My mind runs wild with associations as I look at this photograph.
The toothpicks are desperately trying to hold things together…..
If I look custom made and very expensive, perhaps you won’t notice my humanity…..
This kind of “put together” look is only available to the privileged few….
You can’t see me sweat, yet, but my strategy has some holes to it…
I will use my drinking like armor: cocktail armor; just to name a few.
In much of American culture we disdain vulnerabilities. Yet maturity, wisdom, fulfilling relationships and meaningful work require our full humanity. In psychology, there is a concept of attempting to split off the parts of our inner selves we are not comfortable with and project these unwanted parts onto others. It is as if they now exist outside of ourselves and in the “others” we dislike. This “othering” is a losing proposition but anxiety can drive it as a strategy in the short run.
Parts and wholes are separate words that make it seem as if that separation was real.
The idea of parts and wholes is a theme of John Baldessari’s work. He says he keeps trying to figure out the difference but he never gets it right, because a whole can become a part and a part can become a whole.
In this video clip, he talks about his ideas that have developed over the years and in particular the work for this exhibit. One of my favorite parts is how he looks right before he eats a cookie brought by a member of his work group. You can see the happiness in his eyes and a sweet vulnerability that a hand was offered in kindness.
Be well,
Marlene
Photograph from @pavel.hejny_photography; project “SURFACES” .