Thoughts on the Unheimliche

I am continuing with the ideas of distorted interior space based in part on Freud's essay The Uncanny where he discusses the German word Unheimliche, the opposite of heimlich which means familiar, native or belonging to the home. By including familiar images such as book shelves, walls, floor and cabinets I am including the familiar. But by rendering these in a rough, cartoon like and generally non realistic fashion I am beginning to flirt with ideas of fiction and the uncanny as well as the distortion of the familiar. At least that is where my thoughts lie at the moment. 

In this newest piece (still in progress) I have enlisted previous imagery which now serves as odd some what active wall paper. I am now calling these amorphous shapes "invaders", they were once friendly cartoon shapes to my understanding but after several semesters of work I realize they are not friendly, but rather signify disease and distortion. 

I feel like many ideas from the previous semesters of school are beginning to converge, and much of this has to do with Freud's The Uncanny the focus of my second research paper. I am exited by these new works but at the same time I realize there is more to be considered. 

This latest piece, I created on the floor of my living room, only to hang it on the wall and realize it is too large to fit on the wall of my studio! Where the books are at the bottom is where the floor should begin. Luckily I will be moving into a new studio with in the next week or so which, if I remember correctly has one wall large enough for me to work on this piece on the wall! 

Created on the floor 

fleshy pink color added to the "wall" of the piece

The books should be where the floor begins if hung correctly 

The Invaders
I think another coat of pink is necessary 

Tiny Rooms and Pink Walls . . . .

Moving from small back to BIG! 

I had a great intro conversation with my new mentor who suggested it was time to really dig into the work. He was interested in the idea of the room/interior space I have been working with so far this semester and suggested paintings or even to think about them in terms of real space. As the work I came into the program was installation based I feel this may be an opportunity to come back to where I started with a more in-depth understanding of my work and what my main concerns are.

I am currently continuing with creating small collages that may become large installation pieces. My newest work in progress is created on a 15ftx4ft tarp. This first piece is experiment and exploration. I feel in the next piece I need to add several more layers of gesso to create a richer less dry texture to work on, I am also considering more vibrant colors. I will also play with different types of flooring!

This feels like an exiting next step! I am looking forward to creating more in this vein.