Arts

A journey to the center of the mind

New exhibit at Vermont Institute of Contemporary Arts challenges patrons to explore the unconscious

Have you ever wondered what role dreams, the subconscious, and the unconscious play in creating and apprehending strange, abstract works of visual art?

The Vermont Institute of Contemporary Arts (VTica) presents “The Mysterious Mind,” an exhibit of 70 visual and sculptural works speaking directly to the subconscious through the insights of Jungian “depth” psychology.

As VTica explains, “Five extraordinary New England artists exhibit archetypal images whose meanings may be understood mostly by our intuitive and instinctual selves. We learn to understand the meanings of these provocative visual symbols that are put before us.”

The exhibit is on view through March 24.

Michael Conforti, the director of the Assisi Institute of Brattleboro, will give a two-part lecture, “Interpreting Fresh Spiritual Meaning through Visual Symbols,” providing intellectual background on many of these enigmatic works. Part one is Friday, Feb 8; part two is Friday, Feb. 15. Both start at 7 p.m.

The artists are Fran Bull, Nina Benedetto, Joan Curtis, Thomas McGraw, and Mareva Millarc, each of whom has strong New England connections in where they studied, live, exhibit, and support art communities, centered mostly on Vermont and Massachusetts but certainly not limited there.

According to Abby Raeder, VTica's executive director, “The Mysterious Mind” is a courageous leap into the field of Carl Jung's (1887-1961) depth psychology. Jung is considered the father of analytic psychology, and is best known for his concepts of the psychological archetype and the collective unconscious.

As Raeder explains, Jung believed artists had an inherent wisdom that they convey through their art using symbols and imaginative imagery. Jung acknowledged one's creative forces as essential in developing a person's wholeness.

“The 70 pieces of art in the show are trying to use visual art to speak directly to the unconscious,” Raeder says. “I have always been fascinated by the nature of creativity. Where does this artistry come from, and why are some able to tap into their creative pulse and others are unaware it even resides within?”

In his lecture, Conforti will address the power of the image and its psychic energy to foster personal and collective advances. He will discuss the creative process and how it is that images deeply affect our lives.

From his 30 years of clinical work and experience in working in the realm of dreams and images, and his work as a film script consultant, Conforti will discuss how to cultivate a relationship with the creative psyche - and how to translate these images' meanings into our lives.

“The artist carries the yearnings of soul into the world. Theirs is a life lived close to the source. With an ear to the sea, they listen, and capture the whispers of another world, of a life living in wait. Theirs is a representational process, needing to capture the images which portends of this advance, to this meaning which we as a collective cannot see,” Conforti says.

Inside the art

According to Raeder, abstract art lends itself to being read in terms of archetypal imagery and symbolism.

“All the artists in this show are well-versed in depth psychology,” she says. “I was surprised how much each of them knew about Jung.”

For example, she says, artist Nina Benedetto writes about her work, “The multi-layered imagery of my work is prompted by an intuitive response to world events and cultures, nature and Jungian psychology, and the conventions of visual and verbal language. The title of each work provides a literal or metaphorical frame of reference into the visual riddles of mixed metaphors, puns, illusions, allusions, and symbolic thought.”

Challenging the audience

Raeder says “The Mysterious Mind” is dynamic and cutting-edge and, like much of what VTica strives for, asks much of patrons.

“It is safe to say, no one has seen an exhibit of this caliber in our region, bringing together courageous artists willing to express themselves in their own unique way,” she says.

“We sometime get too comfortable in our own personal silos. I ask, Is your familiar, safe silo all you really want from life? We want to push the envelope at VTica, encouraging all to open their eyes and discover a new way of seeing. What have you got to lose?”

VTica is a non-profit gallery-museum-school dedicated to supporting the innovative contemporary artist and creating an inviting space to engage the community through diverse thought-provoking art works and events.

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