The Thoughts In My Head

Lisa Levy is an established New York visual artist who hosts the popular podcast "Dr. Lisa Gives a Shit" on Apple Podcasts. 

There are over 100 images of her ''popular'' text based artwork that comprise the art book "The Thoughts In My Head". The book was conceptualized by the written language that''s out in the world — graffiti, signs, posters, flyers, matchbooks — in one big cauldron. 

"Depending on how it''s contextualized, the meaning can be changed radically, often in a humorous way. When you use words without an image, the emotion evoked by the words comes from the context in style. When you see the painting, ''If I’ve never offended you, we’re not that close.'', you see the words on a canvas — it reads as an artwork. If someone else places that painting in their home, that saying is coming from them. If I hand someone a matchbook that I have, with those same words printed on them, I’m hoping it makes them feel closer to me, and it helps me feel less self-conscious about being appropriate, which I am often not, though I have no desire to offend." 

For close to 30 years, Lisa worked as an art director in advertising. Through that experience, she experienced and learned how words were consumed by people. How quickly words are processed and discarded if they are processed at all. Through numerous focus groups watching strangers react to advertising campaigns she created, she learned how widely different the same ideas were interpreted by people in the same room. She believes ultimately language is the best tool to communicate our thoughts efficiently, and however woefully inadequate.

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