Jurate Macnoriute
Conclusive Result of Research on Art of Mentally Ill and Healthy ArtistsAfter thorough analysis of hundreds artworks of mentally ill individuals and after their comparison with art of sane artists and sane artistically uneducated in persons I did such conclusions:
- Main criterion diagnosing mental illness lies in weight of depicted things. Figures drawn by healthy people are heavy and suiting law of gravitation are pulled down, figures of mentally ill have anti-weight and are pulled conversely -- upwards. In photography weight lightly appreciable, but in comparison with Michelangelo's it is little, photographed figures as if linger on the air. Analysis of abstract art works shows that the giving of volume for image is not necessary for weight's illusion creation. Drawn object's weight does not reliant on picture's lines directions and formed by them mood. Rising in drawings of madmen upwards and ant-weight are false appearance of skill. Skill also is connected with some lightness.
- Another the most important difference lies in character of depiction of space. Contrast between openness of picture space with emphasis on central figures shows absence of unity and it is one of main symptoms of mental illness. Its reason is madmen's delusion and conflict with reality. Space of sane individuals usually is closed, in case of open space they (like nature) do not emphasize figures too much. Criminals' space also open.
Because expression of mentally ill people is so different from healthy ones, some contemporary alienists think that creativity's source is mental illness, and conclusion, that artists are insane, follows from that. I found that originality and modernism of mentally ill people is unwitting, unintended, for incapacity, conditioned by their illness. The very truth that mental patients want to draw similar things to real ones, but they are not able. That is shown by their evaluations of artworks of eminent artists -- classicistic painting is more liked than romantic and modernistic, though mentally ill artists are modernists; euphoric mood is liked and horror is disliked totally, though in pictures of mentally ill ones horror predominates; realism is appreciated, though mentally ill are not able to depict reality; expressionism is less liked (6.7%)than by mentally healthy ones (26.1%), but expressionism predominates in art of mentally ill individuals. It follows that mental illness is not creativity, but distress or unwitting "creativity" and originality.
Art test shows that mentally ill respondents distinguish with very high liking to sing (93.3%), when only 43% of normal people have this hobby. Numbers of hobbyists to draw and paint is low in both groups. I did not check a large number of criminals, but it seems liking to sing among them also high. Classicistic painting has better rating than romantic in both groups mentally ill and healthy. Almost all respondents appreciated euphoric pictures. Funk art, horror are disliked almost hollow. Abstract art is disliked in both groups mentally ill and healthy (over 70%).
Art of mentally ill, mentally healthy, criminals and children may be compared with development of art style:
Euphoric mood of children art and its attitude can be equate with arts in periods of the beginning of a style: with archaic-style in ancient Greece, quattrocento in Italian Renaissance.
Art features of mentally healthy artists are characteristic for classical periods of art styles development: Classical Greek period, High Renaissance.
Overall art of mentally ill and criminals is similar to art of ends of art styles: to Hellenistic period in Ancient Greece, to Mannerism in Italian Renaissance.
Among formal means for creation illusion of absence of weight these two may be mentioned:
Domination of the golden section is a condition for appearance in picture of the rise and anti-weight, from what fellows that for mentally ill ones, children, and criminals, domination of the golden section is more characteristic than for mentally healthy people.
Another device for anti-weight creation is laying most dark dabs in lower part of picture and bright ones in upper part.
Abilities of mentally ill individuals are as if inverted. A lot of their stylistic features are opposite to mentally healthy ones.
In pictures of mentally ill artists start time is in foreground, finish time in indistinct depth on horizon. Near figures do not put themselves together into united formation, but are desultory and plastically unconnected.
Time in pictures of mentally healthy artists slips from far parts of picture to foreground. Main figures form compact group and stay viewer's glance on it for a long time. Attention of viewer is kept on objects.
The statement that Gothic art style was ordered and projected by mentally ill persons also is one of conclusions of this research.
In this article I separated criminals' art as a contemporary art movement. Criminals' art is specified by centrifugal extravert dynamics, long sharp lines, objects linger in open space, sadistic plots, characteristic colors: black, deep blue, deep purple, white, yellow. If madmen's horror passive, criminals active and directed to outside. We may name criminality as active insanity.
Modernism is art of mentally ill naturally and charlatans' deliberately.
The table of classification of stylistic features of mentally ill people
stylistic features characteristic for every mental illness the features characteristic for some mental illnesses, but they can not represent all ones linear absence of tectonics
openness together with emphasis on main figure, absence of unity of opposites
intricacy
absence of euphoria, horror
directed upward, weightless or anti-weight
discord, disharmony
deformation, absence of naturalness
absence of stability
absence of self-control
modernism
strangeness
domination of the golden section
absence of compositional schemes
indulgence in affliction
lines arched/angular
contrasted values
intense colors
dark colors
contrasted colors
space not deepabsence of perspective
crowding
fragmentation
unaccountable fantasysymbolism
written characters
nostalgia
misbalance, main details in periphery of picture
childlike
imbecility
ornaments
obscenity
absence of expedience
work process piece by piece
abstract
precision/sloppy
spiritualization
domination of one color
absence of verisimilitude of textures
disgust
depiction of own psychological situation
The first question of this paper was: are contemporary artists mentally ill, criminals or charlatans free of conscience? In every concrete case diagnosis can be done using criterions discovered by me and described above.
In that way I differentiated art of mentally ill and mentally healthy people showing deep reasons of this distinction and I deserved to receive Nobel Prize. Such is opinion of the head physician of asylum that I visited accumulating stuff for this research.
All articles
Introduction to Art of Mentally Ill and Healthy People
Mental Illnesses. Short Review
Art Testing for Mentally Ill and Mentally Healthy People
Stylistic Characteristics of Art of Mentally Ill Patients and Mentally Healthy People
Anti-weight of Depicted Objects as One From Two Supreme Criterions Diagnosing Mental Illness
The Drawing Test for Individuals Suffering Mental Illness
The Drawing Test for People not Diagnosed With Mental Illness
Diagnostic Example. Self Analysis
Stylistic Closeness Between Mentally Ill and Gothic Arts
Stylistic Characteristics of Criminals Art
Art Styles, Directions, Movements and Mental Illnesses
Presence of Time in Painting of Mentally Ill and Mentally Healthy Artists
Conclusive Result of Research on Art of Mentally Ill and Healthy Artists
Copyright © 2004, Jurate Macnoriute
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