c ontents
Psychology and Art Gestalt Fibonacci Shapes Color Emotions Art in Therapy Silver Creations Set & Costume Design Human Creatures Everyday Life Nature Land.e.scape
keyw ords White Black Cycle Color Shape Gestalt Psychology Perception Emotion Sequence Art Design
My approach is holistic and complex, not only as to how I perceive man, but his/her course for achieving self knowledge as well. I see man as a dynamic, energetic system where body, emotion, mind and spirit constitute an integral total, where every part inf luences inextricably the other, in the same manner, every man interacts with his/her environment, whether in a relationship, the family, the society or even still the whole humanity. The depth of the psychodynamic approach, in combination to Gestalt’s focus on here and now , the expanded perspective, the importance of physical awareness, the meaning of a superior self , are some of the theories that have inf luenced my approach. Because I have always had the tendency to focus more on similarity rather than difference, I found in these theories common ground and complementary elements that I have the potential to utilize through photography and vision.
PHYCHOLO
OGY & ART
o Psychology of the arts is a scientific discipline that studies the perception, the knowledge and the characteristics of art. According to psychology’s fundamentals, art can be studied through the perception and the elaborations that take place in the human mind and works in a cultural manner, helping us thus, to analyze it. Emotions always play a leading role in artistic creativity, because any kind of human creativity incorporates excitement. The emotional process that takes place constitutes the following function: from image to idea and from the idea to the emotion that develops. In any kind of art nothing is as important as the emotional reaction that is triggered.
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GESTALT
The Gestalt therapeutic approach is a humanitarian psychotherapy’s discipline. Gestalt therapy’s goal is to help the individual to explore, discover and experience the different faces of his/herself. Gestalt therapy is a form of existential, humanitarian and holistic psychotherapy. Gestalt psychotherapy is based on the theory of the environment: the continuous, in other words, interaction between man and his environment. The word (Form), derives from the past form of the verb stellen (pose/ place/form), is about, as we can understand, the way that something has been placed and formed (gestalt). The team of academics managed to profess (and to prove with the help of the proper methodology through experiments) that the way the form and shape of each piece of data is perceived, depends on its position and function in relation to the entire pattern. The Gestalt outcome is referred to the ability that senses possess to create forms. The fundamentals of object “grouping” are based on the tendency of the human retina to group the optical data. The different kinds of data are perceived optically as if in order and not in segregation.
Some of the rules that govern the grouping of optical data are: • The rule of Proximity: objects that are close are grouped together. • The rule of Similarity: similar objects when it comes to shape or color are presented as a group. • The rule of Closure: un-done shapes are mentally finished off by the observer. • The rule of Good Continuation: the mind tends to continue the shapes even beyond their final points. • The rule of Common Fate: Grouped shapes move and behave as one. • The rule of Simplicity: the mind tends to prefer simple lines and curves as well as symmetry and balance. • The rule of Segregation: for a shape to be distinguished, it has to be different in comparison to its background.
FIBONACCI s e q u e n c e m
Fibonacci’s Arithmetic Revolution is the most well-known of his achievements are undeniably the sequence of numbers which have been given his name: 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, 55, 89, 144, 233, 377, 610, 987, 1597, 2584, 4181, in that each number is sum of two precedents. THE SPIRAL IS SYMBOL OF BIRTH AND CREATION. As it is reported in Jill Purce’s book The Mystic Spiral, the spiral is one of the ancient symbols. We come across this complicated symbol in many ancient cultures. And above all it is the symbol of vital force everywhere. It also symbolizes growth, continuity, the rhythm of breathing and life itself.
I believe that a picture and our optical perception follow a spiral form. Each object supplements the other and together form a picture and a story. Keeping in mind this sequence and its reasoning, my aim is to combine the picture with the spiral and study the mechanisms of engagement of sequence of pictures with various categories of persons. I want to stress the diversity of the individual through the frame of his optical perception.
SHAPES
The cycle plays an important role in my pieces of art and hides inside simplicity and a dynamic symbolic dimension. The cycle, symbol of unity and complement, of beginning and the end, as well as, as far as P lato is concerned, a symbol of the soul, has a timeless substance, since it exists from the archetype years till now. The cycle often takes the form of a dominant luminary sun, while the arrangement of cycles directs the spectator in the fascinating space of our solar system. The cycles as well as, the other geometrical shapes often come from realistic, everyday objects such as a plate, a sign, a candle, objects familiar to men, which accentuate the power of simplicity and balance in the chaotic world of now. They intend to lead our mind into its dimension of time and space. The shapes are dynamic, while the cycles move in space in rhythm giving life to stagnation and to time, a course. Cyclical courses are formed in our every movement in everyday life but even in our whole being. Fictional cycles are formed at the beginning and the end of an action, activity, play, state, goal, journey, even the life itself symbolizing completion.
COLOR
B l ack and w hite domi nance
cd The traits of colors and shapes and their inf luence on man, have been the subject of many scientific studies and have concerned those who embrace different theories and perceptions. The interpretations that are given are diversified, but almost everyone agrees on the main qualities that characterizes each color and shape. It may not have been proven scientifically, the therapeutic inf luence of colors and shapes that is, but certainly colors and shapes can provoke emotions and reactions, can help or prevent mental functions such as attention, focus and to inf luence a man’s mentality.
As a focus on my pieces of art, one can perceive a minimal disposition. Space is defined and restricted. The lack of colors and the black and white dominance aim at projecting through the image, that is based on the bipolar of these two archetype colors, the beauty of f lawless art which knows how to depend on its own power and virtues, preferring thus to address the spectator with sincerity and immediacy. White is active, warm and powerful in opposition to black which is passive, cold and weak. My project’s main goal is to manifest the harmony and the balance that derives from the contrast of these two colors. They are interdependent. One consumes the other and at the same time supports one another. They have the ability to alter one another through a perpetual process of interaction. Life is not black or white, but a scale of colors that f luctuate from one part of the spectrum to the other.
EMOTION
An emotion is a pleasant or unpleasant mental state that is accompanied by slight changes in the organism’s functions and is the result of an incident or an experience. The emotion is a dominant characteristic element of our mental life and inf luences immensely our reactions. In many cases forces itself on our sense of logic and ideas. Many psychologists categorize emotions but without agreeing on the various categories. Their main categorization is that of pleasant and unpleasant. To be more specific to those emotions that are attractive and those that are repellent. The more common and repetitive emotions in a man’s life are these of fear, anger, joy and sorrow.
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ARTIN THERAPY
When an object is create, the observer collects the data he/she wishes and emotions run freely. A connection between the object and the emotions start to take place. The inner need is the core of creativity. Every mental elaboration can be expressed, imprinted through the art which helps sensitivity and the acknowledgement of hidden parts of one’s self. By practicing therapy through the art, we help someone to express one’s dreams, fantasies and experiences. Through therapy, the individual can make his/her own symbols and identify with the image. Consequently, the subconscious begins to form into a visible shape and through the use of symbolism can enrich a man’s experiences.
SILVER CREATIONS Design & Construction: Petros Tsontzos Assistant Design: Mikela Tsontzou
SET & COSTUME
design
IN TRASH W
WE TRUST
MANDARINOS made in china u
creations by Kalpiko Radiki set & photo design: Mikela Tsontzou
/ SPECIAL E D I T I O N
photography & design: Yannis Chatzimichalis costume & accesories design: Mikela Tsontzou
ΤΑ ΜΕΛΗ JΚΘΒΕ
SAMUEL BEKET HAPPY DAYS
\ LORCA BODAS DE SANGRE
VOLT
Ο ΑΝΤΡΑΣ ΜΕ ΤΗΝ ΠΟΥΑ ΓΡΑΒΑΤΑ
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A VERY NICE PLACE
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(NATIONAL MEDEA ) THEATRE
FOSSE
ALISS AT THE FIRE
HUMAN creatures
Face CompleX
s e c o n d
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by mike l a
DAY LIFE
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Š Mikela Tsontzou 2014