My current work is based upon concepts that explore and illustrate psychological disorders. An interest in psychology and perceptions of the human condition are just a few of the driving forces in my investigations. Attraction and connection to these fractures stems from my own and others personal histories and realities within this arena. Dave Hickey, from Enter the Dragon on the vernacular of beauty, quotes Baudelare as saying the beautiful is always strange, by which he means, of course, that it is always strangely familiar. It can be said that going through various mental states and conditions is universal in the human race. This in turn allows us to be capable of understanding others at some level.
Aspects of the interior are easily relatable in cultures. Homes are highly personal and can tell stories of the people that inhabit them: from dirty dishes stacked in the sink to a perfectly arranged centerpiece…rooms and aspects of rooms have identity. They can function not only as a domicile, but as a symbol for personal architecture and functioning chaos. To the idea of place, I add other elements that function as metaphors for varying conditions: a water faucet turned upside down to manipulated layers of peeling wallpaper. What we see on the surface shows an aspect of the underlying reality. I want my viewer to relate to the metaphorical iceberg tip on the surface, thereby allowing them to experience a facet of the psychological fracture.
My research has gone outside of visual practice and into other areas of inquiry. Psychiatric literature, interviews and stories, such as Perkins-Gilman’s The Yellow Wallpaper and Redfield Jamison’s autobiography An Unquiet Mind are among the sources I reference in my inquiries. I attempt to visually represent and understand psychological manifestations while creating an engaging, relatable experience. My work is pan-academic including painting, video and installation, with painting and drawing as the most vital to my formal processes. All of these combine to create a rich, multifaceted experience for the viewer, immersing them fully in the installation.
annaklemnitzer.
Aspects of the interior are easily relatable in cultures. Homes are highly personal and can tell stories of the people that inhabit them: from dirty dishes stacked in the sink to a perfectly arranged centerpiece…rooms and aspects of rooms have identity. They can function not only as a domicile, but as a symbol for personal architecture and functioning chaos. To the idea of place, I add other elements that function as metaphors for varying conditions: a water faucet turned upside down to manipulated layers of peeling wallpaper. What we see on the surface shows an aspect of the underlying reality. I want my viewer to relate to the metaphorical iceberg tip on the surface, thereby allowing them to experience a facet of the psychological fracture.
My research has gone outside of visual practice and into other areas of inquiry. Psychiatric literature, interviews and stories, such as Perkins-Gilman’s The Yellow Wallpaper and Redfield Jamison’s autobiography An Unquiet Mind are among the sources I reference in my inquiries. I attempt to visually represent and understand psychological manifestations while creating an engaging, relatable experience. My work is pan-academic including painting, video and installation, with painting and drawing as the most vital to my formal processes. All of these combine to create a rich, multifaceted experience for the viewer, immersing them fully in the installation.
annaklemnitzer.
