Art as Catharsis

¨Designs for Fragile Personalities in Anxious Times¨This startling title of the newest exhibit at Geneva´s Center for contemporary art is aimed at exploring the blurred line between design and art. The trio who worked on this show are testing whether design is necessarily only function or if it can also be considered art. In this case, the exhibitors have created designs that attempt to answer or worst fears: atomic bombs, spiders, aliens etc...

If this exhibit fufilled its purpose, the designs would work as a catharsis. Rub worry beads shaped like atomic bombs and forget your fears. Sit in a chair shaped like an alien and forget being abducted by them. The designers claim that this goal moves their creation into the field of art. The underlying assumption is that catharsis can be one facet of art.

This view of art has been expressed in different ways throughout the centuries. In Baroque times, an artist would hope to inspire the viewer towards meditation or even ascension to God. In contemporary art, many pieces are suppossed to be experiential. The artist wishes to invoke images or elicit feelings from his viewers. In this case it seems that the designers could be using their art to promote feelings of security in the face of strong fears. However, these designers see design as functional and art as something else. Yet this art is still primarily functional - to elicit feelings is also a practical function. It is my theory that perhaps the line between design and art is even fuzzier than imagined.