I'm a student of the computing arts, and I am gathering thoughts for a senior project. My project is an investigation into how different people define anger, sorrow, joy and fear, without likening them to
other emotions. Basically, how would you describe one of these to someone who doesn't know what an emotion is? Any responses that I get will be used nonymously. So please, help me out! Thanks!

Sarah,

You could define the emotions through physical and/or psychological effects.

Colour, composition and form are the tools that painters use. Have a look at the still life paintings of Georgio Morandi. Bottles and vases to be sure, but he manages to convey subtle nuances of feeling and emotion within the apparent simplicity of his work.

Ask an artist, get an artistic answer. Ask a chemist, get a chemistry answer etc.

If someone does not know what an emotion is then I would think that you would need to define an emotion in easily measurable and observable phenomenon - physical and behavioural seems the best bet.

Have u seen any of gina panes work, the french contempoary artist/ performance artist who investigated many different human emotions and psychological ideas.
You may find it useful. Through her work she tries to understand some very extreme emotions and feelings such as the ones you described. She does some of this by mutalatining her own body.

I just visited an exhibition in bristol of her work and i may write about her for my next essay. I would be interested to know if you found that she managed to descibe, through her work, the different emotions you were interested in.
However , perhaps only she is the one who can truely know and not the viewer. any way, hope that kinda made some sense and may have helped . look forward to hearing from u!

LAST EDITED ON 29-Sep-02 AT 12:18 PM (PST) by admin (admin)
 
Dear Senior student
'nonymously',
the first thing that comes to mind is how human emotions are comparable to the weather and electricity.
Electricity is somewhat omnipresent on our planet. The brain, it is said, communicates in electrical impulses, so do the neurological pathways. Think of the images you can record off the human body just by measuring the heat produced by the body. When aroused, sexually or in anger, a human body will produce intense heat.
Think of the movie 'Frankenstein' and how the monster was made come to life by exposing him to lightning, pure electicity.
If you look at a young child's behavior and emotions throughout a regular day, anyone can observe how 'just like the weather' the child is: laughing happily one moment, crying out loud the very next, because of hunger pangs, gas, or no reason at all.
In finaly analysis, human emotions reflect our mother earth's blueprints in patterns of life itself.
Hope you can use the imagery,
best of luck in the project.

Mariella Pace
Apace Studio
www.creativehotlist.com/apacestudio

>I'm a student of the computing arts, and I am
>gathering thoughts for a senior project. My
>project is an investigation into how different
>people define anger, sorrow, joy and fear,
>without likening them to
>other emotions. Basically, how would you
>describe one of these to someone who doesn't
>know what an emotion is? Any responses that I
>get will be used nonymously. So please, help me
>out! Thanks!

Anger brings out truest self. When I am truly angry, deep-down angry to the core, I am truest to my pure self. I am not entwined with the compunction to please, and in such, conforming to what I perceive others to want or need. I am me, take me or leave me. The 'other' an actual equal standing before me. Me and you. Here and now. How intense is that? An actual life force equal to yourself standing before you! Stripped bare by your own intensity of here and now! As purely God-made as you, here and now. And who are you?
Anger is the purest and most purefying of the emotions. It is imediate and uncompromising. It cuts through al the crap. Anger takes no for a challenge. Anger takes on all comers. Anger simmers and restrains with logic. I distinguish anger from rage. Rage has no boundaries, anger is weighed and meditated. Anger is not hate. Anger is righteous and and meted. Anger heeds the call of necessity. Our anger is our identity, our uncompromisingly truest identity manifest in the absolute moment.
Emotion is what makes us more than human. Emotion is what separates our existance from that of the chair. Without emotion we leave as much behind our oh-so important lives as the chair.
If we fail to recognise the state of grace that ovewhelming emotion truly is, our being will wither away behind the barrage of others' emotional imposition and render us nowhere on the map of human existance.
Our emotions are our humanity. They are our strength. They cut a wedge in the pie of life for us to own, and stand within, and be recognised as a legitimate part thereof. Without emotion and the conviction it brings, we are inconsequential. We are at our best when we ride their current and trust our own selves and stand fierce in our conviction and demand to know, "who are you?" and "who are you to question me?"
I hope I've responded to what you were asking, and was helpful.