Presence of Mind

Citeable URL: https://scholar.colorado.edu/concern/articles/7h149q53v

Abstract

This project uses the gifted monologist Spalding Gray - who committed suicide in 2004 - as a focus for an investigation into the compelling connection between creativity and mental illness, particularly manic-depressive illness or bipolar disorder. Its central metaphors - the condemned Sibell-Wolle Fine Arts building and the mind/body interface - provide both concrete and abstract frameworks for this investigation. The formal aspects of the project - a series of video projections triggered by an interactive interface - are constructed so as to provide the viewer with some empathetic understanding of both the frustration and creative potential of manic-depressive illness.

Creator