Jessica Helfand|The Icarus Diaries
May 12, 2026
17: Solar Complex
Read the introduction to this series.
Oil on canvas
30 x 17 inches
2025
An Icarus Complex is a psychiatric classification characterized by extreme ambition, high-risk behavior, and recklessness. To be Icarian is to be excessively ambitious. Foolhardy. Possibly (probably) to some extent delusional.
Once upon a time, this was called a Solar Complex. (Which sounds like a utility farm.)
Although the idea of converting sunlight into electricity feels right, somehow. Moth seeks flame. Man seeks fame.
Maybe not so complex after all.
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By Jessica Helfand
Jessica Helfand is an artist and writer based in New England. A former critic at Yale School of Art and one of the founding editors of Design Observer, she is the author of several books on visual culture including Self Reliance, Design: The Invention of Desire, and Face: A Visual Odyssey. jessicahelfand.com
