Project Space Mural 2015 (Day Six)

Aloha Friends!

Day five was a long day for my 2015 Project Space mural. I actually started day six imagery on day five and it took me pretty late into the night. Besides my thesis paintings, I am not sure I've ever spent so much time painting a wall. However that experience changed how I went about and reacted to my own work, so overall it was a good learning experience. Late on day five and early on day six led me to some beautiful colors and one final motto/mantra for my mural. I decided the final saying should be "Go there/Be there" which means to travel and enjoy the journey, but to also not be afraid of destination once you get there. Since I'll be done painting, I have reached the end of my journey and am choosing to embrace it. Mahalo for looking!

Artist Statement for the Salem Art Association's 2015 Project Space:

"The Hawaiian word Holoholo can have several meanings. First,it can mean to walk aimlessly or go for a stroll, allowing your feet to lead you and thus letting your mind be free. It also can mean to go for a ride, to drive aimlessly without a set route, letting the journey be the destination. To holoholo is to be free.

Since moving to Hawaii several years ago I often find myself wandering, no longer a resident of Oregon the state of my birth, but also not fully accepted as a resident of my new state either. I am constantly crossing oceans to find new places and seek a sense of belonging.

Holoholo is also very fitting for how I choose to paint the gallery space. Instead of painting one portrait or one static image I instead paint continuously for several days. I film myself painting and afterwards compress the film into a few short minutes. These moving images allow me to better express my travels, my wanderlust and to fully explore what it means to holoholo. The painting is the journey, not the destination."

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Holoholo, Time-Lapse Mural by Boz Schurr
June 22-26 | Project Space | 156 Front St. NE Salem

Artist Boz Schurr will be working on a short-term, large-scale installation at the 156 Front Street location from June 22-26.

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Day Six:

The imagery for this mural is influenced by the most recent places I have traveled and specifically the connection to the natural landscape as I experienced it in each place.

For this work I will include Hawaii (where I live, therefore it is always my starting point as long as reside there), Japan, England and Australia. I am including these locations because they represent me as a resident, tourist and artist and are the places I will have traveled to and from in 2015. I will end the mural with Oregon imagery since it will have been, up to that moment, my last travel destination.

Details:

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Mahalo for looking!

Boz Schurr

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

"On The Spectrum (Bipolar Disorder)"

Aloha Friends,

This print is the second in my ongoing On The Spectrum series. I am moving along with the series and as each print happens I am getting more and more free with my mark making and my focus on the my concept. I really enjoy the play of line and dots on this one. Thanks for looking!

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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 (Bipolar Disorder) 

2015

Screen Print on Paper

15" x 11"

$100 (unframed)

Details:

Characteristics:

Mania is the defining feature of bipolar disorder,and can occur with different levels of severity. With milder levels of mania, known as hypomania, individuals appear energetic, excitable, and may be highly productive. As mania worsens, individuals begin to exhibit erratic and impulsive behavior, often making poor decisions due to unrealistic ideas about the future, and sleep very little. At the most severe level, manic individuals can experience very distorted beliefs about the world known as psychosis. A depressive episode commonly follows an episode of mania. The biological mechanisms responsible for switching from a manic or hypomanic episode to a depressive episode or vice versa remain poorly understood.



Barnett JH, Smoller JW (2009). "The genetics of bipolar disorder". Neuroscience 164 (1): 331–43. doi:10.1016/j.neuroscience.2009.03.080. PMC 3637882. PMID 19358880.

Beentjes TA, Goossens PJ, Poslawsky IE (October 2012). "Caregiver burden in bipolar hypomania and mania: a systematic review". Perspect Psychiatr Care 48 (4): 187–97. doi:10.1111/j.1744-6163.2012.00328.x. PMID 23005586.

Salvadore G, Quiroz JA, Machado-Vieira R, Henter ID, Manji HK, Zarate CA (November 2010). "The neurobiology of the switch process in bipolar disorder: a review". J Clin Psychiatry 71 (11): 1488–1501. doi:10.4088/JCP.09r05259gre. PMC 3000635. PMID 20492846.

Mahalo for looking!

Boz Schurr

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