Johan Deckmann

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Ironic Self-Help Titles Painted by Johan Deckmann Cure Existential Woes

A trained psychotherapist, Johan Deckmann (previously) has stacks of books to remedy our most painful emotional struggles and existential dread. His collection includes the massive "Your chances of changing the world," the much slimmer "Your chances of changing yourself," and the dismally timely "How to take a deep breath and go on even though everything feels so wrong." Often painted on soft, cloth covers evocative of vintage self-help manifestos, Deckmann's ironic titles are steeped in our culture of incessant improvement and tend to be brutally honest about human…

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Art

Art Therapy: Fictional Self-Help Book Titles Painted by Johan Deckmann

Copenhagen-based artist Johan Deckmann examines the complications of life through clever titles painted on the covers of fictional self-help books that appear to tackle life's biggest questions, fears, and absurdities. A practicing psychotherapist himself, Deckmann thoroughly recognizes the power of language in therapy and possesses a keen ability to translate his discoveries into witty phrases. "I like the idea of distilling words to compress information, feelings or fantasies into an essence, a truth," he shares. "The right words can be like good medicine." Deckmann often takes his pieces beyond simple language and into the realm of visual puns, such as…

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Art

New Fictional Self-Help Titles Present Existential Messages on Faded Book Covers

Johan Deckmann (previously) presents existential notions of life, love, and self-doubt as self-help titles on hand-painted books. The fictionalized novels contain no words on their pages, however their size often directly correlates to the messages on the front covers, such as his series of blue books, which read "Good ideas" on the smallest, "Mediocre ideas" on the mid-sized work, and "Bad ideas," on the largest. The Copenhagen-based artist is also a practicing psychotherapist who recognizes how language can be a powerful tool in both art and therapy. “The right words can be like good medicine,” he explained in a statement for the Faurschou…

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