Monday, April 6, 2020

Semester Project Midterm Proposal



Raven Dickson
Prof. Cacoilo
Acts Of Resistance
25, March 2020


Semester Project Proposal (Midterm)

  The main topic of my semester project is Mental Health. I chose this topic because I’m a passionate advocate for mental health and plan on pursuing a career in Clinical Psychology, which heavily deals with that. I’ve experienced struggles with my mental health ever since I was in middle school and still do as I’m entering adulthood. According to the Mental Health First Aid website, it’s stated that “Half of all mental disorders begin by age 14 and three-quarters by age 24”(Mental Health First Aid "5 Surprising Mental Health Statistics" 2019). During that time in my life, I didn’t have as many outlets to educate me on mental health and inform me on how to cope with those hardships of dealing with it in a healthy manner, unlike the unlimited access that we’re granted now. Also, some family members, friends, and peers of mine have told me about their mental health and how they cope or struggle with any mental illnesses they have.


  Mental health is often overlooked due to the stigmas from social media, culture, or just lack of knowledge. For example, the idea of how any mental disorder is just ‘a phase’ or that those with mental disorders are weak and attention-seeking. Generalized misconceptions about mental health make it more difficult for it to be acknowledged in a serious manner and properly treated. It makes those who are struggling with it discouraged to ask for help and feel alone in experiencing it. It’s just as significant as your physical health since it affects your emotions, behavior, the way you think and how you interact with others. The conversation about mental health should reach adolescents early on to help those who are dealing with their mental illness address and understand it. In raising awareness, it’ll also help lessen the rate of adults that have trouble handling it.


  In approaching this project, I want to create a collage and mixed media zine centered on mental health and it’ll be 10-20 pages. I specifically chose to use collage and mixed media as the art directions for this, because I feel that it’ll truly capture the mood of stress and other emotions that are associated with symptoms of mental disorders. Firstly, I’ll be sharing my own experience in a visual narrative of me battling my mental health from the time I was a teen to the present day. For example, I’d have a page where I’m being told remarks that result in me thinking negatively about myself then weave in the advice I’d give to myself for that moment, using collaged letters. Secondly, I’ll have brief fact sheets for each common mental disorder and a list of healthy coping mechanisms for your overall mental health. Lastly, I plan on listing professional mental health resources for the audience to reference from. The way I’m designing the zine is as if it were a guide to my middle school self, acknowledging any feelings that I felt at the time and later in my life that others may relate to.


  My targeted audience for this project is teens and adults. The messages I want to give them is that they’re not alone in their battles when dealing with mental illness, their feelings are valid, and that mental health is important to care for. I would convey those messages to my audience by visually expressing my experience with mental health, providing encouraging text, and including resources to help them (i.e: hotlines, websites, facts, etc) for the zine. My audience could engage in the resources I provide in the zine. In reaching out to them, I would share my project by having a certain amount of physical copies of the zine made, having a digital version of the zine made to share on all of my social media platforms, and promote it to the psychology departments and clubs on campus.


  This project would fit into my professional aspirations well because it coincides with my future profession, Clinical Psychology. The project would be great for me to reference going into that field of psychology since it’s related to mental health; showing my passion, further knowledge, and understanding of the topic. In doing this project, I’m encouraged to contribute in taking a direct approach in advocating for this cause rather than doing so from afar like I usually do. As an artist, it provides me with more practice and experience with my main art forms, which are photography and collage. I’ll also have new content created to add to my professional art portfolio.



5 Artists (That influenced or inspired this project & connect with the topic) :


1). Elohim (singer, songwriter, and producer)



(Pictured on the left is Elohim herself and on the right is the album cover artwork of her EP BRAINDEAD)


Links:






2). Edvard Munch (Expressionist painter)

    
(Pictured on the left is Edvard Munch himself and on the right is his famous painting titled “The Scream”(1893)


Links:



3). Logic (rapper, songwriter, producer, and author)


   
(Pictured on the left is Logic himself and on the right is the album cover artwork for his single “1-800-273-8255” feat. Alessia Cara & Khalid)


Links:





4). Kirsty Latoya (Illustrator, Poet, & Author)


   
(Pictured on the left is Kirsty Latoya herself and on the right is her digital piece titled “Stress”)


Links:



5). George J. Harding (Fine artist and oil painter)


     
(Pictured on the left is George J. Harding himself and on the right is his painting titled “Happiness Projected”.)


Links:

Other Projects (that inspired this project & connected with the topic) :


ANXIETY GENERATION Exhibition by Stuart Semple


Link:

Sula Collective Issue 3: Mental Health (2015) by Sula Collective


Link:






    When planning this project the first person that came to mind as inspiration was the musician, singer, songwriter, and producer Elohim. Elohim is a huge advocate for mental health especially since she suffers from anxiety, depression and panic disorder. She uses her music and performing as a form of therapy for herself and fans that may suffer from mental illness, reminding them that they’re not alone in battling it. Another musical artist that inspired me for this project is the rapper Logic. Logic grew up in a family that struggled with mental illness and addiction; music was his way to escape those struggles and tell his story whilst pursuing his passion. Within his career he has suffered derealization disorder, vocally expressing his own battles with his mental health and raising awareness of the topic in his music. What resonated me with both musicians is how they used their music and lyricism to be vulnerable yet informative about the topic. In doing that it makes them extend relatability to their audience and that’s one of the goals I want to accomplish in this project.


   The next set of artists that inspired me for this project range from painters and illustrators. The expressionist painter and printer Edvard Munch has repressed his emotions throughout most of his life due to the impact of his father who struggled from mental illness when raising him. He also endured the loss of his mother and sister from tuberculosis during his early childhood. In his paintings he’d use color to set the tone and emotion of it along with the style of symbolism to showcase the meaning of them. Munch’s paintings reflected the deep themes and trauma he’s experienced in his life. Next, the digital illustrator, poet and writer Kirsty Latoya uses her passion for art to focus on addressing the various issues of mental health. She started battling depression when she was 14 due to low-self esteem and suffering from her chronic illness, Marfan’s Syndrome. Later on as an adult when she lost her mother to Marfan’s Syndrome, she revisited her passion for art and used it as a form of therapy; creating self portraits portraying how she felt which also resonated with others who felt the same way too. The last artist that inspired me was fine artist oil painter George J. Harding, who explores the universal portrayals of mental health in his work. Harding uses the style of characterization and ambiguity in his work to convey such emotions stemmed from mental illness and recovery from it. The aspect of all three artists that resonated with me the most is the approach of visual art therapy and self-reflecting in their work. When I was younger the ways that I would cope with my emotions were through writing and drawing how I felt in that moment. I found it therapeutic since I wasn’t comfortable with sharing how I felt aloud most of the time. In doing this project, personally I want to utilize it as art therapy for myself but most importantly communicate those feelings and emotions to my audience so they’re able to understand.






Resource List:
  1. https://www.mentalhealthfirstaid.org/2019/02/5-surprising-mental-health-statistics/
  2. https://www.hhs.gov/ash/oah/adolescent-development/mental-health/adolescent-mental-health-basics/common-disorders/index.html
  3. https://www.centennialmhc.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/Myths-and-Stereotypes-about-Those-with-MH-Disorders.pdf
  4. https://www.mhanational.org/
  5. https://www.mentalhealth.gov/
  6. https://www.who.int/mental_health/en/
  7. https://www.cdc.gov/mentalhealth/index.htm
  8. https://www.medicinenet.com/mental_health_psychology/article.htm#what_are_common_types_of_mental_illness
  9. https://www.verywellmind.com/forty-healthy-coping-skills-4586742
  10. https://www.goodtherapy.org/blog/psychpedia/coping-mechanisms
  11. https://www.psychiatry.org/patients-families/what-is-mental-illness
Posted by at

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)