Art

Katie M

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For a psychology assignment, I had to pick a famous person (living or dead) with a mental illness and write about them. I picked Vincent van Gogh, my favorite painter :hearthrob:

After I turned it in, I kinda sorta fell down a rabbit hole :oops: Now I'm reading up on the history of modern art. It's SO interesting. Photography was a huge game-changer. Artists didn't have to try for realism anymore, and art took off in amazing directions.

YMMV of course, but in my humble opinion, the late 19th century was when art really started getting *good* :anticipation:
 

Norachan

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Yeah, art is really interesting. I have a degree in Fine Art Ceramics and I go to galleries and exhibitions every chance I get.

Pretty much every historical event or discovery or technological advance had an affect in art.

The discovery of Tutankhamen's tomb influenced the fashion, jewellery and cosmetics of the 1920's, trade with Japan influenced the way faces were painted and backgrounds were treated in Europe.

So many rabbit holes to go down!

Have you read Ways of Seeing by John Berger? If your interested in psychology and art you'll probably enjoy that.
 
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Katie M

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Ways of Seeing sounds really interesting, I'll keep an eye out for it :)
 

Columbine

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Have you read Touched with Fire (Kay Redfield Jamison)? It's fascinating - exploring the link between mental illness and artists (in the broadest sense of the word, so painters, writers and musicians).
 

denice

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There is a strong link between very creative people and mental illness. There is also a strong link between schizophrenia and genius level ability in Mathematics. In retrospect it is believed that Albert Einstein had Aspergers. Aspergers is on the autism spectrum which definitely blows a hole in the stereotype about autistic people.
 

Graceful-Lily

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There is a strong link between very creative people and mental illness.
This seems to be very true. When I went to an art college, a lot of the students (including me) had some form of mental illness or childhood trauma in some way. Also, one thing we all had in common was the fact that we weren't very good at math or science. I don't think I've ever met a student there who wasn't hurting in some way. No one was really there just because "art is pretty". They had a personal tie to it.
 

Elphaba09

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I am a huge fan of Vincent van Gogh and art in general. I am not too fond of surrealism as a whole, though. Impressionism, expressionism, post-impressionism, and abstract expressionism are my favorites. I am also a sucker for Waterhouse!

Vincent van Gogh, my favorite painter :hearthrob:
Have you by chance watched the "Doctor Who: episode "Vincent and the Doctor." It is a fiction I wish could be true.

I have always been on the artistic side, but over the last few years, my art is often used to help me deal with C-PTSD. I tend to lean more towards the abstract these days. The issue is that my husband likes a more solid subject, so, sometimes, I paint with him in mind. I have also painted for friends.

Not to hijack, but here are some of my most recent.

The first two are a set that hangs in the living room. "The Garden if Caos."




This one hangs in our bedroom and is a favorite of my husband. I call it "Family."



Finally, this one was painted for my son's friend who has often admired my paintings, particularly one in the upstairs hall of the same subject matter. This one is "From the Mire."

 

Margret

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Have you by chance watched the "Doctor Who: episode "Vincent and the Doctor." It is a fiction I wish could be true.
Oh yeah! Wonderful episode, and the scene near the end where they take Van Gogh to the exhibition was just so right. It's a great pity that it didn't actually happen.

Margret
 
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Katie M

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Oh yeah! Wonderful episode, and the scene near the end where they take Van Gogh to the exhibition was just so right. It's a great pity that it didn't actually happen.

Margret
That's what I love about time travel-it's a form of wish fulfillment, if you think about it.
 

Margret

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That's what I love about time travel-it's a form of wish fulfillment, if you think about it.
Or would be, if we could actually do it. "Doctor Who" and "Quantum Leap" are very high on my list of all time best television series, for exactly that reason.

Margret
 

foxxycat

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I wanted to post here but didn't know how to put my words into something understandable.

Yes there is a connection between mental illness and art. Being that this is a public forum I will just suffice to say that many people have different abilities and one thing I have learned is what one doesnt like or interested in when younger could be revisited in ones older years.

I know some people who have both artistic skills and scientific knowledge. My father told me when I was younger that this was an unusual combination . it didnt seem unusual to me. Math and science were easy for me. Artwork was also something that I just had. My dad explained that my ability to see in 3D was rare. I still think he was just trying to make me feel better. When I was 6 I used to build towns out of cardboard. I made 3D cities with doors and windows. Made streets too. No one showed me how to do these things which is what I think he was talking about when he told me those things when I was a teenager and more mature.


I dont know if it's true what my dad told me-it wasnt covered in school classes and I couldn't find any answers to these questions in library books. I do know my great great grandfather was a famous fine artist and after looking at his works, I can see some of my style in his work and I had never seen his works when I was a kid.

It's a very interesting world with artists and mental health stuff for sure.
 

denice

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I remember part of the standardized tests was spatial ability. There would be a folded up form and there would be four different flat forms and the person was supposed to pick which flat form would fold up into the folded form.
 

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