| “Aren’t all artists crazy?” How many times have we heard or said these words, after uncomprehendingly searching for meaning that is not immediately obvious in any artwork or art show? We often ask attendants or curators, "What did the artist mean by that, or what was s/he trying to say?" Artists themselves are not always eloquent in expressing their creative ideas or even in describing their artistic processes. So why do we differentiate between artists who have this innate need to create, and artists with mental illness who may have the same need?
The aim of this exhibition is to ask the audience to re-examine the creative process and mental illness.
In pairing the work of Fountain Gallery artists with that of established photographers of the 20th century, the viewer is asked to “see with artists’ eyes”; thus the title of this show: Eye of the Mind.
Six Fountain Gallery member-artists whose work is defined by the use of a camera, have been paired with established artists including Weegee, Lee Friedlander, Morton Bartlett, Richard Shaver, Ralph Eugene Meatyard and Hans Bellmer.
This pairing is reflected in the juxtaposition of similar visual images, so that the viewer sees what the artists saw as they focused their cameras.
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