My 1975 Comic Book Show at the Sears Mall in Anchorage, Alaska

Memes as Visual Self-Affirmations

Don Mangus

Don Mangus

Don Mangus

Don Mangus

Don Mangus

Don Mangus

Don Mangus

Don Mangus

Don Mangus

Don Mangus

Don Mangus

At first I was just fooling around having fun on Facebook, but then it struck me -- making your own ego-boosting memes might have some therapeutic value for some folks. Sort of like a visual self-affirmation statement. Try it out. It's like a publicity campaign for your self-esteem. Narcissists need not bother, though. Speaking of which -- don't worry, I made these memes over the span of many months. I just collected them together here, before I delete them from my tablet. Onward!

From yee Wiki:

Self-affirmation theory is a psychological theory that focuses on how individuals adapt to information or experiences that are threatening to their self-concept. Claude Steele originally popularized self-affirmation theory in the late 1980s, and it remains a well-studied theory in social psychological research.

Self-affirmation theory contends that if individuals reflect on values that are personally relevant to them, they are less likely to experience distress and react defensively when confronted with information that contradicts or threatens their sense of self.

Experimental investigations of self-affirmation theory suggest that self-affirmation can help individuals cope with threat or stress and that it might be beneficial for improving academic performance, health, and reducing defensiveness.

Art School Memory: The Unbearable Humbling of Being (an Artist)

Robert Motherwell studio wall

This shot of Robert Motherwell's studio wall reminds me of my "Dr. William Jordan story." You see how overshot paint/ink marks were made on the backdrop wall behind the art? Well I had a similar pattern on my own backdrop in my Graduate studio at SMU -- only there were no paintings pinned up this one time. I had just "cleared the decks." Dr. Jordan happened by, and he thought that the backdrop was my actual artwork. 

As a fan of Cy Twombly and other artists of that era, he began to lavish high praise on this "work." Since Dr.  J. was one of the finest art historians I have ever known, and was responsible for curating the fabulous Meadows Museum collection, including those Velazquez and Goya masterworks, I was not about to interrupt or correct his assumptions. 

Truth be known, as a neophyte Grad student, constantly challenged by my faculty over my searching efforts -- I was also "starved for compliments." So, I politely soaked it all in. After he left, I was both flattered and embarrassed by this development. 

Welcome to the bitter-sweet and ambiguous world of Fine Art appreciation. Always an extremely mixed-bag of results for me. A perfect example of my lot.

Jan McComas and Stuart Davis

Clockwise from upper left: Jan McComas, Don Mangus, Stuart Davis, and Stuart Davis

In the mid-seventies, Jan McComas (Bates) was Roger Winter's teaching assistant for his Advanced Drawing class at SMU. Because of my love of jazz, Jan took me down to the art library and hepped me to the paintings of American Modernist Stuart Davis. I'm STILL jamming to Davis' syncopated "eye-ball kicks." One -- more -- time...

Anchorage The Mall at Sears: One-Man Comic Con

When I put on a one-man proto-comic con in the Sears Mall in Anchorage, c. 1974, I recall I bought and sold a heap of the Marvel monster mag reprints. They were a real crowd-pleaser. My older brother is seen here working my sales table. The man with the beard, Chuck Doulgerakis, started a comics collector club up here. I was official member #3.

My SMU Art School Classmates, c. 1978

Art Walkabout/Street Photography

Don Mangus, untitled, iPhone photo, 2016

Don Mangus, untitled, iPhone photo, 2016

The Return of Street Photography

Don Mangus, Highland Park Village, i-Phone Photo, 2016

Jane, Don, and Alfred in Guatemala, c. 1959

Jane, Don, and Alf Mangus in Guatamala, c. 1959

Sunny Sunday Afternoon Walkabout

Don Mangus, Child's Chalk Drawing I, i-Phone photo, 2016

Don Mangus, Child's Chalk Drawing II, i-Phone photo, 2016

Don Mangus: Portrait of Paul Jarzemski, c. 1979

Don Mangus

Art Walkabout: Fall Colors in Lakeside Drive, Dallas

Don Mangus, untitled, iPhone photo, 2015

Don Mangus, untitled, iPhone photo, 2015

Don Mangus, untitled, iPhone photo, 2015

Don Mangus: "The Return of 'Street Photography'"

Don Mangus, untitled, iPhone photo, 2015

Don Mangus, untitled, iPhone photo, 2015

Don Mangus, untitled, iPhone photo, 2015

Don Mangus, untitled, iPhone photo, 2015

Don Mangus: Jazz Intaglio Etching, c. 1977

My friend Wendell still has this print on display in his house. I gave it to him around 1977. It's nice to see your work still hanging around and being enjoyed after 38 years and counting...

Don Mangus

Brain Muffin: Food For Thought

Don Mangus, "Brain Muffin: Food for Thought," iPhone photo, 2015

Rainbow Dancer Cloud

After I took this iPhone sunset shot at my apartment complex, I was struck by how the top cloud triggered an associative memory of a similar shape of a cast Navajo Rainbow Dancer pin I bought a few years back. Here's a photo of said pin for comparison... 

Don Mangus, "Rainbow Dancer Cloud at Sunset, Dallas, Texas," iPhone photo, 2015

Sand cast sterling silver Navajo Rainbow Dancer pin