The Sixth Space

Henry David Thoreau’s Cabin

The Art of Manliness has a page up with 14 famous man rooms. Thoreau’s cabin reminded me very much of Van Gogh’s painting Vincent’s bedroom. It is interesting that they both occupied their respective mancaves around the same time.

In a lecture I watched recently,  Siva Vaidhyanathan talked about the classroom as a fifth space (3 min YT clip), he contends that the classroom is a sacred space where the societal norms do not apply and the social rules change. Building on Siva’s construct I believe the artist studio is a sixth space, a place where the artist occupies both physical space but also an invisible space. This space has been compared to a mediative place or a state of mind. My studio is a socially decompressed place where my unconscious can manifest its bounty, where I can be vulnerable, sentimental or cynical without outside judgement.

Vincent's Bedroom