A frenzied saxophone and wild trombone duet spirals the instruments across the stage. The background of the stage is an abstract painting with bright colors and random rectangular shapes. If you look closely, you can see various expressions from anger to joy.
The City of Asylum hosted a concert on Sunday and an exhibition featuring jazz music by the late Thelonious Monk and abstract paintings by Norman Krenicki. “Music, Visual Arts and Mental Health: Krenicki Meets Monk” The event addressed themes such as mental health and the legacy of trauma caused by the Holocaust.
asylum city on the North Side is an organization that seeks to provide refuge for artists and writers facing persecution in their home countries. The organization also hosts various art events that are free to attend.
Lisa Parker, the creator of the idea for “Klenicki Meets Monk,” is director of Pitt’s Center for Bioethics and Health Law. She said the event will connect issues surrounding mental health stigma and intergenerational trauma.
“This exhibit brings together the ethical issues surrounding mental health and its treatment, as well as the Holocaust, which is part of the legacy of research ethics and bioethics because the experiments were conducted,” Parker said. Told.
Klenicki and Monk have faced challenges caused by bipolar disorder, a state of emotional swing between mania and depression.
Krenicki describes her art as a vehicle for expression, an intuitive process that allows her to place herself in each piece. He added that he became very productive with his art, especially during the manic phase.
“I always worked intuitively. I felt like a universal energy conduit. It just went through,” Klenicki said. “In the 1990s…the drugs were not good and had side effects, so I stopped taking them. rice field.”
Parker said Monk showed a similar pattern because of his condition.
“As far as we know, Monk has had a similar experience. Watching movies with him, you can see his turmoil and exuberance and excitement as he composes and plays. said Parker.
By linking the work of two artists with similar life experiences, Parker hopes the exhibition will shed light on the similarities between people with and without disabilities.
“Knowing that people with mental illness engage in the same kinds of creative and intellectual activities is good for others without mental illness,” Parker said. I treat people with , like you and me.”
Krenicki expressed similar sentiments, stating his hope that art could ease the fears of mental illness.
“By exposing my situation and Monk’s situation and making it relevant to the music and the painting, the stigma may be reduced,” Krenicki said.
in Krenicki website It is centered around educating others about mental illness as well as addressing generational trauma.
“The website teaches about the Holocaust, so both my parents are survivors and they are both mentally ill, so what is important to me is the website. I hope,” said Krenicki.
Thomas Wendt, the event’s drummer, said, “Bright Mississippi” When “crisscross”
“I let the painting tell me what I chose,” Wendt said. “I looked at the painting and he of Monk’s Melody was thinking one. It added a whole new dimension [Monk’s] music. ”
Krenicki also shared that his parents were Holocaust survivors who experienced the horrors of Auschwitz.
“It’s a miracle they were able to have a family and have a life. For example, my mother woke me up screaming in the middle of the night and had nightmares about it,” Kreniki said. “My mother had major epilepsy because of the beatings she received from the German SS. It was a constant reminder.”
Despite his struggles, Klenicki continued to produce work he was proud of. He said he now has access to better medicine and has an improved relationship with his mental health.
“I’m not from the same place, so I’m working slowly. I’m better now, I’m on medication and I’m calmer, so no,” Krenicki said. I work four hours, it’s my therapy, it’s my meditation in a way.”
