Studio Final: Mirrors and Madness

For my Studio final, I wanted to move forward from my clown works and address the underlying theme of the clown symbolism: insanity. I was questioning various ideas and brainstorming concepts as I began researching the topic for my seminar paper, but soon realized I would be incapable of reproducing the feeling of an insanity with which I am unfamiliar. With that being said, I decided to delve into a madness that I know and have experienced over the course of my life. Dissociation is defined as the disconnection or separation of something from something else or the state of being disconnected. My idea was to construct something that allowed others to experience my narrative of how I feel dissociation.

To imitate the disconnection dissociation produces, my piece had to involve an element of separation. I constructed a snub cube out of double sided mirror acrylic. Since the snub cube has 36 pieces, the interior and exterior of my piece returns 36 reflections of the viewers face. Each individual triangle and square is 8 inches by 8 inches to allocate space for a head to fit inside. The shape was connected by jump rings and suspended in air by chain. Inside the fixture, it holds a color changing light that dangles just above the viewers head.

The point of this piece is to overwhelm and disorient the viewer inside more so than those onlooking. The rapid changing light doubled with the 36 reflections is almost replicative of a fun house, which was made for the same reason- to amuse or scare people based on the distorted reflections and lights. As viewers lose themselves inside by the infinite amount of reflections, those on the outside only see their own faces.

My piece took many hours of construction and proved a difficult task to accomplish, though I had a vision and felt obligated to create what was in my head. For me, my work is a way of coping though this in particular was to enable others to feel what I have felt in the past.

I was inspired to make this after reading Foucault’s Madness and Civilization for my seminar research paper. Upon looking into insanity and reading about the unreason of such peoples who were then institutionalized gave me the idea of insanity being this disorienting, inexplicable thing. Therefore, I did not attempt to explain my insanity to my audience, I wanted to show them.

Research Paper Passage:

We study and observe that which is considered a spectacle, or something exhibited to view as unusual, notable, or entertaining. Insanity is a departure from reason and a deviation from what is considered normal which is why it is a spectacle. Though such spectacles exist in many forms around us; for example, we gawk at celebrities and professional sports players because their talent has enabled them to rise pass the threshold from normal to exceptional. Exceptionality is defined as unusually good and outstanding as well as uncommon and atypical. However, the abnormality of a celebrity of any sort lies in the extraordinary nature of their immense societal fame. This is why when they pass us on the street, we are starstruck; in the same way we tend to view insanity, we tend to see celebrities. Both figures emit this fanciful, magical aura– as if a unicorn amidst a herd of horses, they exist in a realm seemingly separate from our own.

Reflection:

This final was a way of coping and dealing with my dissociation. When I was first developing my ideas, I had no intention of involving my mental health narrative into a concept for others to experience for themselves. Once I realized I wanted to make something representative of insanity, I knew that attempting to build off of something I am familiar with would prove most successful. After making the decision to be open about myself and create based off of what struggles I go through, my idea showed itself to me immediately and I was filled with excitement to work and finish it strong. My work is the one thing that consistently brings me joy, so to have the chance to develop this piece that exemplifies my emotional state while also allowing others to see what I go through was exceptionally beautiful for me. This piece was a way to cope– so thank you, Emily Lambert, for letting me.

 

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