At this time when things are re-shaping themselves I thought I’d offer my take on an artist who was famed for blocking his world with colour and geometry: Mondrian. At the time I created it I was attending a DBT course aimed at supporting autistic people.
Life within Therapy
I created this Mondrian inspired grid piece for a support worker on the DBT course I was attending. She was interested in how I saw the DBT therapy, and how I interacted with the neuro-typical world around me. Basically, she was interested in me.
So I created this image to make concrete the feelings I find hard to express:
- The left-hand shapes are all in colours at the hot end of the spectrum. Vibrant. Direct. Powerful. There are primary and secondary colours. More importantly they each interact with at least one other. There is cohesion and regularity.
- On the right-hand side the shapes barely touch, and one does not interact at all. This separate block is the only one that interacts with the left-hand side through the intermediary yellow square. The colours are predominantly on the cool end of the spectrum and there are no secondary colours.
In therapy, as in life, I see very few spaces in which to interact with neuro-typicals. Hence the one yellow square. My life can be disjointed: shutdowns and meltdowns interspersed with periods of calm; depression and mania bouncing around my headspace when in a bipolar cycle. There is no cohesion and little regularity.
But I wouldn’t want it otherwise.
I enjoy my individuality, having come to terms with who I am years ago.
Inspiration
Composition with Red, Blue, and Yellow: Piet Mondrian, 1930
(extract from composition)
Having read art commentaries on Mondrian’s work I do not feel I understand enough to give other than my own thoughts.
Apparently he worked on classic landscapes before adopting a Cubist approach to the theme. He pared away at this approach until reaching his own very individual style: black and grey, pure primary colours, all contained within geometric forms and grids. Still representing landscapes, his juxtapositions of line and colour were meant to indicate the harmonies and balances within the natural world.
I found the explanations of his work somewhat overblown, which only detracted from the power and simplicity for me. I have admired Mondrian’s work for a very long time. Coming face to face with one of his canvases in an art gallery is powerful. The lines and shapes are clean and pure; the work balanced and dynamic. But landscapes? I leave that to the experts.
I hope you have enjoyed my take on Mondrian and how I have used his style to interpret my take on life and therapy. If you have, please like, share, and comment.
Thank you for reading.
Stay well. Stay safe. Stay alert to those around you.
Marilyn X
marilyn unmasked 