First, the original promotion and artist statement:
Visit the Downtown Improvement District Office September–October to see Art Alliance member Randi Anderson’s exhibition, The Mind is a Frightening Place, an exhibition of acrylic paintings and poetry that explore the inner world of desires, fears, and mental illness.
Is your mind a safe place? I wonder how many, if any, can say that it is. In the endless network of memories, desires, fears, and associations, there is always some risk of coming across something unpleasant or threatening that is hard to cope with. What’s more, too many people suffer trauma or mental illness that turns the mind into what feels like an active, aggressive enemy. Through paintings and poetry I seek not only to acknowledge what so many are experiencing, but also to leave the viewer with hope. The mind is frightening, but the fear can be faced.
I loved how this show came together! I worried it would seem too sparse and disjointed at first, or that the poetry and paintings would not mesh well. On the contrary — they illuminated each other nicely! My thanks to the Art Alliance and the State College D.I.D. Office for this opportunity to share my work and its message.
Area 1:
Blender Brain (acrylic), “Self-Portrait, Spinning” (poem), Day to Day, Week to Week (acrylic)
Area 2:
The Abyss (acrylic), “Aunt Sarah” (poem), I’m Having a Good Day (acrylic), I looked into the void and saw it was love (acrylic), “Revelation” (poem)
Area 3:
Crown of Forsakenness (acrylic), “Snap a Photo” (poem), Path of Thorns (acrylic), Crown of Desire (acrylic), “The Kiss” (poem), Path of Fire (acrylic), Crown of Anxiety (acrylic), “Death and Pigeons at Dawn” (poem), Path of Blood (acrylic)
Area 4:
Gender Roles (acrylic), “Making Do” (poem), They Turn Your Dream to Shame (acrylic)
Area 5:
At the Edge of Nonbeing (acrylic), “A Choice of Realities” (poem), Taking on Flesh (acrylic), “Ecdysis” (poem)
Thanks to all who came to see it!
