LISA LINDEMAN

Lisa Lindeman is a graduate student in psychology at the University of Wisconsin, Madison.  Through her research and personal writings, she seeks to understand the relationship between thought and emotion.  In addition to oil painting and research, Lisa also enjoys singing with the local band, "Dreams & Train Smoke."  She has two boys, Erik (3 years) and Luke (10 months).  She grew up in Oklahoma and received her BA in psychology from the University of California, Berkeley, in 1999. 

www.ThinkEmotion.com
llindeman@wisc.edu

Lisa Lindeman describes her work:

"In my art, I portray pleasurable bodily experiences, such as warmth, sweetness, freedom of motion, and relaxation that I believe underlie many positive emotions.  My hope is that the images will naturally evoke feelings of happiness and comfort in the viewer. 

"The style and subject matter of my paintings closely parallels my theoretical views on emotion.  I hypothesize that many emotional experiences are metaphorical simulations or reenactments of bodily experiences, like falling, smothering, tasting something sweet, being restrained, or carrying a heavy object.  For instance, when we conceptualize obligations or responsibilities as physical burdens (e.g., "she has a lot on her shoulders" or "she has a heavy course load"), I believe that this metaphorical concept involves the mental and physical simulation of that experience, and so we literally feel as if a heavy weight is pressing down on us from above. Sagging shoulders, slouched posture, and labored breathing reveal both how we see the situation and how we feel about it. 

"This hypothesis represents a marriage between the growing paradigm of embodied cognition, in which concepts are seen as sensory-motor simulations, and cognitive theories of emotion, in which conceptual evaluations of life events are considered the cause of many emotions.  While the theory of conceptual metaphor holds that metaphors are a way of thinking (Lakoff & Johnson, 1980), I propose that metaphors are a way of feeling."

Inexpensive posters, notecards, and more are available from her online art store:
ThinkEmotion.com

She also maintains a daily journal containing her thoughts and stories on emotional life. You can also share your comments: EmotionToolkit.com