{"id":323,"date":"2020-03-05T03:38:05","date_gmt":"2020-03-05T03:38:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/scholarblogs.emory.edu\/artsbrain\/?p=323"},"modified":"2020-03-05T03:38:06","modified_gmt":"2020-03-05T03:38:06","slug":"exploring-the-tortured-artist","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/scholarblogs.emory.edu\/artsbrain\/2020\/03\/05\/exploring-the-tortured-artist\/","title":{"rendered":"Exploring the Tortured Artist"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The tortured artist, an artist that struggles (either within himself or against the world) and gains artistic talent from it, is an archetype that the western world has been familiar with for hundreds of years. Most often this encompasses mental illnesses that the artist suffers from, however it is important to question if the uphill battle with mental illness is always necessary to access true artistry. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

To begin, an over representation of\npeople with psychotic and depressive mental illnesses has been found in\ncreative fields. A study (Zabelina, Condon, Beeman, 2014) has revealed a\npossible link that shows that clinical forms of psychotic disorders could be\ndetrimental to the social success an artist may have, but a less debilitating\nform of illness can be beneficial. This came with a link to self-serving\nbehaviors such as seeking attention, and thus infers that these psychotically\nlinked behaviors can benefit artists in the public eye. This may be linked to\nthe palatability of mental illness; people may be able to enjoy a sad, slightly\nderanged artist, but a visibly suffering victim is unlikely to be romanticized\nin the same way. A manic man creating a beautiful painting is what most may\nlike to see,and a man on the brink of psychosis may be harder to\nromanticize. This could be due to a dramatic shift in the previous culture of\nsensationalized violence and fearmongering, as today’s media often portrays\nmental illness as “pretty” or \u201cmysterious\u201d. (Shrestha, 2018)(\nRukavina, 2011)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The question stands, however, if the\nshift in perception of a mentally ill artist is intrinsic or external.\nPsychotic disorders such as schizophrenia can cause people to hallucinate,\nwhile depression can cause one to lose a sense of hope in general. Both would\ndrastically change how an individual perceives the outside world. The series of\npaintings below illustrates Louis Wain\u2019s struggle with alleged schizophrenia\nthroughout his life, and although the chronological order in which they were\npainted is unknown, the shift in style is congruent in Wain\u2019s later works. The\nloss of shape and the exaggeration of psychedelic colors was prevalent in his\nwork when he was committed to asylum near the end of his life, and this\nprogression could speak for itself when determining if his illness caused a\nshift in artistic preferences.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

On the other hand, it is no secret\nthat non-neurotypical people have been discriminated against for centuries.\nHistorically, the human mind and the illnesses that may plague it have been\nlargely misunderstood both by health professionals and the public. It would be\nunfair, though, to entirely dismiss the interaction that mistreatment of the\nindividual and the perception changes brought on by illness have. This\ninteraction could drastically affect the creativity of an artist.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

All in all, regardless of whether\nmental illness does indeed make a person more creative or not, the romanticized\nidea that an artist wouldn\u2019t be as talented without their mental illness is a\nharmful one. Many say that Van Gogh needed to suffer through what he did to\nsupply the world with his art, but the fact still stands: a person\u2019s value is\nnot determined by what they can give to strangers. The idea that one must\nsuffer through mistreatment and illness for a craft is cruel, and, if modern\nmedicine and treatments were available during the time of most historical cases\nof tortured artists, these people would\u2019ve been able to live happy and healthy\nlives while producing more of the great art we see today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bibliography<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rukavina TV, Nawka A, Brborovi\u0107 O,\nJovanovi\u0107 N, Kuzman MR, Nawkov\u00e1 L, Bedn\u00e1rov\u00e1 B, \u017duchov\u00e1 S, Hrodkov\u00e1 M, Lattov\u00e1\nZ. Development of the PICMIN (picture of mental illness in newspapers):\ninstrument to assess mental illness stigma in print media. Social Psychiatry\nand Psychiatric Epidemiology. 2011;47(7):1131\u20131144. doi:10.1007\/s00127-011-0419-z<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Shrestha A. Echo: the\nRomanticization of Mental Illness on Tumblr Sidhu S, editor. The Undergraduate\nResearch Journal of Psychology at UCLA. 5.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Zabelina DL, Condon D, Beeman M. Do\ndimensional psychopathology measures relate to creative achievement or\ndivergent thinking? Frontiers in Psychology. 2014;5.\ndoi:10.3389\/fpsyg.2014.01029<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The tortured artist, an artist that struggles (either within himself or against the world) and gains artistic talent from it, is an archetype that the western world has been familiar with for hundreds of years. Most often this encompasses mental illnesses that the artist suffers from, however it is important to question if the uphill… <\/p>\n

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