Philosophy and Art
All doors have keys. Your modern architect
Is in collusion with psychoanalysts:
When planning parents' bedrooms, he insists
On lockless doors so that, when looking back,
The future patient of the future quack
May find, all set for him, the Primal Scene.
-Nabokov, Pale Fire
Philosophy and Art @ Washington University in Saint Louis
In 2022 (with the help of Rebecca Copenhaver) the philosophy and art departments at Washington University began collaborating to put on a yearly art show. In 2023, the theme was The Nature of Memory, and I had the opportunity to engage with artists who used my work on memory and trauma as inspiration for their artworks.
(Artwork below shared with the artists' permission!)
Memory and Trauma
Recurring Dream
Lynn Yuan (lynn.y@wustl.edu)
April 2023
Digital Illustration
7087 × 3163
Artist's Description:
Psychological trauma can affect us in many different ways. For me, my childhood trauma manifests in nightly, vivid anxiety dreams. Set in a Hong Kong-style train carriage – a recurring location in my vivid dreams – Recurring Dream attempts to capture the eerie atmosphere present in the worst of my nightmares.
Owen and Adler
Ben Levine
2023
Archival Inkjet Print
16 x 20 in