Upcoming Solo Show — fine artist Dennis Ryan

WHEN: March 25th to April 23rd, 2011
WHERE: Gallery On High, Pottstown, PA

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Upcoming artist show in Pottstown, PA, at The Gallery On High, called "A Journey Through Anxiety".

As a fine artist in 2010, I had my artwork in art shows, on TV, on the front page of the newspaper and even on the radio! And these are all great, but I have a feeling that this upcoming combination of education and fine art show will top all I did in 2010, because it could actually help people.

And the way it will work is: I will go to The Gallery On High's school component about a month before the show and I will give a talk... hold an education session for an hour or so. In a sense, this is where I sit down with folks, of various age groups, that have been diagnosed with mental disorders/mental challenges — been given the 'labels' (i.e. Schizophrenia, anxiety, OCD, depression — a lot of these people are even on medications), and I will introduce traditional art examples to them, even show a few of the popular artists of the last century, and then go on to promote that this is not the ONLY definition of what art is or can be. My goal of this talk is to demonstrate arts usefulness as a tool: to help alleviate anxiety, to express abstract thoughts, to access its therapeutic benefits. Especially with respect to anxiety; in addition to tools like communication (talking about mental issues with someone), medication, deep breathing, etc., art can be an additional - powerful - tool to help and/or simply exercise the mind (AKA mental health).

I will then talk about my process as an artist and show a piece or two of my fine art. The group will then start to think about how they can use these techniques to create works that can alleviate or desensitize their anxieties, mental discomforts and disorders. They will then make their art on (estimated) 20'' x 20" canvases.

I will return to the school for another 1 hour group session to see what they created and to talk about the successes of such.

So here's my synopsis of how the session will likely go:

1. What is Art - dispel the traditional thoughts and show diversity - visual presentation - projection... some images - Van Gogh, Close, Pollock (5 min)
   
2. My work, [it] as art, concepts - my process, how art can help the mind, any mind (example: to desensitize oneself to ones fears). (10 min)
   
3. My process - abstract thought/concept, sketch it out/development, ideas for implementation, create, final piece. (15 min)
4. Q & A - ask "clients" what 'thoughts' they would like to 'see'? Abstract - to - tangible. Out in the open... exposed... easier to deal with, talk about. How can best convey these with art? What mediums? What technique/style? (30 min)
5. Students start their pieces.
6. Critique, discussion and wrap up. (1 hour)

For more information on the show: http://www.galleryonhigh.com/events.html

effin-A... here comes The OCD Project!

The OCD Project Supertrailer

Dr. David Tolin will attempt to treat six patients with OCD in 21 days. Check out the premiere on Vh1 Thursday, May 27th at 10 et/pt!

I will watch and Tivo! Dr. Tolin is Brilliant -- nice work VH1.

I especially love the Fear Factor element… but I guess this is actually how Cognitive (active) Behavior Therapy actually works. Obsessive compulsive disorder is typically treated with this behavior therapy exposure, but with response prevention, like licking the bottom of your shoe, and then NOT running to the medicine cabinet for mouth wash.

Songs about psychological disorders

So, yes, I paint and draw about psychological disorders (e.g. anxiety, OCD, phobias and paranoias) but thought it would be interesting to see what other artists, maybe even musicians are doing with the theme.

I've found 6 great ones so far; in a bout 5 minutes, so I'm sure there are many more.

Below are a collection of wonderfully, clever lyrics from a group called Swollen Members. The song is called Paranoia. Hear it below the lyrics in the YouTube embed. Great tune - one of my favorites!

[Mad Child]
Sometimes I smash the wall when I'm alone in my room
I'm an abusive reclusive like Dr. Doom
Parts of darkness descend and consume me
You wont believe the gloomy thoughts that run through me
I'm proof ? if you spend the night
Leave the next day like "I don't think his heads on right"
Try to talk to myself but I don't listen
I've got split personalities and competition
And which ones Amanda? I've got issues
I could be standing in front of your face and I'm not with you
Schizophrenia, Shane's brains distorted
Sort of compulsive, obsessive, disorder
Mathematical pattern addict of depraved mind
Before I go to bed I hit the light switch seven times
Yes, um, never mind, put the knife back
Mad Child I'm outta my mind, but I'll be right back

[Chorus]
It's all in your head, you need to unwind
Your losing your grip, the paranoia never ends
It's all in your head, what you see in your mind
There's no reason to trip, the paranoia never ends
When your mind is acting wild
And you swear your insane
Can't nothing help you out
Of this trap your in
You don't know which way to turn
And your head is in pain
Can't nothing help you out
Of this insanity

[Prevail]
There's no one behind you, there's no one beside you
There's no one beside you, you know as well as I do
There's no voice inside you, that shadow isn't moving
You must be losing to confusion having illusions
Still you wanna prove it, paranoia
That someone might be coming for you, no ones trying to kill you stupid
There's no Norman Bates, peeking in your window
There's no Patrick Bateman trying to pick you up in limos
You pop another pill, to try and calm your nerves
But prescriptions make the descriptions a lot worse
Your seeing red bursts, and then your head hurts
You should have checked under the bed first
Crawling on all fours, locking all the doors
You must have flown over the cuckoos nest and lost your course
I thought I told ya, don't let that shit control ya
'Cause paranoia will destroy ya just a lesson for ya

[Moka Only]
Yo it's paranoia in your brain cell
You think the worlds looking at you but you can't tell
You need to find yourself a hobby or something and stop frontin'
Nobody's out to get you, nobody wants nothin'
I think you got a chemical imbalance
When theres silence, you swear you hear cops and their sirens
Maybe it's a different environment that you need
But whatever it is, your minds dying to be free
Your trying to perceive with the usual procedures
Your chests feeling tight, you think your having seizures
Maybe your just trying to hard to fit in
You need to let that shit go and get counseling my friend



I will post more songs as the mood swings right...

Anxiety Art — If a cast could heal the broken mind...

People who suffer from mental disorders, like uncontrollable anxiety, wish it was that easy. The pain IS as real as a broken arm to them, but there is no easy fix like a cast.

A good bit of the concepts that derive my fine art stem from stories of obsessive compulsive disorder sufferers. Fact is, many people don't even know what the acronym OCD stands for though. If they or someone they know experiences obsessive compulsive behavior they just chalk it up as being anxious about something.

There are differences between anxiety disorders and obsessive compulsive ones, but they can be subtle. Anxiety and OCD show up as separate ideas in my paintings and artwork.

I actually suggest that OCD is a subset of anxiety disorders:

• Generalized Anxiety Disorder
  GAD can manifest itself as persistent worry about events or activities and produce physical symptoms such as heart palpitations, muscle tension and difficulty sleeping.
• Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder
  OCD is usually specific obsessions and compulsions. The obsessive thoughts are uncontrollable. And the compulsion is a repetitive behavior to relieve the stress caused by the obsessions.

GAD and OCD could actually mix in the sense that the anxiety can cause heart palpitations and then the OCD would obsess into thought patterns that drive the sufferer to the emergency room several times.

Any way you slice it, anxiety is very real to its sufferers. It is a disability.

Non-suffers can't comprehend the weight of the realness that anxiety can bare. Mostly this non-suffer incomprehension leads to a few facial frowns, with raised eyebrows as they subtly shake their heads in disappointment about the actions of the anxious ones. They see the sufferers as inconveniences in their daily routines... thorns in their sides... speed bumps in their roads to fruition.

This interaction of the sufferers and non-sufferers is unfortunate. In my fine art about anxiety I try to paint this dichotomy. The concept of complexity on one side of the human race and misunderstanding on the other.

Nadya... did OCD make you have those babies?

Hands down, for me, this is the most interesting thought the media echoed all week. Honestly, I have never thought of OCD in this context. I know Obsessive Compulsive Disorder can make suffers do things they really don't want to, do things they really don't feel good about doing, do things they really don't think are logical, but could it make a mom have more kids?

The obsessive logic here (or lack there of) might be simply obsessiveness about being a mother. The logic might be to have more babies to fill some kind or perceptive void in the mind. I don't think it has anything to do with counting or trying to hit a certain number. But could it? She did control the number of embryos?

Both of Nayda's parents are now publicly questioning her mental-health state. Of course Nadya's current actions may not be OCD actions at all, but may be relative to the cascade of flooding brain chemicals that can be brought on after giving birth to a child, or two, or even 8! In fact, hormone imbalance with respect to the levels of estrogen, progesterone, and cortisol in women can end up causing a state of postpartum psychosis; a serious mental disorder that can require medications or even being institutionalized.

Anyway... on NBC Today Nadya Suleman's mother, Angela, actually said that "...it seems as if she's obsessive compulsive and she needs to keep doing this and I hope she is not. I mean is 14 enough?". This quote happens about three minutes into the embedded video below.

OCD or not, I don't think a mental evaluation for Nadya would hurt anything at this point.

Do you have OCD? Take this Rorschach inkblot test:

Psychologists use this test to try to examine the personality characteristics and emotional functioning of their patients.

Note: This Rorschach is slightly modified from original.

This is the initial layout / mock-up for a series of prints I'm working on. Should turn out to be a series of 10 (or so) Rorschach-esk pieces.

What do you see?

What is a Rorschach inkblot test you ask?

OCD Windex Carousel - what does OCD feels like?

Ever asked yourself "Do I have OCD"? If not, have you ever wondered what having obsessive compulsive disorder feels like?

Well, if you have to wonder then you are blessed to be free from the constant agonizing, intrusive thoughts that come standard with OCD. If you don't know how you can tell if you, your loved one or your child have obsessive compulsive disorder, then maybe I can help with the following content.

A few symbolic points to my example are:

• As far as I know, the thoughts and compulsions never go away
• The obsessiveness may change from one form to another (e.g. cleaning to checking to counting) but always exists. Its like trying to fill a bottomless pit
• Some moments the thought patterns will be less intrusive and less intense than others
• Initial rituals or compulsive acts are exhaustively completed before moving on to another act. Even if the second act is a normal everyday occurrence like getting out of bed
  
• Obsessive compulsive disorder wastes extraordinary amounts of time, but the sufferer cannot move on (with comfort and ease of mind) until the ritual is complete - no matter how illogical the actions may be

For example, try to focus on one Windex bottle as they spin. Then count it as it goes around 5 times. And, by the way, do not move on and read the rest of the post until you are done.

You can move your cursor over the bottles to increase the speed and the complication of the counting.


Now times this feeling by 100 and do it every day! Welcome to the world of a typical OCD suffer.

The above example tries to demonstrate how mentally exhausting dealing with just one "C" of the (4) notorious C(s) of this disorder can be: counting.

The four C(s) of OCD are Cleaning, Counting, Checking and Canceling. Even though you may think it is nonsense and a waste of time to count the single bottle as it spins around, you have to do it before you can move on. You have to do it because your mind tells you that you must!

Once I asked a psychiatrist which out of all the metal disorders, in her opinion, would be the worst to have and live with... you guessed it, she said obsessive compulsive disorder. Her main reasoning was that it just never stops. OCD is always gnawing at the brain. Also, that the sufferer is conscious and perfectly aware of the behaviors he or she is doing unlike some of the other painful metal disorders like bi-polar, schizophrenia and manic depression.

Without the functional healthy balance of Serotonin in the brain, easy-to-do normal everyday happenings like reading a page of text in normal order become enormous time consuming tasks.

In my fine artwork I try to represent this dichotomy of simplicity in everyday normality with the painful complications the unbalanced mind can manufacture.

Mental illness can help create great art, no?

Psychological disorders are important to the content of my art. I say that these same disorders or mental illnesses, that I use as concepts, actually have helped artists in the past create successful fine art.

So I ask these two questions as illustrative examples:

1. Would Vincent Van Gogh be as famous as he is without a cloud of psychological disorders surrounding his life?
2. Would Pablo Picasso's 'blue period' painting - The Old Guitarist - be as interesting as it in fact is if it were not painted when Picasso was "blue" with depression?
   

The extra-ordinary states of the mind of someone who suffers from OCD, depression, bipolar disorder, etc., may have something to do with the extraordinary paintings, prints and drawings that come from the artists that suffer from them. It's not to say that artists with normal mental thoughts cannot produce arts of wonder... it is to say that many, many artworks from the past and present have been created by people who are not in a normal state of mind. Very successful, very highly valued fine art has been done by artists that suffer from mental incapacitation. It may be the disorder that creates a neurotic passion that in turn, in addition to talent of course, affords the art. And it may be as a result of these mental disorder that these extremely great works happen at all.

When one looks at the world through the glasses of the mentally ill... things look different! So to say that when someone like Van Gogh self chastises himself by sleeping on the hard wood floor instead of the empty bed next to him (because of thoughts of other human beings in the world not having a bed) potentially hinges the state of the mind to a higher, more romantic level that can see views, perspectives, textures and colors that normal everyday states of mind can not.

I've often found it interesting how many of the great artists and fine artists from the past have been associated with some form of mental illness. Two examples for this post are: Vincent Willem van Gogh - any number of his pieces; and Pablo Picasso - specifically his Blue Period.

From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Van_Gogh
"Van Gogh cut off the lobe of his left ear during some sort of seizure on 24 December 1888. Mental problems afflicted him, particularly in the last few years of his life...There has been much debate over the years as to the source of Van Gogh's mental illness and its effect on his work. Over 150 psychiatrists have attempted to label his illness, and some 30 different diagnoses have been suggested. Diagnoses which have been put forward include schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, syphilis, poisoning from swallowed paints, temporal lobe epilepsy and acute intermittent porphyria. Any of these could have been the culprit and been aggravated by malnutrition, overwork, insomnia, and a fondness for alcohol, and absinthe in particular."

From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Picasso's_Blue_Period
"The Old Guitarist is a painting by Pablo Picasso, painted in 1903, just after the suicide death of Picasso's close friend, Casagemas."

Let's think about these artists/artworks for a moment.

Now think about what these artworks would have looked like if these respective artists were on an SSRI (Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors) or other class of antidepressants. Would the artists/artworks be as interesting or successful if they had been dulled by a brain balancing chemical like Zoloft. What would the art look like without the contribution of the disorderly, unbalanced mental state at the time of creation? Without these mental attributions, would these pieces even be worth blogging about?

Dennis Ryan - kickthefaucet.com - Fine Art

Answers to questions about fine art by Dennis Ryan: paintings about psychological disorders, specifically obsessive compulsive disorder: OCD

From time to time I'll share comments from emails I very frequently receive on my fine art website kickthefaucet.com - paintings and art work about psychological disorders, specifically obsessive compulsive disorder: OCD

This post is a copy of questions I recently received from a person named Sam. The questions were thoughtful, so I'm posting my answers. Sam also wrote for permission to include my fine art in a paper he was writing:

Series 2: Ticker - Acryic, rubbing alcohol on canvas - 2'x3'

1. Why is it that you mainly focus on the compulsion of cleaning rather than other common compulsions?
   

   In my opinion, cleanliness is the most identifiable and prevalent act of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. It also represents the most interesting and appealing content, in relation to my concepts, across the majority of audiences. My artwork’s conceptual facets revolve around psychological disorders. Series 2 revolves around OCD, focusing on the “C” of the “CCCC” in OCD that represents cleanliness.
   

2. What are the numbers about in your series 2 pieces?
   
   The numbers symbolize time and counting: time wasted counting. Certain pieces have numbers that represent obsessive day-trading (or gambling) in the form of a suggested “stock ticker”. Numbers are also an additional vehicle to help integrate type into my fine art; which usually consists mostly of line, form and color. I feel type to be an important form of expression and use it to reinforce certain conceptual aspects of my work.
   


3. Why does your work change so much between series 1 and 2, not only the subject matter but the composition and style as well?
   
   The changes are mostly representative of artistic progression and growth. Series 2 evolved as a result of lessons and experiments from Series 1. At this point, I am developing more in the direction of the hands in Series 2 as they represent a ton of my interests in both artistic concepts and physiological disorders.
   


4. What message do you want your work to convey?
   
   On one level, I try to suggest through line, color and form that people suffering with mental disabilities are really suffering! In fact they are disabled. They are locked in a sort of continuous, never-ending, very agonizing mental hell which in many cases is virtually impossible to escape. The only hope some of these suffers have is to cope, not get worse, and very importantly, not to spread the disorders and discomforts to their loved ones.
   

   On the other hand I want to express my creative talents and make the artwork - on the surface - be beautiful. I do not want my artwork to only convey OCD or physiological disorders. After all, I am an artist not a psychologist.