Slightly Unbalanced

Slightly Unbalanced is an exhibition of works by contemporary artists that focuses on the issue of psychological neurosis and its presence in much of today’s art. Using themselves and the people around them as fodder for their investigations, 18 artists and artist groups make use of psychology as a lingua franca in 35 works of various media including video art, installation, photographs, paintings, and drawings. In these works, the artists question what constitutes normalcy and what qualifies as neurosis. Psychoanalytical diagnoses divide disorders into three levels: the healthy to neurotic level, the borderline level, and the psychotic level. The term “neurotic” is used to describe people who are extremely capable of functioning, despite emotional suffering. Exploring the afflictions and quirks of functioning people, the artworks in Slightly Unbalanced address what is common, even familiar, especially now that the field of psychology is more than a century old. The artists invite viewers to reconsider their own experiences and opinions, and think about cultural assumptions pertaining to mental health and human behavior. Works in the exhibition address many different issues. Some pieces by well established artists including Louise Bourgeouis, Bruce Nauman, and Cindy Sherman explore narcissism, anxieties and phobias, paranoia and even obsessive compulsive disorder. Younger artists such as Alex Bag and William Pope.L employ performative video to represent the stereotype of the narcissistic artist, a self-obsessed creative persona fixated on praise, adulation or eternal doubt. Beth Campbell, Sean Landers, David Shrigley and other emerging artists focus their works on diaristic or confessional formats, using word and language as a way to communicate uncomfortable internal monologues. While the exhibition is wrought with moments of poignancy, it is also peppered with periods of humor. In choosing to focus on neurosis, these key figures in contemporary art are tapping into a charged and rewarding subject that provokes interest, recognition, occasional discomfort, intermittent humor, and even identification in the viewer. The artists allude to all individuals’ vulnerability and fragility, inviting compassion for fellow human beings. Slightly Unbalanced is a traveling exhibition organized and circulated by iCI (Independent Curators International), New York. The curator for the exhibition is Susan Hapgood. The exhibition, tour, and catalogue are made possible, in part, by the Horace W. Goldsmith Foundation, the iCI Advocates, and the iCI Partners. Local support for the exhibit comes from Kenneth M. Fink, MD, Inc., Mr. & Mrs. Jonathan Andrew Broh, The Children’s Center of Ohio, University Physicians & Surgeons – Department of Psychiatry, The Diane C. & Maurice A. Mufson, MD Family Fund, Bob & Poochie Myers, West Virginia Humanities Council, The Lawrence B. & Shirley Gang Memorial Lecture, and West Virginia Division of Culture & History.