Ditto - Lobotomy, Shock Therapy
LakeLyn Bagge

“In what terms should we think of these beings, nonhuman yet possessing so very many human-like characteristics?” -Jane Goodall 

How can you understand it, when I don’t even understand it? 

Ditto was created from the idea of the study of animal behavior revealing insight into how animals interconnect with one another and their surroundings to understand why they act in the manner they do. By examining an animal's way of behaving, humans can become familiar with their own behaviors, known as comparative psychology. Animal behavior research is especially applicable to the investigation of human behavior with regard to the ways animals interact within their own species. The behaviors of animals in distressed or forceful circumstances can be analyzed to help discover answers in comparative conditions to humans, or to give knowledge for managing anxiety, depression, or similar mental health disorders. 

Institutions were created to test on both species to gain insight into this matter. Not all institutions were humane. During the 19th Century, inhumane mental illness treatments were established to “try to understand”, but rather were intended to test and separate individuals from the rest of the population to help their society. Many of the treatments enacted on mentally ill patients throughout history have been sensational scientific discoveries that later turned out to be nothing more than a myth rather than actually benefiting the patient. Established in the late 1930s, Electric Shock Therapy treatment was brought into the United States to, therefore, shock the mental illness out of the patients. The popular treatment Lobotomy, used during the 1940s, was a prescribed remedy in psychiatric cases that were deemed as severe. This procedure consisted of surgically removing the connections in the frontal lobes of the brain to ensure mental stability. Many of the inhumane mental illness treatments were soon rid of in the 1960s to the 1980s, due to the grim effects. Not only can humans relate to animals from their behaviors, but also by the treatments they endure. 

In my in-home gallery, I installed thirty pieces of 18” x 24” drawing paper, spray-painted with a stencil to create the appearance of wallpaper in Ditto. This stencil design emulates the time period in which inhumane mental health treatments were abolished. The idea of wallpaper came about when I finally decided to have an open conversation with my mother about my own mental health illnesses. I soon came to the realization that talking about mental health was not a topic of conversation in a household, due to the stigmas and misconceptions behind it. The wallpaper simulates reproduction but also the handmade quality to it. In the same way, I am simulating and reproducing human emotion and treatments through comparative psychology in these animals. The title Ditto, came about when thinking about the hoaxy, oddity qualities in the paintings. Ditto is another funny or odd way to say the same. Since I am using comparative psychology research to create my work, the title became very fitting by saying humans are the same as animals, so ditto. 

In my first piece Shock Therapy, a 5’ by 4’ oil painting, a monkey with a metal bowl on its head represents the electric shock therapy treatment that was used in the 1930s. A monkey is an animal that holds a lot of similarities to humans in the ways they act and handle situations, as well as their bodily demeanor. In the second piece Lobotomy, a 5’ by 4’ oil painting, the squirrel is holding a fork that is being inserted into its eye to represent the treatment of lobotomy. Humans can relate to the actions and thought processes of squirrels more than one would expect. Squirrels are known for being quite stubborn in many ways, including how they gather their food. Humans are very stubborn and selfish creatures to pursue endeavors that would benefit their own careers. Squirrels also have problem-solving tendencies in which they evaluate many options before acting upon it, in the ways humans do. By choosing two large paintings, as well as a 10’ by 9’ wall covered in wallpaper, this creates an environment that is very overwhelming to the audience because of the busy patterns and oddity in the images of animals. In both of the paintings, the background has an era-specific pattern relating to when each of the mental health treatments that were in use. The flat, two-dimensional patterned background allows the viewer to transition from foreground and background simultaneously. The pattern background creates a conflict visually for the viewer because it is layered behind a realistic, dimensional image of animals and human-made objects. Another element used in the piece is household objects. Household objects in the paintings are used to signify the operations that are used in the inhumane mental illness treatments. I decided to used household objects instead of the instruments that were used during the procedures, to show the overlapping connection that humans and animals can relate to each other in the ways they are treated and tested on, as well as the psychological similarities of mental illness. 

The engulfed space in wallpaper evokes a sense of domestic environment, bringing this conversation into a space where it is not often discussed and can be seen as tabooed. Ditto is shown in a household setting, furthering the notion of bringing up the topic of mental illness into the domestic space. Upon closer inspection, the viewer can see images of animals, man-made objects, as well as enhanced detail of era-specific patterns. The abnormal image layered on top of a pattern that, when the audience enters the room, makes the viewer feel uncomfortable. Images of different animals acting strangely with these human-made objects, layered on top of a repeating pattern, disrupts the communication between the artwork and the viewer. The accumulation of images relays the message of anxiousness, making the viewer succumb to acute feelings of those with mental illness. When the viewer steps away, the repeating pattern is then brought to attention again. Repeating wallpaper patterns is a crucial significant factor in this piece. Psychotextiles stimulate the senses in our brains by investing in the relationship between artistic designs, images, and brain activity. Colors and shapes can influence one’s emotions and often times alter moods. Wallpaper patterns from different eras and the particular works of art can make us feel specific emotions. The dark, comedic aspect of the work comes about when visually looking at the pieces. The animals painted read to the audience as funny and cute. Until the viewer looks further into the work, the seemingly adorable animals have then transformed into the darker meaning of the inhumane treatments that were once used to treat mental illnesses. 

Ditto combines the studies of art and graphic design, as well as the experiences of large-format printing of designs and patterns. Artists that influenced this body of work include Murakami, Walton Ford, Sean Landers, Fallen Fruit, Tim Ebner, and Kehinde Wiley. They have done works around the ideas of animals and/or the inclusions of patterns. Images of different patterns from specific eras, accumulatively relay to the message of anxiousness similar to walking into a forest of Murakami's, where things seem cute but actually subverts it to the grotesque. In Walton Ford’s work, he offers us seemingly scientific didactics referencing Audubon. Among closer inspection, the animals are partaking in very complicated human psychology interactions and relationships. The dramatic use of patterns and textiles in Wiley’s work integrates foreground and background in such a simple way. The wallpaper also draws in Sean Landers’ humor and playfulness, in the same way, that Fallen Fruit provides the viewer with an immersive experience of architecture being transformed by pattern. Tim Ebner and Sean Landers show the down trot and the pathetic, hoaxy quality in their art. Although my body of work does not go into that category of extreme hoaxy art, they dance real close to the edge. The message and intent behind the artwork emerge because of the humor and oddity that is involved. 

To learn more about LakeLyn's work visit:
https://www.lakelynbagge.com