Many artists portrayed psychological conditions and human behaviours, both from an inclusive and a non-inclusive perspective.
Sarah Hobbs, with her “Small problems in living” is a clear example of the second approach to this topic. She decided to investigate it creating installations, that did not include any human participation, in her friends’ apartments in order to create photographic metaphors for those conditions and compulsions that affect all individuals, somehow.
Sarah Hobbs, Small Problems in living, 2003-2013, selection of images from her series. ©Sarah Hobbs.
Recreating symbolic representations of her subjects, she attempted to focus on the visual impact, but her style makes me analyse her work as created by someone not really affected by anyone of those “small problems”, because even if those images are visually interesting, I can’t see an actual emotional participation of the artist.
I think the title wanted to be a humorous attempt to approach the topic, but since I personally know how someone feels when one of those conditions occurs, I find hard to believe that the impact they might have on an individual’s life couldn’t have been analysed or represented more in depth.
A completely opposite approach to this subject is Edward Honaker’s “Depression” project. In this case the author is completely immersed in his own project, representing exclusively himself with his art. His perspective is absolutely personal and the psychological condition that affects him is the focal point in his research.
Edward Honaker, Depression, 2013-2015, selection of images from his series. ©Edward Honaker.
In his series, images are symbolic too, but being the main subject of each image, the final result is opposite to Hobbs’ one. In his images we don’t see colours, we see visual strategies useful to break taboos with sensitivity and to represent all those aspects of a puzzled, blurred or even avoided personality.
Personally speaking, both approaches can be valid, even if I tend to an inclusive one in my practice and as part of the audience, but in both cases the focus is so personal that I find it hard to feel included as an observer. Even if the two projects are visually appealing, while observing the first series I feel a bit disoriented and not fully respected as part of the subject matter and in the second case the symbolism is so over descriptive and detailed that even if I can empathise more with what I am observing, I can’t fully recognise someone but its author.
Visual References:
Hobbs Sarah, Small Problems in living, 2003-2013 http://sarahhobbs.net/section/225956-Small-Problems-In-Living.html
Honaker Edward, Depression, 2013-2015 http://www.edwardhonaker.com/booktwo/
Dayana Marconi CRJ 