Spring Break
Science and art merge at inkblot exhibition
Noah Cohen
Issue date: 1/18/08 Section: News
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The exhibit was meant to expose the inkblot as both a means of art, as well as a "scientific tool" used to study personalities and perception, according to a University news release.
"Both what psychological patients do and what I do is interpret the shape - patients do it verbally while I am doing it visually," Langdon explained.
In addition to Langdon's art at the exhibit, Zillmer provided a series of clinical responses to each inkblot so attendees could see the types of responses each piece of art elicited.
"We decided not to overwhelm the audience, but only show one response per card for a total of ten responses," Zillmer said.
The interpretations of each ink blot ranged from "predictable and 'normal' readings, to those of the clinically disturbed," the news release wrote.
The process for making the inkblots is random according to Langdon. "I don't know what they are going look like until I unfold them [the inkblots]," he said.
Zillmer and Langdon turned to Ephraim Russell at Drexel University's Leonard Pearlstein Gallery to ensure that viewers could appreciate the exhibition.
A professor of visual studies and curator at the Pearlstein Gallery, Russell was responsible for making sure the viewers could fully experience the inkblot at the gallery.
A consideration for Russell was how to display the clinical inkblots in an artistic format.
"John's work has many psychological facets; his understanding of symmetry and ambiguity is practical as well as theoretical, and thus the borders of what is art and what is science becomes blurred," Zillmer said.
Zillmer stressed the interdisciplinary work of art and science coming together and said that before the exhibit was even planned, he hosted a talk at the Society of Professional Assessment on the inkblots with Langdon.
"The talk was so much fun and it was well received that we thought an exhibit would be worth doing in terms of actually showing the inkblots," Zillmer said.
The project began when Zillmer first met Langdon at a lecture about the popular Dan Brown Novel The DaVinci code for which Langdon designed the typography. As a clinical psychologist, Zillmer was intrigued at Langdon's use of inkblots.
He had a simple proposition for Langdon.
"If you show me your inkblots, I will show you mine," Zillmer said.
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