Comments on: Art by the Mentally Ill

By: Paul

Paul — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 02:07:05 +0000

I have just looked at the paintings at http:// http://www.alanstreets.com

This Artist name is Alan Streets and was diagnosed with severe schizophrenia.
He lives and paints in NYC.

In my opinion his paintings are very special and maybe one day would they become masterpieces.
I truly wish I could afford one of Alan Street’s paintings .

Perhaps soon I can buy one…

By: Amy Heavner

Amy Heavner — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 14:18:47 +0000

I highly doubt Picasso suffered from schizophrenia, as this disorder seems to debilitate the social life of one who suffers from the disorder. Picasso was too social to have suffered from this. His social skills were acute as he left a trail of women behind him. Bipolar perhaps or even dependent personality disorder or narcissistic but I don’t see the schizophrenia as an accurate diagnosis.

By: sandrar

sandrar — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 22:26:30 +0000

Hi! I was surfing and found your blog post… nice! I love your blog. :) Cheers! Sandra. R.

By: RawFilms

RawFilms — Tue, 12 May 2009 16:22:30 +0000

The next great artist with a mental illness. Allen Streets, a paranoid schizophrenic lives off his street paintings in New York City. http://www.mynameisalan.com

By: Kyle Reynolds

Kyle Reynolds — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 06:33:24 +0000

Love the site. Just wonder why so many people feel Pablo Picasso was Schizophrenic. I don’t think he was.

By: heidi

heidi — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 01:43:00 +0000

Very intriguing artworks. I do beleive that these people did suffer from depression and bipolar disorder. there were no medications back then to help them heal. So wonderous and so sad.

By: Karleen

Karleen — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 07:22:01 +0000

Artists with a mental illness have been portrayed differently from the insider art community. If their mental illness is public knowledge the apprectiation of their art is valued on a different set of criteria. Their positions remain firmly marginal with respect to both mainstream and also avant-garde culture (Parr, 2006). Heidegger (1971) posits that a work of art does not stand on its own. Art exists within the recognition of the social or institutional construction of the boundaries of art worlds (Fine, 2003).

It is such a shame that we as a community can not learn to accept creative expression with out trying to label and diagnosed the output. Art interpretation and understanding occurrs through direct, personal experience of encountering of the work of art at an individual level.

Do the experiences of illness influence the artistic expression of the artist with a mental illness in ways that can be identified as different? Can the artwork of a person with a mental illness be considered within the aesthetic framework of the art establishment and thus can the person with a mental illness be considered as artist irrespective of their illness?

These questions have sparked 8 in Australia artists to share their experiences of the artist beyond the boundaries of their illness http://www.artistcitizen.com.

By: Katie

Katie — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 21:11:35 +0000

Picasso schizophrenic? No. This man’s life and art are very well documented- Where on earth are you getting your information?

By: Ana

Ana — Sun, 08 Jun 2008 13:44:52 +0000

This is a very difficult issue.
Diagnosing people who are alive is hard.
Diagnosing people who are dead and were not diagnosed in their lifetime is hard.
Diagnosing artists from the last century with diseases that didn’t exist is dangerous.
Van Gogh, whose work has always been regarded as a product of a his mental condition, has already been diagnosed:
-depression
-schizophrenia
-epilepsy
- maniac-derpessive
and now bipolar.

This is a very dangerous thing to do and psychiatrist love doing this lists of “famous lunatics”.

It’s amazing that all these people have a “good” character.
I’ve already met depressed, bipolar, schizophrenic people who are very evil and has no art skills.

Jung has a good approach on dissociating mental illness with “geniality”.

By: john johnson

john johnson — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 23:43:08 +0000

Yeah i believe the style used for the weeping woman is just so extrodinary.