Of course there is art therapy for traumatic experiences or mental health issues but what about the everyday stress? I understand that the people who need art therapy is the people in need the most the people with mental health issues or health issues. I just feel that art could be used before serious health issues. could it be used to help the everyday person who is a little stressed from everyday Life? is that where my art fits in? my fun art which although I wouldn’t call it art therapy I would call it de-stressing art. I also want to address how people always seem to look for the worst (I’ve done it myself) and I want to remind people if only for a second that having fun and being positive is a good thing. I’m not saying I will exclude people with health issues from this I just don’t want them to become the focus.
“we can say that the ordinary object that escapes conscious notice, although we use it every day, captures our attention in the context of the museum and acquires new meaning” (Groys,1994,82)
Writing my dissertation and I come across this quote. I am not sure why but it hit my head over and over again. I should ask the question would my art be considered art without Marcel Duchamp and his Ready-made? I’m not sure if it would exist. So to the man who took a urinal and made it art, Thank you.
Leaving through forests of golden red and green the sun shining since the first time we landed. Houses dotted on hills and a good song humming on the radio. Feels surreal like maybe this week is just a dream and I am traveling back into consciousness. Like living in a post card. The people so sweet and kind to us. News that is admittedly sad, finding out that one of my lectures is leaving. As I travel with snot in my nose, trees and country outside I think of what I’ve learned; I can’t pronounce anything in the language not even thank you, I need to be extra mindful of cars because even when it’s green for me it can also be green for them too, potatoes can be made into heaven. This trip has informed my practice in a way I did not expect. All the sadness and misery in this world can really affect you. Death torture and talk of rape and even pedophiles have been discussed on this trip. It makes it set even further in my mind the importance of every so often to just enjoy life. Life can be changed if even for a minute by a positive or negative interaction. Maybe longer affected by a bad interaction but I believe in the philosophy of if you smile at someone it could brighten their mood leading to them spreading the smile.
An interesting thing has happened. I’m on an art residential in Czech Republic, myself and others have been allowed to look around the prison beside/adjoining the art school and respond. The prison is not a happy place filled with stories of torture and execution. It was just a shell. Everything just empty, we were in a weird way disappointed, we were hoping for a bit more gloom, for there to be evidence of the unthinkable actions that had happened. I know that is probably weird to be disappointed by the lack of evidence but as an artist the idea of a prison with heart-wrenching stories evident to the eye is exciting. The fact it is just an empty shell of a building is a tragedy, it is like they were not even there. You can’t tell that horrible acts happened there, it leaves a lot of unknowns and somehow that feels even worse. Like these souls were not important.
My work that I created in the prison is a stark contrast to the art that I have been working on back home. I can’t ignore the work I have created here because it has informed my practice, it’s quite interesting though how I have made work the direct opposite of what I want to make in my studio. The work I created there was glow in the dark pictures stuck to the wall by masking tape (admittedly not the best thing or prettiest thing to use but I had little time to put it up and I did not want it to look pretty) I also had glow in the dark string that was tied up in Web formation. A trap to hold you until death (The skulls) caught up with you. The skulls came from St James church in Brno. Death clung to my mind this trip. It has made me even more determined to spread my joy.
I have mixed glow in the dark paint with bubble mixture in an attempt to experiment and create glow in the dark bubbles.
The glow in the dark bubbles work really well but need to be charged in order for the camera to pick them up. Fortunately, I have a black light, so super fast charging! One problem with the bubbles though is when you make a mess and get your clothes or shoes covered you don’t notice till you start to glow.
An idea I have for this is that everyone in a lit room gets one pot of glow in the dark bubble mixture and a straw. Afterward, the lights would go out and everyone could see the marks they have made but could not see in the light.
I have the 3 primary colours and black. I used a straw to blow the bubbles onto the paper. My end goal is to make this interactive, the idea being that everyone gets one pot with a single colour and a straw, they will all blow onto paper covering the floor. The markings from this should be visually interesting and the interactions should be fun and engaging. I have created some interesting patterns already and it is also a load of fun to make.
I have also filmed myself blowing bubbles to experiment and see what it would look like. It is incredible to see and quite hypnotizing.
