Art and Mental Illness
A post on Mind Hacks again pointed me to this website of the Wellcome Collection museum with Art and Mental Illness. The museum has two fantastic free exhibitions on the art and history of mental illness: Madness and Modernity:
This multidisciplinary exhibition presents the range of ways madness and art interacted in Vienna, from designs for utopian psychiatric spaces to the drawings of patients confined in them. It explores the influence of psychiatry on early modernism and encourages us to reflect on how we deal with mental illness 100 years on.
The other exhibition is: Bobby Baker’s Diary Drawings: Mental illness and me, 1997-2008:
Bobby Baker is one of the most widely acclaimed and popular performance artists working today. She began her diary drawings in 1997 when she became a patient at a day centre. Originally private, they gradually became a way for her to communicate complex thoughts and emotions that are difficult to articulate to her family, friends and professionals
So if you’re in London or going to London visit this unique collection and let me know.
Thanks Mind Hacks
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May 3, 2009 @ 12:12 pm
And if you’re in Holland, like art and psychiatrics there is the ‘Dolhuys’ (http://www.hetdolhuys.nl/English), a museum ons the history of psychiatric care in Haarlem which also houses quite an extensive art section, also made by psychiatric patients. Very nice. (just an image for an impression I made while visiting : http://i41.tinypic.com/vxc4rm.jpg)
But I guess dr. Shock already knew this one, so just for the readers’ information.
May 3, 2009 @ 4:37 pm
Very good suggestion, it’s a nice museum, completely agree, take care Dr Shock
May 3, 2009 @ 8:01 pm
And if you are in Belgium Ghent visit our psychiatric hospital P.C Dr Guislain (F. Ferrerlaan 88a Gent) and its unique Guislain Museum. Fascinating expositions. A must see.
Dr. G. Otte
May 4, 2009 @ 1:38 am
Thanks for that O Doc with the oh so reassuring name. I had this recommended to me by an infidelity that was just friendship a while back. I didn’t meet her for a perusal of the the exhibits. Does that square the circle? All the hairy chest, etc, D x
May 4, 2009 @ 4:56 pm
Certainly a must see, visited it several times. Thanks Dr Shock
October 22, 2009 @ 9:38 am
Great stuff! Art as a means to chanelling the difficulties that I have encountered from schizoaffective disorder better serve me than talk therapy
Painters and Psychiatry | Dr Shock MD PhD
November 14, 2009 @ 8:50 am
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