This interactive lesson plan, created as part of the New Museum’s G:Class (Global Classroom) curriculum development program, examines metaphors embedded in Neuenschwander’s works and their connections to politics. Her works have several layers of meaning, and at times address the passage of time; the dissolution of physical boundaries; and notions of assimilation, corruption, destruction, and transformation. The lesson plan explores Neuenschwander’s use of film to channel paranoia as a catalyst to create work. Neuenschwander has the viewer experience the psychological discomfort of paranoia and utilizes both literal and metaphorical devices to allude to her influences. Departing from Neuenschwander’s practice, students will engage in their investigation of their influences to create an engagement that channels a state of mind, such as paranoia, mania, or a case of the jitters.

The lesson plan Rivane Neuenschwander: State of Mind: Paranoia was captured using Rhizome’s Webrecorder tool in 2018 and can be accessed on webrecorder.io