Memory is Art

Author:

Lissenden, Jessie Lee

Area of Honors:

Integrative Arts

Degree:

Bachelor of Arts

Document Type:

Thesis

Thesis Supervisors:

Ann Margaret Shostrom, Thesis Supervisor
Janet Louise Hartranft, Thesis Honors Advisor

Keywords:

memory
art
autobiography
identity

Abstract:

“We imaginatively project ourselves into an immersive ‘scene’ that requires creative free-association in order to articulate its meaning…the main motor of the total installation, what it lives by—is the cranking up of the wheel of associations, cultural or everyday analogies, personal memories….The viewer therefore encounters these works like his own personal, highly familiar past.” -Claire Bishop The articulation of autobiographical memory is elusive. How can it have the most impact on the participants? My intention is to change the conversation about memory from a rare moment of verbal reflection, to a common language that allows contemplation and expression in order to communicate personal identity, making strong connections with other people and allowing for healing. According to neuroscience and theory neither memory nor art are perfect replications of experience. They are RECONSTRUCTIONS of details into a cohesive picture: memory a reconstruction of experience, and art a reconstruction of a subject. Whether the central feeling of an event or subject is comparable to the reconstruction requires RELIABILITY. How do we prove the reliability of a reconstruction? Art, as a tool of communication, must be an honest representation of its subject. Once parallels between memory and art have been affirmed, participation and narrative become the essential component in communication. Then, the implications of a more appropriate means of communicating personal identity through memory and art can be examined using the field of art therapy as an example. In the art pieces I have created I aim to create extraordinary connections to self. As much as I put my own circumstances into a piece, the viewer will tell the story. I may have certain power over a piece, and certain intentions, but as I hand it over, it evolves: like each time a memory is taken out and handled.