Monday, March 16, 2015

"On the Spectrum (Cotard Delusion)"

Aloha Friends,

This print is the third in my ongoing On The Spectrum series. This print was featured in the 87th annual Honolulu Printmakers Juried Exhibition! I also won an award for excellence! Plus the print sold! CheeHoo!!! It was a lovely evening and I am very grateful for getting the chance to show some work again. The show is up till March 20th and was curated by the amazing Chicago-based screenprinting duo Sonnenzimmer! Don't miss it!


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On the Spectrum is a 26 part print series, one for each letter of the alphabet, that explores interactions of mental illnesses, developmental disorders and perceived normalcy as abstract landscapes. Please read my artist Statement for more details.

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Artist Statement: There is a strange disconnect between mental illness and normalcy – as if there is a stark dividing line between the two: Black and white, us and them, completely separate. I believe this arbitrary classification, ill, healthy, recovering... is very similar to how we catalog our colors: blue, red, green... The visible color spectrum reflects the human experience. An experience where colors cannot be contained as single, definable points. The spectrum is one band of ever shifting, transitioning hues, as are we – our lives and our experiences are continuous and overlapping, yet discreet.

We all exist in a world with other people. We interact daily with a wide range of personalities. It is not possible to limit your experience to “normal.” We are but one piece in the cosmos. No one exists in a vacuum. So instead of pushing past others whose mental or physical health might not reflect exactly our own, we must embrace.

We are made of many parts: our personalities, our bodies, and our world.

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On The Spectrum (Cotard Delusion)
2015
Screen Print on Paper
15" x 11" 
$100 (unframed)




Details:









Characteristics

The Cotard Delusion (also Cotard's Syndrome and Walking Corpse Syndrome) is a rare mental illness, in which the afflicted person holds the delusion that he or she is dead, either figuratively or literally.

The delusion of negation is the central symptom in Cotard's syndrome. The patient afflicted with this mental illness usually denies their existence, or the existence of a certain body part, or the existence of a portion of their body. Cotard's syndrome is in three stages: (i) Germination stage—the symptoms of psychotic depression and of hypochondria appear; (ii) Blooming stage—the full development of the syndrome and the delusions of negation; and (iii) Chronic stage—continued, severe delusions and chronic psychiatric depression.

Berrios G.E. and Luque R. (1995) Cotard's delusion or syndrome?. Comprehensive Psychiatry 36: 218–223

Yarnada, K.; Katsuragi, S.; Fujii, I. (13 November 2007). "A Case Study of Cotard's syndrome: Stages and Diagnosis". Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica 100 (5): 396–398. doi:10.1111/j.1600-0447.1999.tb10884


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Mahalo for looking!
Boz Schurr



All work is copyright 2015 Boz Schurr. Please do not use without my permission. Mahalo!

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