Pigeonhole: Present-Day Phrenology

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Exhibition invitation postcard design

ART AND (PSEUDO)PSYCHOLOGY

University of North Dakota Thesis and Final BFA Exhibition

Pigeonhole is driven by psychological theory, with regards to studies of modern social stereotypes and how they relate to crowd watching. Our first impressions of a passerby develop from the traits and behaviors they exhibit. By applying “cognitive shortcuts,” i.e., generalizations of a person’s assumed social group, crowd watching becomes a hotbed for stereotyping. As commentary on stereotype development, the book explores the effects of scrutiny and the dehumanization of applying labels.

Crowd watching is a generally harmless source of entertainment and artistic inspiration that has occurred since humans first gathered in groups. It requires no specialized equipment other than one’s eyes and ears, and a willingness to intrude in another’s business. Nineteenth century French flâneurs and twentieth century Ashcan painters were renowned crowd watchers, wandering city streets, examining society, and recording their findings in art. They urged their viewers to reevaluate the complexities of urban life, which are often disregarded due to the speed at which we function. The series of prints uses similar principles and methods as the practice of bird watching, with the added scientific consideration of ornithologist John James Audubon.

A conflation of the perspectives of amateur researchers and artists, Pigeonhole uses dialogue and black and white illustration reminiscent of phrenological guidebooks, which saw wide circulation in the twilight of the Age of Enlightenment. Phrenology—now discredited as pseudoscience—was founded on the belief that a person’s personality and intellect could be determined by the size and shape of regions of the skull, and each bird print in the series has been evaluated with the same reasoning. As the adage goes, “Birds of a feather flock together,” and Pigeonhole investigates a social environment where subculture, economic status, gender, health, and age have come to be viewed dependent of prejudice and personal insecurities, causing prolonged societal conflict.