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"Melancholy", by Edvard Munch, 1894. Here we see a sad, melancholy man gazing out at the sea. A happy couple can be seen walking together in the background while this man is alone in the foreground. These themes of sadness and depression were quite common in Munch's paintings, which makes him a good case study for my guiding question. He struggled with mental illness for his entire life and was never able to overcome it. Although the art did not cure him, it allowed him to express himself in a way that he could not articulate through words.

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Statement of purpose

My “sad girls” project centers around the creative work that “sad girls” often engage themselves in. Nowadays, a lot of this seems to be done on social media, but before social media existed, “sad girls” were still expressing themselves, just through different methods. Art is often used to show sadness; plays, operas, music, and paintings can convey emotions and are great for demonstrating to the world what the creator is going through. For my project, I wanted to do a deep dive into sad art and the different mediums that people use to express their sadness. I also wanted to see how creating this art affects the creator–does it create a negative feedback loop where the sadness only gets worse, or rather is it a cathartic process that heals the creator? To answer these questions, I first want to look at a wide range of “sad” art and analyze the creator behind it. I then want to narrow my search down to a few famous artists known for making sad art and do deep dives into their lives to see how making art affected them. Van Gogh, Edvard Munch, and Euripides are some people that I am interested in analyzing. The current “sad girl” phenomenon has a definite link to mental illnesses such as depression and anxiety, which are afflictions that many famous artists have also struggled with. I think art can express feelings that people can’t quite articulate and this makes it interesting to analyze in relation to sadness. 

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Archival source:

Charles Olson's Melville Project.

This source, from the university of Connecticut archives, does a deep dive into Herman Melville. It describes his life and looks at the process of writing Moby Dick in particular. This is important because I want to look at the lives of writers and artists to see how creating art affected them. Herman Melville lived a troubled life and many psychology professionals believe he suffered from a form of bipolar disorder. Hopefully, by reading these primary source notes on Melville's life, I hope to gain an understanding of how he used writing as a creative outlet.

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Benton artwork

This piece is an oil painting of St. Michael's Mount in Cornwall, UK. Frederic Leighton made it in 1876. The art is quite interesting and beautiful; the castle on the island in the background is somewhat dark and foreboding, and the shadowy landscape and dark clouds behind it contribute to this image. However, the foreground and the rest of the sky have a calm, pleasant feeling. Nature is a big focus of this landscape, as the only human-made structures are wooden sailboats. To relate this to my guiding question, I did a deep dive into Frederic Leighton. He was rumored to be a homosexual during a time when it was considered socially unacceptable. I plan on doing more research into how he used art to express his more-than-likely sadness and anger at society.

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Database source #2

Drake JE. Examining the Psychological and Psychophysiological Benefits of Drawing Over One Month. Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity & the Arts. 2019;13(3):338-347. doi:10.1037/aca0000179

This source is a psychological study on people's moods when they draw daily. It found conclusive evidence that drawing boosts people's moods and makes them happier in general. This is a great start for my research, because I want to see how creating the art affects people. I think I might look for a similar source about writing because I am mainly focusing on drawing/painting and writing as my two forms of expressing sadness outside of social media.

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Database source #1

Waite A. Introducing Medea. Framework: The Journal of Cinema and Media. 2023;64(1):77-82. Accessed April 1, 2024. https://search-ebscohost-com.ezproxy.lib.uconn.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=mzh&AN=202432210201&site=ehost-live

This source is a deep dive into Medea, a play by Euripides. It is very complicated and tragic, like many of Euripides' plays. There is not a ton of information on Euripides since he lived so long ago, but he was known to be a recluse who most likely had some afflictions. This might be difficult to research so I might pivot to a different, more recent playwright.

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Guiding question

What mediums do people use to express their sadness? Is this a cathartic process for the creator?