reckoning with how they spent their lives and how this acknowledgement can cause despair should the person not have been able to cope with certain life traumas.
This article comes from this month’s ArtNews where Miles reviews a new book written about The Raft of the Medusa and Gericault. Miles describes the history of the first history painting, while introducing elements of Gericault’s personality that make his work so unique and innovative.
Ruskin, one of the first and perhaps the most famous Art Historians, explores the relationship between art and madness. Ruskin himself was believed to have experienced psychological issues, perhaps relating to manic-depression. I was interested in Ruskin’s description of divergent thinking that is represented in artists, particularly those with manic disorders.
Weisel examines why testimony has become so central to our recent cultural accounts. She determines that “the Greeks invented tragedy, the Renaissance the sonnet, and our generation invented the testimony”. Weisel continues to explore what the significance of the growing predominance of testimony means in contemporary society.
These two psychiatrists outline some of the characteristics found in works of art created by people with all manner of psychological impairment. Specific to my research, they enumerate formal and compositional qualities present in paintings created by artists displaying manic-depressive disorder.
