My project topic is something that hopefully people can relate to in different ways. The topic is mental health, nothing specific just the overall generality of it. I chose this topic because mental health isn’t something people consider when it comes to others along with being aware of it. To display mental health, I chose to paint a woman who is tied by her heart and brain, but they are going in opposite directions and if she lets her mental health affect her too much then she hits rock bottom/death which is represented as spikes. I also decided to include some self-harm cuts on her wrist to show that people do decide to harm them self when things get rough for them mentally and or physically and they don’t know how else to deal with it. In the book, This Is What I Know About Art by Kimberly Drew states, “I was depressed, burned-out, and I felt like I was failing in every direction” (12). This quote is exactly how I feel every day when waking up remembering how everything in my life is a mess that is hard to escape.
The message for the audience is to not assume that someone is not fighting a couple demons no matter what their mood is. The ones who tend to always be bubbly and help others feel better are usually the ones who are going through the most. But that doesn’t mean the ones who are quiet and often sad aren’t going through hard times either, people choose not to show any type of expressions of what is going on in their head.
I reached an audience with my project by creating a slideshow that includes mental health examples, signs, how to help, etc. Also, I showed the painting and explain its representations. The audience was very attentive to the presentation especially since the audience is my family and they know I struggle with mental health issues. The feedback I received was positive ones. They are now ready to observe me or our loved ones and their actions/behavior to see if someone need to talk but too ashamed/embarrassed to ask for it. The book, This Is What I Know About Art states, “Some students were upset by the artists’ intention, and others ashamed of the history that the piece highlighted (25). In this quote, instead of students it was my family members upset since I now inform them about mental health, but it brought up the past when I ended up having a self-induced accident a couple years ago and couldn’t explain what was wrong with me.
There are multiple artists that has inspired me to create this painting. One artist that inspired me is Frida Kahlo, who suffered from more than one mental health problems such as posttraumatic stress disorder and bipolar disorder along with depression. One of her artworks Self-Portrait with Cropped Hair (1940), was created to show how she felt during her marriage with Diego Rivera and how painful it was for her and her mental health since it badly affected her depression. Another artist is Kim Noble, who was diagnosed with Dissociative Identity Disorder (multiple personality disorder). An art piece of hers, My Hands are Tied (2017), connected to me by letting me see how she felt with her disorder since she felt like she was trapped and slowly slipping away. Louis Wain did big- eyed cats that were in social situations and were dedicated to amusing his wife until she passed away from cancer and left him with deep depression. Despite his tragic loss and the development of his mental health, he still continued to make these cats in memory for his wife even though the art style became different. Despite his mental challenges, he found the strength to continue what he loves and is honoring his wife’s memory. Lastly, the famous Vincent Van Gogh had numerous disorders that influenced his work and affected his mental state. Some people say that the obsessive yellow color that is used in his famous painting “The Starry Night” was due to his medical condition and his drinking habits. Despite his illnesses he incorporated it into his creative ways of artwork and knowing that he didn’t let it stop him shows that he may have been slightly overcoming it until his suicide. All these artists were brave enough to include their mental health status into their artwork and were proud of what they made along with wanting to show the world that it’s okay to not be okay.
Link to slideshow: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1bxreE5RW-Ft83nQsBSpDwbX29Om-JRTFS0PUATxyL90/edit?usp=sharing
Resources:
Finch, D Sam. The Do’s and Don’ts of Supporting Someone in a Mental Health Crisis. 2020
https://www.healthline.com/health/mental-health/supporting-someone-in-a-mental-health-crisis
Graf, Stefanie. How Mental Illness Shaped the Works of These 5 Artists. 2021
https://www.thecollector.com/how-mental-illness-shaped-works-by-artists/
Mental Health Foundation. How to support someone with a mental health problem.
https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/publications/supporting-someone-mental-health-problem
Prisco, Jacopo. Poignant works of art show the reality of mental illness. 2017
https://www.cnn.com/style/article/mental-illness-with-art-in-mind-exhibition/index.html
SingleCare Team. Mental Health Statistics 2021. 2021
https://www.singlecare.com/blog/news/mental-health-statistics/
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