Overview

In this series of drawings, I hope to capture some aspects of human psychology that I find interesting, while leaving a lot open to interpretation. I like the idea that a few minimal “brush” strokes — digital brushstrokes, that is — can provoke new thoughts and make people question old ones. I make it a point to use only two colors and as few primary strokes as possible, leaving much of the interpretation up to the imagination and the amazing pattern recognition capabilities of the human brain. I titled this project The Mind’s Eye because the mind can “see” whatever it wants to in these drawings. The significance I believe lies in the interpretation, which varies from mind to mind, and not in the physical appearance of these drawings (click the images to view them in a new light).

The Process

Although some of these drawings began without a clear intention and naturally became something I deemed significant enough to develop further, the majority began with intention. These drawings are the products of spontaneous inspiration throughout the semester to convey an idea about the human mind. The most difficult part about the process was deciding how exactly I would portray a specific, and often exceedingly complex, concept in the most clear, concise, and interesting way possible. There were numerous instances in which I had an idea, but could simply not capture the idea in a captivating or thought-provoking way through a drawing in the style I’ve selected for this project. Even though these drawings may seem incredibly minimal or simple, each stroke has been crafted with purpose and to look natural or pseudo-random in relation to other strokes in the drawing. The actual drawing took place digitally with a tablet and stylus, possibly for the worse — the simplicity of “undoing” strokes enabled me to spend inordinate amounts of time attempting to perfect a single stroke in its thickness, proportions, curves, and naturalness. I enjoyed every step of the process, as it was a mixture of problem-solving and graphic design that challenged my understanding of psychological concepts and allowed me to express some of my own ideas about certain topics.

The Mind's Eye

I find the concept of the mind allowing for a different kind of sight to be a truly interesting one. Because there are so many ways the mind may be thought of as an eye, I intended for this drawing to encapsulate the concept into a single image independent of existing interpretations.

One of the most basic ways that the mind behaves as a sort of eye is its ability to construct “mental images” and to visualize concepts in our heads. When someone mentions a juicy cheeseburger fresh off the grill, for instance, you cannot actually see this cheeseburger through your visual system, yet your mind may have conjured images and thoughts powerful enough to trigger physical reactions, such as salivation or stomach growling, in various parts of your body. Moreover, you may begin to envision routes to take home from work after overhearing a discussion about traffic.

Another interpretation of the mind being an eye can be roughly summed up in a phrase: “you are what you see.” Perceiving, interpreting, and analyzing sensory input is a primary way for us to learn and eventually changes and shapes who we are over time, whether that be consciously or unconsciously. Analogously, consuming chemical input, food, is a primary way for us to grow and change who we are physically, which quite literally justifies the original phrase “you are what you eat.” As a very basic example, “monkey see, monkey do” describes a change in an animal’s behavior based on its perception.

I also think that the mind acts as an eye in its ability to perceive the chaotic world around us. Our brains allow us to make use of information gathered from our senses and give us a new awareness of the world, a sort of sixth sense. For example, if I were to watch a person take a gun from a coat pocket and point it at me, the sensory information received from my visual system would be completely meaningless on its own. However, after my brain processes it, I can deduct the intentions of this person and the danger to my life; the mind has allowed me to “see” the reality of the situation.

Environment vs. Genetics

This drawing depicts three creatures: a tree, a DNA double helix, and an infantile lifeform. The lifeform has its mind open and susceptible to the influence of the creatures. The tree represents environmental influence and is the “nurture” side of the nature vs. nurture debate, while the DNA represents genetic and biological influence and is the “nature” side. Unlike John Locke’s view that people get all of their behavioral traits from “nurture” and are a tabula rasa, or blank slate, at birth, the view depicted in this drawing shows both the environment and genetics influencing the infant. This view is more widely accepted today, as both “nature” and “nurture” have been found to contribute significantly to the behavior and intelligence of a person, and I hoped to depict this age-old debate in an interesting way with this drawing.

Eagle Eye

This drawing is a demonstration of the pattern recognition abilities of the human mind, as well as a demonstration of Gestalt psychology, which attempts to explain and understand how individuals derive meaningful perceptions from sensory input. Each stroke appears to have no clear intention, but can be perceived in a variety of ways, as the mind tries to make sense of its relationship to other adjacent or overarching strokes. The image is chaotic, yet we can still draw meaning from it; many different animals begin emerging upon closer inspection. As Gestalt psychologist Kurt Koffka once said, “The whole is other than the sum of the parts.” This phrase holds true with this drawing: each animal may be dependent on the parts that make up other animals and each part may be meaningless in and of itself, but each animal has an independent existence as we perceive it.

Separate Identities

This drawing is supposed to show the separation of the outer appearance of somebody with what is happening in the mind. A devilish character with unfeeling eyes is pictured with a mind that looks intense with thought and feelings. Additionally, the inner mind appears filled with sadness and has a contrasting beauty with the devilish figure’s apparent ugliness. I imagine that this could correlate with the being’s seemingly hidden personality and superego that regulates his ethical and moral standards. Although the figure appears harsh and unfeeling, his mind is at work in an apparent inner conflict of morals or with deeper issues, giving him a sense of introversion. Furthermore, I chose to put the eye on the left and the projection of his inner mind and emotions on the right because we perceive and go by what we see on the left side of a face, since the right hemisphere of the brain is responsible for facial recognition processes, but we express our unguarded emotions more intensely on the left side of our own faces. This added concept of brain lateralization further reinforces the notion that we lack a strong ability to perceive the true inner thoughts and emotions of a person.

Mind of Minds

With this drawing I intend to show a person whose mind is made up of others’ minds. I like to imagine that this being is overwhelmed by the necessity of staying consistent with group norms. I hope for this to demonstrate aspects of social influence, specifically conformity and social validation, as well as to question the concept of individuality. I intended for the pink color of the minds to match the pink color of the inner eyes and outline of the person, signifying that the line between this being’s individuality and others’ individuality is blurred. This person’s unique blue eyes have become mixed and overlaid with basic pink ones, and the outline of the face is slowly being overtaken by a new, pink outline. The pupil-less eyes make this person appear to be unconscious or unaware of what is happening, which I hope shows that even if you may think you are not under the influence of conformity, you very well could be just unconscious of it. To a degree, we all are made up of and influenced by the thoughts and actions of others — much of our behavior is learned directly from others’ behavior. Although this drawing may be an exaggeration, I hope for it to strike as not entirely implausible and as a warning to not be defined by a necessity to align with the opinions and actions of others. Although not directly related, my inspiration for this drawing came from Narciso Yepes, the guitarist who made the song “Anonymous Romance” famous after believing to have written it at the age of seven. However, it turned out he unknowingly plagiarized the song after hearing it played at a performance. This case of cryptomnesia made me realize just how little we know about how many of our thoughts and ideas are actually our own and not just a forgotten memory mistakenly reemerged as something new and original.