Confessional Art

My grandmother, whom I call “Ama” died last March 2017. Seeing her die in her bed, twice, as the doctors tried to revive her, I feel like I have not been right since then. Expressing my emotions has always been difficult, as I was also emotionally and socially abused growing up. Art had always been my gateway. So, when she died, my family tasked me to draw her portrait which was displayed at her wake and funeral. I was also tasked to deliver a eulogy in her honor. I found that art was a way for me to combat grief. It works for me repeatedly. This thesis will be about trying to explore that art could be used as therapy with the use of my personal experience, social media exchanges, artist interviews with the mentally ill and those who are not, cases of artists in history, and psychology theories.

August 2017, six months after Ama died, I was having my internship at Sining Kamalig Art Gallery. I was tasked to help a group called Boxless Society, a support group for mentally ill artists for an exhibit. During the expanse of the event, I got the inspiration and testimony on how they could express themselves through art and made it much easier to manage their psychosis. One of the exhibiting artists, Elaine De Guzman who is Bipolar, had a manic episode and was not able to sleep and eat, for instance on the early hours of 12 of August 2017, the day of the opening. Instead, she made hand-painted stickers to be given during the opening night.

Let Aliwalas, a volunteer for Virlanie foundation, came to the exhibition opening of Sining Kamalig and suggested that the Boxless Society conduct an art workshop for the mentally ill children who become violent when they are unable to express themselves. Amos Manlangit also testifies to this phenomenon when he was a guest speaker for a seminar for SPED parents and teachers. Titled, SPEDMINAR 2017: Brighter, Shedding Light on Different Methods of Therapy, he said that children who have difficulty in expressing and communicating feelings, particularly in words, develop a mental disorder if it is left unaddressed. Along with theories associated with creativity like Guillifford, Lowenfield, Sternberg, Torrance, Gardner and Renzuli, he said, “The Creative Process provides opportunities for verbal and non-verbal communication” and that even children with a mental diagnosis or exceptionality, can overcome come it by having a means of expression, like Arts.

Moreover, it is not only people with mental diagnosis have the difficulty in expressing themselves, but everyone else, just like I am with my grief. I therefore aim to study myself and what I feel, with references, to give a testimony on how Art can be used as a form of therapy, in an artist’s point of view.

Confessional art was met with a cautious, and to some extent, negative reception as historically, confession is normally undertaken behind closed doors - to a priest for example. Confession is also associated with shameful admissions; however these outpourings represented by the artist are only deemed so, again, due to the societal norms created by western patriarchy. For example, when Tracey Emin dared to use her experiences of abortion, it was shocking to some, as it is not only a subject rarely covered in contemporary art, but her stance on the subject was controversial.

Degree Thesis for Entrepreneurship in the Arts, Master of Culture and Art. Master Degree Programme in Culture and Art, Novia University of Applied Sciences, Jakobstad 2016, Finland. In this paper I aim to discuss the boundary between fiction and nonfiction within the field of arts. This is done by analysing and discussing the fine line in between fiction and reality in my own artwork "I wanted to be your wolf, but you never cried", and comparing it to other contemporary artists and works of art. My study consists of two parts. In the first part I try to sort out the concept of narrative, the difference between fiction and nonfiction, and the characteristics of narrative art and confessional art. In the second part I reflect on the process I went through in "I wanted to be your wolf, but you never cried", what it became, and what will possibly happen next.

Degree Thesis for Entrepreneurship in the Arts, Master of Culture and Art.
Master Degree Programme in Culture and Art, Novia University of Applied Sciences, Jakobstad 2016, Finland.

In this paper I aim to discuss the boundary between  fiction and nonfiction within the  field of arts. This is done by analysing and discussing the  fine line in between fiction and reality in my own artwork "I wanted to be your wolf, but you never cried", and comparing it to other contemporary artists and works of art.

My study consists of two parts. In the  first part I try to sort out the concept of narrative, the difference between  fiction and nonfiction, and the characteristics of narrative art and confessional art. In the second part I reflect on the process I went through in "I wanted to be your wolf, but you never cried", what it became, and what will possibly happen next.

"Klang & Glaube. Johann Walter und Georg Spalatin", Neue ständige Ausstellung im Priesterhaus Torgau , since May 21, 2017.

Im Torgau des 16. Jahrhunderts wirkten zwei Persönlichkeiten, deren Namen eng mit der Entwicklung und dem Gelingen der Reformation in Sachsen verknüpft sind. Beide waren Wegbegleiter Martin Luthers.

Johann Walter half Luther bei der liturgischen Neugestaltung des Gottesdienstes und gründete kurz darauf die erste evangelische Stadtkantorei in Torgau. Georg Spalatin war einer der wichtigsten Weichensteller der deutschen Reformation und einer von Luthers engsten Freunden. Beide Männer hielten sich in Torgau auf: Walter lebte beinahe 45 Jahre in der Stadt, Spalatin nur vorübergehend. Acht Jahre lang war er Eigentümer dieses Hauses, dessen Geschichte die Ausstellung beleuchtet. Zeitweise wohnte er auch hier.

Die Ausstellung führt in das Leben und Werk der beiden Persönlichkeiten ein und vermittelt die Bedeutung der Residenzstadt Torgau als eines der Zentren der Reformation.