3. Stimulus Discussion and Final Group Decision

When looking for a suitable stimulus to present to my group, I knew I needed to consider a stimulus that wasn't too complex so that it could be translated to movement and still effectively convey the intended message. A topic that came to mind was the prominent presence of slave labour in the fashion industry. This topic is both something I am personally passionate about as well as a subject I saw a lot of opportunity for movement ideas.

(Marla Olivia Photography, 2021)


When considering movement ideas, I thought an interesting concept would be weaving together as a group using repetition to explore mimicking the repetitive patterns of sewing/weaving/folding fabric. I also saw an opportunity for group work if we focused on the mass production of garments where we could implement repetition, cannon, and fragmentation. I also thought the use of a hand gesture motif could be effective. Either to depict the sore, worn hands of the worker, using harsh, repetitive movements, or the well-kept hands of the wearer or possibly using both as a means of showing contrast.


When deciding who's Stimulus we would be working with for our choreography assessment; we concluded that conducting a blind vote would be most effective. Eabhs's Stimulus came on top, getting two votes. There were a lot of solid options presented within our group, notably. Mia


Our Final Stimulus is a portrait series by artist Bryan Charnley. For some background, Charnley had long been diagnosed and medicated for paranoid schizophrenia. In March 1991, Charnley decided to forgo the clinical risk and reduce and eventually stop taking his medication. All the while keeping journal entries alongside painting self-portraits which together he hoped would accurately convey his internal experience unmedicated. (Charnley, 2022) (Charnley, Bohannon, 2022)



 (Charnley, Self Portrait 1, 1991)



The inspiration for this portrait series came about during a conversation with his brother James Charnley where Brian quoted saying:



"Here's what I have decided to do. I'm going to paint a series of self-portraits. I'm coming off the medication to do it. Show what happens as the drugs wear off, just keep on painting so that at the end you get a full portrait of the artist as schizophrene."

 - Bryan Charnley.


So far, our group has concluded that while we will be pulling inspiration from the visuals of Mr Charnley's portraits, our choreography will mainly focus on how he described his experience living with schizophrenia through his journals and the primary delusions he faced. Charnley often described the concept of 'thought broadcasting', a common delusion usually a symptom of a psychotic disorder like schizophrenia, OCD, and bipolar disorder characterised by a person who becomes paranoid or convinced that others can hear, intercept or influence their thoughts or, like in Charnley's case, that their thoughts are being broadcast by television, radio, or the internet. We aim to show a person's descent into becoming increasingly paranoid and disconnected from their 'self' due to these delusions and how isolating this experience can be. I can see a lot of opportunities to use motifs in this piece which I will discuss in a later blog, as well as gestures representing these delusions. Our group also plan on using duets to represent a power imbalance as a separation between the unwell mind and the self. Moving forward, our primary goal while working alongside developing and researching the stimuli is finding music suitable for the piece.  (Ohwovoriole & Block, 2021)


(Charnley, 1991)

 

"I need to make a big statement, something that people can't ignore. Go the whole way. I've been painting about schizophrenia, but I've been doped up all the time. How about I let people know what it's really like? Take the gloves off. The naked truth."  

-Bryan Charnley 




Bibliography:


Charnley, B. (1991) “Self Portrait Series 1.”  Available at: https://www.bryancharnley.info/self-portraits-2/charnley_self_portrait_series_1/ (Accessed: October 20, 2022).


Charnley, b., 2022. Self Portrait Series 19th July 1991 – Bryan Charnley. [online] Bryancharnley.info. Available at: <https://www.bryancharnley.info/self-portraits-2/charnley_self_portrait_series_01/> [Accessed 19 October 2022].


Charnley, B. (1991) Self Portrait 14, Bryan Charnley. Available at: https://www.bryancharnley.info/self-portraits-2/charnley_self_portrait_series_14/ (Accessed: December 5, 2022).


Charnley, J. and Bohannon, N., 2017. Bryan Charnley: Art and the Expression of Schizophrenia by James Charnley & Nick Bohannon. Asylum, [online] Available at: <https://asylummagazine.org/2017/09/bryan-charnley-art-and-the-expression-of-schizophrenia-by-james-charnley-nick-bohannon/> [Accessed 9 October 2022].


Lee, M., Seifert, M. and Cherrier, H., 2017. Anti-consumption and Governance in the Global Fashion Industry: Transparency is Key. Governing Corporate Social Responsibility in the Apparel Industry after Rana Plaza, [online] pp.147-174. Available at: <https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1057/978-1-137-60179-7_5> [Accessed 14 October 2022].


Marla Olivia Photography, 2021. Person on couch with many hands. [image] Available at: <https://www.marlaolivia.com/gallery-1> [Accessed 9 October 2022].

Ohwovoriole, T. and Block, D.B. (2021) What Is Thought Broadcasting?, very well mind. Available at: https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-thought-broadcasting-5101228 (Accessed: October 28, 2022).  

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