bipolarized summary

When I look at the world, I’m most concerned with the data that comprises it from the way we act and behave to the adaptations that aid our psychological survival.  I found that neurology and psychology help me to explore those ideas through the following process. 

bipolarized Artist Statement

One of my first psychological research projects in art began with Ukiyo-e (Japanese woodblock prints from the Tokugawa Era), which is the predecessor to modern manga (Japanese comics) and anime (Japanese animation).  In my graduate courses, I often focused on the development of this era into Japanese Pop and its subcultures.  This led me to study Contemporary artists, such as Murakami Takashi and his Superflat movement, since the psychological trauma and national identity crisis of Westernized Japan is one of his main arguments for using consumer culture, kawaii-sa (cute culture), and the otaku in his work.  (Interestingly enough, a counter-Superflat exhibition, Bye-Bye Kitty, has coincidentally been exhibited in New York at the same time as the recent disaster occurred in Japan and unintentionally gave it more power.  They are presenting a new way of looking at this “anxiety” and identity crisis with an emphasis on the opposite meaning: the grotesque.)  

Through my study of Contemporary Japanese culture and modern literature, I became interested in  the role of technology in society, such as keitai-setsuwa (cell phone novels).  In Japan, cell phones had already taken the nature of what Facebook has recently become with people collecting as many “friends” or numbers as they can and sharing their personal information publicly.    

Cao Fei, Vest with Suspenders from 2001 Storage Box series.
Image from caofei.com. 

I became more interested in the philosophical state of society in regard to the apparatus and the function of these sub-cultural elements in the society; one of those cultures being cosplay (costume play).  Cao Fei is one artist that uses this idea of role playing through the contrast of reality and illusion in her work; although she also incorporates documentation with the use of this theme.  Cosplay itself is a performance art, but nearly a subculture of role playing and interpretation of a character that could be from anime, comics, science fiction, videogames, and so on.  This subculture is a great place to analyze the relationship of technology from the camera, Internet, and the virtual with the psychology of the performer.  An example of this would be a hypertext exercise that I was inspired to create by Flusser's Toward a Philosophy on Photography.

Animeland Wasabi 2011

Cosplay is one method that I use to develop my personas.  I see it as a means to express myself, but I admire the unlikelihood that very few individuals are aware of what I am doing or what I might be inviting them to participate in. 

Untitled, graphite on bristol board, 2011.

Secondly, neural activity is another theme that inspires my work.  The development and growth of neurons largely take place in early childhood.  At this state, tendencies for personality and behavior are formatted in an individual’s mind through modules of socialization.  Throughout this whole process, neurons are networking to develop various patterns and memory connections.  Overall, the social environment of the individual will determine how neurons will interact and influence each other and whether they are able to develop healthy functioning communication patterns or adapt to a high-stress (cortisol induced) environment where they are killed off.  Specifically, I'm interested in the chemical processes and cycles that neurons work in to create the resulting behaviors and emotions of an individual.  This type of subject matter is what I take from to develop my performances and to allude to polarized neural activity. 

 

Example of computer emoticons personas and butoh-esque performance from video

Technological Themes: 

Apparatus, Virtual, Obsoleteness 

Previous performance examples:
m taylor 
(contradiction of pathological lying and confession and multiconsciousness)