Frames of Mind--Essay Analysis

Pablo Piccaso, Weeping Woman, 1937

Perspectives on Fear, Saskia Verlaan

1.

Grand Canyon	Sense of loss, panic, felt infinitely small, abandonment…heightened fear set in as young child.
Cubsim (Weeping Woman)	Grotesque fashion, fractured view, multifaceted, air of absurdity, an amalgamation of perspectives
The Village Voice	Effects of fear on mind, hormones, waves of panic, unbearable becomes unforgettable, fractured memory becomes two perspectives on single plane.
Rats	Invaded, lurking, terror & pity, natural innocence, caused strong sense of hatred and urge to kill & erase source of fear
Cubism	Answers are evading, confusion, composite views—portrait that is faithful to characteristics of human being

2. annotated in text

3. “tend to think of my memories as shoeboxes…” … Verlaan came to understand that her “ideal shoebox logic” does not exist. She cannot qualify any clear, coherent form to store in her mind. Instead, she decides that her mind can only be understood through its confusion and distortion. A shoebox metaphor works because it is a solid, constant shape on the outside, but always contains something unique and different on the inside.

4. By examining Picasso’s painting, she discovers that, while his paintings seem to be multifaceted with seemingly opposite and unnatural aspects, they are in actuality giving a sense of truth inherent to her identity. She equates this idea to her complex mixture of fears and emotions that she is unable to sort out—and seems to better understand the complexity that exists within the self.

5. I think the most important use of analysis is when she begins her conclusion and ties together her struggle with multiple fears/emotions and compares them to the way in which Picasso chose to portray multiple aspects of one figure—they appear mangled but are in fact truth forged together in an unconventional way, similar to the way the mind forges/process thoughts and experiences.

1. Verlaan uses the “rats” example to show two things: 1) there was a logical, sequential occurrence of events that she can recall quite accurately. She can cite details and the chronological order that her experience happened. But then, 2) the end result of the horrifying experience leaves her with very strong emotions that she can make no sense of. So she goes from understanding and remembering, to being lost for answers and order. She interprets this as a troublesome, hard-to-classify experience that intrigued her.

2. I think Verlaan tells us that each experience we have creates these jagged perspectives. The fear we experience leaves us with non-linear, loose emotions, which live in our mind as these jagged perspectives that pop up from time-to time when we experience some form of fear. But in the end, it is crucial to self-development to understand that it is not only impossible but unnecessary to try and form a solid reasoning for these occurrences in the mind. The complexity of human minds call for much more than solidity…it calls for synthesis of the various experiences. 

(questions from page 76-77)