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All people have their own psychological quirks;
we accept this as an essential element of human
nature. During the past fifteen years, more and
more artists have been probing these peculiarities,
exploring neurosis as a primary subject of their
art. Slightly Unbalanced features art that deals
with a range of psychological tendencies, including
anxiety, obsessive behavior, depression and narcissism. The artists question what constitutes
normalcy, and what qualifies as neurosis, a
slippery and suggestive endeavor.
The exhibition spans four distinct thematic
sections. The first one features several artists
(Bourgeois, Nauman, Sherman, Kelley, and Calle)
who have introduced new psychological imagery
and content into recent art, building a foundation
of artistic possibilities. The second section coalesces around artists who play a performative
role in their own videos; most of these explore
the cultural stereotype of the narcissistic creative
persona, such as the idiosyncratic, manipulative
character named “Lois” in Harry Dodge and
Stanya Kahn’s work Winner. The third section
focuses on diaristic or confessional formats,
as if the viewer is bearing witness to different
individuals’ inner monologues, or reading their
diary entries. The last section, which includes
several sculptural installations, explores the
house as a fertile metaphor for the mind—the
domestic interior as a stand-in for the psyche.
The field of psychology is 150 years old, and
many of its basic concepts and terminology are
embedded in our presuppositions about how
people think and act, what drives and motivates
us. The artists whose works are presented in Slightly Unbalanced, in choosing to concentrate
on neurosis, have tapped into a charged theme
that provokes a range of responses, including
discomfort, recognition, empathy, and humor.
Their development of psychologically loaded
subject matter provides a deeply enriched
vocabulary for contemporary art.
The catalogue for this exhibition includes
an essay by curator Susan Hapgood, a text by
psychologist Susan M. Andersen, and brief
statements by the artists. Hapgood is director
of exhibitions at iCI.

Harry Dodge and Stanya Kahn, Winner (video still), 2002
Exhibition Itinerary
Chicago Cultural Center, Chicago, Illinois
January 26, 2008 - April 13, 2008
AVAILABLE
May 2008 - February 2009
Huntington Museum of Art, Huntington, West Virginia
March 13 - May 24, 2009
AVAILABLE
June 2009 - August 2009
Paul and Lulu Hilliard University Art Museum, Lafayette, Louisiana
September 18, 2009 - December 31, 2009
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