PROPOSAL FOR THE INSTALLATION

"INSIDE OUT"

All human feelings can be graphed on a Cartesian coordinate system.

bccor

The X axis - Valence

Every feeling has a valuation, with positive or negative connotations.

The Y axis - Arousal

Each feeling has a level of arousal, with positive and negative ups and downs.

The Z axis - Stress

Every feeling has a positive and negative level of stress.

For example,

(A) The feeling of joy would have a high degree of positive valence, and a high degree of arousal.

(B) The feeling of anger would have a negative valence, and a high level of arousal.

(C) The feeling of sadness would have a negative degree of valence, and a negative or low level of arousal.

(D) The feeling of fear would have a postive valence (because it keeps us from stepping out in front of trains etc.) but would have a negative or low arousal level. (People say, "fight or flight.", but to fight is an action of aggression and anger, and flight is the result of panic.) The true action of fear is to "freeze". Put a gun to someone's head or say, "BOO !" and you will see that this is true.

(The far positive side of stress)

All of these feelings are graphed onto the positive side of the Z axis "stress" when there is something real to be joyful, sad and angry about or something real to be afraid of. However, once we bring these feelings out into 3-dimensional negative Z axis space through stress, some interesting things happen. Our joy becomes mania, delusions of grandeur. Take sadness for no apparent reason and it becomes depression. Irrational fear becomes anxiety. And anger without reason is rage. All human feelings can be charted in this way.

3DCQ

(Imagine each plane above, even the imaginary ones, holding an average of (4) 8"x11" self-portraits)

That being said, I am able to classify each of my 10,800 self-portraits by valence, arousal and stress, and then designate coordinates as pertaining to the chart of human feelings, and place them accordingly in a 3-Dimensional space (museum, gallery or warehouse) that has been previously gridded off.

By suspending the individual self-portraits from the ceiling at appropriate heights and distances from the X,Y,Z intersection or origin, the audience will be able to actually walk around inside my head, and stroll through my feelings, all composed of thousands of individual representations of the outside of my head, or face. And furthermore, upon stepping back, one would clearly be able to see my personality in it's entirety, turning my entire emotional self inside out. And more preferably, the mind of the viewer.

(Pictured below is not a mterialization of the thought experiment "Insode Out" but it gives you an idea of how I started to think of using the self-portraits as data and how I could easily get them off of the wall.)