SUSAN SPANGENBERG’S “OUT OF MY HEAD” DOLLS GIVE POWERFUL EXPRESSION TO DEEPLY PERSONAL THOUGHTS AND EMOTIONS

AN ARTIST FINDS A SIMPLE, CLEVER WAY TO CREATE VISIBLE LANGUAGE


by Edward M. Gómez


In the field known as communications design and also among linguists who study how languages are used and expressed in written form, the term “visible language” refers to language as a system of communication using visual elements.

With this notion more broadly in mind, lately we’ve been interested not only in how certain artists literally use written language in the paintings, drawings, or other kinds of works they produce as integral parts of such creations but also in the ways in which such art forms may be seen as incorporating examples of visible language.

Susan Spangenberg, “Out of My Head, No.1,” 2024, a doll made with fabric, fabric paint, buttons, a zipper, polyester stuffing, canvas, marker, and a hand-sewn pencil armature; 15.5 inches high x 8 inches wide x 1 inch deep (39.37 x 20.32 x 2.54 centimeters). Featured in the exhibition “Inside My Mind,” curated by Sophie Flack and presented at Fountain House Gallery, New York, September 12 - October 30, 2024. Photo courtesy of the artist

Last year, brutjournal introduced the work of the New York-based artist Susan Spangenberg (Instagram: @straitjacketsusan), whom we described as  “someone who has spent much of her life on a healing path in response to early-childhood traumatic experiences.”

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