Michaela Dives into Dream Theory

Michaela's mind-map on memory.  Picture taken by the Edge Team.

A two-year veteran of the Edge / IP program, Michaela did not take long to identify her focus for the year.  Having researched artists such as Henri Matisse, Joan Mitchell, Cy Twombly, and Judy Pfaff from 2014 to 2015, she entered September by pausing to consider her relationship to her influences.  Michaela concluded that those artists form a sort of artistic "collective consciousness," or memory, that she can tap into in order to inform her future work.  Inspired by this revelation, she embarked to trace the mechanics of memory by researching notable researchers including Franz Joseph Gall, Herman Ebbinghaus, and Karl Lashley (as well as their theories concerning phrenology, the spacing effect, and engrams, respectively).  She has compiled her inquiry using a mind-map (presented at right).

A metaphorical representation of Freud’s
conceptualization of the conscious and
unconscious mind.  Image located at
www.simplypsychology.com.

Most recently, Michaela has begun to explore the theories of Austrian neurologist and father of psychoanalysis Sigmund Freud.  During a recent meeting in Edge, she explained to the faculty that she was interested in Freud's theories concerning the conscious and unconscious mind.  She pulled up a web page via Simply Psychology that she was using to analyze the two parts of mind; she also highlighted a visual metaphor from the site that allowed her to better process the two (presented at left).  The Edge faculty then pushed her concern further by asking about her dreams.  This question prompted a discussion in which Michaela recalled her own recurring dreams, elaborated upon her process of lucid dreaming, and began to interpret not only her own reveries but also those of the Edge Team.

Moving forward, Michaela has declared that she wishes to explore Freud's thoughts on dream theory more deliberately.  Who knows? Perhaps dreams will form the basis for her third and final exhibition at Kildonan...?

Stay tuned for more on Michaela's journey!

(If you have a thought or resource for Michaela, please post in the comments section below.  We would love to hear from you. Also, for more on Henri Matisse, check out his Artsy page here! )