"On the Spectrum (Grandiose Delusions)"

Aloha Friends,

I took a little unexpected hiatus these past few weeks in order to finish up a mural and get all my grading done! But thankfully summer is in full swing and I am back to my printmaking series On The Spectrum.  I have finished up the letter "G" and am hoping to get back into the studio a few more times before I start traveling for the summer. My goal is to finish this series by 2016! I've still got to find ideas for the letters Q, U, V, X, Y, Z so if you've got suggestions, or better yet a story, please message me or write a comment!

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 (Grandiose Delusions)

2015

Screen Print on Paper

15" x 11" 

$100 (unframed)

Details:

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Characteristics:

Grandiose delusions or delusions of grandeur are principally a subtype of delusional disorder that occurs in patients suffering from a wide range of mental illnesses, including two-thirds of patients in manic state of bipolar disorder, half of those with schizophrenia and a substantial portion of those with substance abuse disorders. GDs are characterized by fantastical beliefs that one is famous,omnipotent, wealthy, or otherwise very powerful. The delusions are generally fantastic and typically have a supernatural, science-fictional, or religious theme.

Research suggests that the severity of the delusions of grandeur is directly related to a higher self-esteem in individuals and inversely related to any individual’s severity of depression and negative self-evaluations.

Expansive delusions may be maintained by auditory hallucinations, which advise the patient that they are significant, or confabulations, when, for example, the patient gives a thorough description of their coronation or marriage to the king. Grandiose and expansive delusions may also be part of fantastic hallucinosis in which all forms of hallucinations occur.

Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders Fourth edition Text Revision (DSM-IV-TR) American Psychiatric Association (2000)

Knowles, R.; McCarthy-Jones S.; Rowse G. (2011). "Grandiose delusions: A review and theoretical integration of cognitive and affective perspectives". Clinical Psychology Review 31 (4): 684–696. doi:10.1016/j.cpr.2011.02.009. PMID 21482326.

Smith, N. et al. (2006). "Emotion and psychosis: Links between depression, self-esteem, negative schematic beliefs and delusions and hallucinations". Schizophrenia Research 86(1): 181–188. doi:10.1016/j.schres.2006.06.018. PMID 16857346.

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Mahalo for looking!

Boz Schurr

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