Nine Artists' Creativity and Mental Illness
Some studies suggest there exists a genetic link between
mental illness and art, ie, the gene that favors creative juices, is also is
the reason behind episodes of mental trauma.
1.Virginia Woolf:
Considered to be the most important modernist author of the
20th century, this English born writer is well known for books like
“Mrs Dalloway”, “To The Lighthouse” and the essay “A Room of One’s Own”. She
was a very profound writer. A feminist at heart, she had a free mind and
boundless imagination. She is known to have introduced the ‘stream of
consciousness’ in narratives, which today is a powerful writing device. She
suffered from bouts of depression, psychotic episodes supposedly because of
sexual abuse and harassment.
On March 28th in 1941, she left a note for her
sister and her husband, before going for her final walk. It began “I feel
certain that I am going mad again. I feel we can’t go through another of those
terrible times. And I shan’t recover this time.” She then filled her pockets
with stones, jumped into a river and drowned. We lost a legend.
2.Sylvia Plath:
One of the most dynamic and admired poets of the 20th
century, Plath was diagnosed with clinical depression and administered electric
therapy many times. She is most well known for her semi autobiographical novel
“The Bell Jar”, and the collection of poems she won The Pulitzer Prize for. She
had tried several times to commit suicide before her death- overdosing on
pills, driving her car off the road into the river, among others.
On February 11, 1963 she locked herself in the
kitchen, sealed the doors with clothes and tapes to separate it from her
sleeping children, turned on the gas and inhaled it till death. She was found
with her head on the oven by her nurse.
3.Ernest Hemingway:
Author of renowned novels like “The Oldman and the Sea”, “A
Farewell To Arms” and “For Whom the Bell Tolls”, Hemingway went on to win the
Pulitzer in 1953 and the Nobel Prize in 1954. He committed suicide on July 2,
1961. He was found with a shotgun wound in his head. He had struggled with
depression, troubles in his writing life, had experienced traumatic maniac
episodes and had undergone several electro convulsion therapies during his
later years. He was considered America’s greatest living writer in the
1950-60s.
4.Van Gogh:
The famous painter and artist of “The Starry Night” had lived
almost his entire adult life on the verge of insanity. He had once severed his
own ear in 1888, owing to his several mental troubles- borderline personality
disorder, schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. Madness, he thought, was
inseparable from his artistic genius. He had shot himself in 1890.
5.Pablo Picasso:
The legendary painter and artist is also said to have experienced
and struggled with depression. That also encouraged his canvasses of wild,
vivid explosive colors and geometric patterns in his art.
6.Edvard Munch:
The painting “Scream” says much about this Norwegian painter’s
inner turmoil and demons. His diary entries told about his suicidal thoughts,
hallucinations and phobias. He also vividly described his mental breakdowns and
overwhelming emotions in his diary.
7.Yayoi Kusama:
This Japanese artist, mostly well known for her surreal
polka dot paintings and art installations, is the only living artist in this
list. In the 1970s, she had voluntarily checked herself into a psychiatric
institution. She is currently a permanent resident of that institution and
continues painting.
8.Edgar Allan Poe:
He’s an American writer, editor and literary critic who is
best known for his mystery stories. The cause of his death is said to be delirium.
Though disputed, says of his mental troubles as well.
9.Leo Tolstoy:
The Russian author struggled with existential questions
trying to find meaning in a seemingly meaningless world. His troubles were of
spiritual kind, which made him sink deep into depression and melancholy,
despite his wide acclaim. His autobiography ‘A Confession’ talks of this and
his suicidal thoughts and about why he hadn’t killed himself.
I am participating in the #AToZChallenge with #BlogchatterA2Z and I am sharing posts themed around Art for this entire month of April. Share and connect with me on social media.
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