Born
Daphne, Scholinski grew up near Chicago. A
tomboyish young girl, she suffered intense
bullying for not being girly enough. She became
a troubled teen whose behavioral problems
doctors attributed to a diagnosed “gender
identity disorder.” At age 15, she was
committed to a psychiatric hospital, where she
stayed for three years
Her treatment was designed to make her
identify as a “sexual female.” It
included make-up lessons, mandatory dress
requirements and coaching in the art of
flirtation. A 1997 book recounting the
experience, The Last Time I Wore a Dress: A
Memoir (Penguin/Putnam), received national
attention.
Unsurprisingly, the artist’s confinement
- and the questionable and spectacularly
unsuccessful course of treatment - forms the
organizing theme of Dylan’s work.
Each
painting is like a personal journal entry
commenting on a facet of the artist’s
tortured childhood and subsequent steps at
resolving the identity issues that had caused so
much pain.
What is surprising about these raw, edgy
works is their wit and elegance. Humor has been
the artist’s path from darkness. It forms a
path for us, as well, providing a safe route for
us to enter into a world that we would otherwise
find too disquieting. The artist’s wit
assures us that these are not the rantings of a
mental patient.
They are lucid, self-aware statements of an
artist who sees his history with a surprising
level of clarity, acceptance and
forgiveness.
Painted
in the grays, blacks and foggy colors of a
nightmare, the paintings are nonetheless
aesthetically pleasing. They are technically
strong and exquisitely balanced. Each work
commands attention, compelling us to focus
closely - to dig through layers of history and
subtle (sometimes not so subtle) allusions so
that we might reach an understanding of the
artist’s past and his triumphant arrival at
the present. They invite us to feel our own
emotions and to connect with the artist’s.
They seek unity through empathy.
Dylan explains, “I paint for my survival
and myself … without my art, I would likely
be dead. My purpose is to encourage the
sympathetic indulgence of emotions. If you can
reach these emotions in yourself, you may
identify them in others, and we will all have
better understanding, compassion, and tolerance
of each other.”
