Professional Makeup Project
Emma Freeman
Louis Wain – Schizophrenic Cats
Psychology and Art
As I have researched the relationship with having a psychological disorder and creativity I wanted to look at artists that have expressed this through their artwork. These are images of Louis Wain’s schizophrenic cats. Cats always fascinated Wain, but his work shows his expression as it develops.
As I have researched the relationship with having a psychological disorder and creativity I wanted to look at artists that have expressed this through their artwork. These are images of Louis Wain’s schizophrenic cats. Cats always fascinated Wain, but his work shows his expression as it develops.
Jagged lines of bright colour start to progressand the outlines of the cats became severe and spiky. Their outlines persisted well throughout the sketches, as if they were throwing off energy.
By now the psychedelic patterned backgrounds have slipped into the cat itself, resulting in surreal patterns and colours enclosed in an outline of a cat’s body. This cat looks quite sad or depressed, in comparison to the above cats which look quite surprised or anxious. Depression and Anxiety are typical mental dysfunctions experienced by those suffering from schizophrenia, although in a much more extreme form.
At this stage the drawings become more disturbed; it is clear that Wain’s hallucinations are increasing in severity as these drawings look more like demonic oriental dragons on drugs than cats
Salvador Dali 1904-1989
Whilst researching art and psychology, I came across Salvador Dali’s work, as it is very delusional with his shapes and placements. His artwork shows his creative abilities, which led me to further research him to discover is he suffered from any type of psychological disorders. I came across this article, which confirms he had personality disorder.
Based on two psychiatric assessment procedures, a computer program investigating the presence of a psychotic disorder and a personality questionnaire, Salvador Dali was found to have a personality disorder for DSM Cluster A and B. He was also found to meet the diagnostic criteria for psychotic illnesses.
You can’t diagnose psychiatric illness without doing a face to face psychiatric examination. Usually personality diagnosis takes even more than one diagnostic interview. Distributing psychiatric diagnoses solely based on “circumstantial evidence”, hear say or news stories is obsolete. Nevertheless these authors from `oxford digested a lot of information on which they based the above conclusions.
Information on his behaviour and art comes from various sources such as his autobiography; literary texts; published interviews with friends, family, and the artist himself; letters; and data on his family history. Here, in addition to a descriptive analysis of such data, a formal diagnosis exercise was attempted, using two psychiatric assessment procedures.
whether particular visual artists are more creative than average or not, as a group they do have a propensity to respond antisocially with taboo responses that shock.
Shock (no date) Did Salvador Dali suffer from Mental Illness? | Dr Shock MD PhD. Available at: http://www.shockmd.com/2009/09/07/psychopathology-of-salvador-dali/ (Accessed: 2 May 2015)
"It cannot be stated too strongly that Dalí’s deviation from the norm should not be allowed to take away any of his greatness. It is too easy to react negatively when the term ‘disorder’ is used, in any context. Dalí and his contribution to the history of art is a perfect example for highlighting the fact that abnormality is not necessarily disagreeable – or to be so readily dismissed as a sign of neurological disease. For without his instability, Dalí may not have created the great art that he did.
This statement is exactly what I trying to aim to portray in my makeup. I want to be able to express the feeling's and emotion's the individual experiences, but also the creativity and different world they live in. It is true to say, without the instability a lot of artists would not have created the work they have become famous for.
Google+ (2014) The psychedelic madness of Louis Wain’s cats. Available at: http://dangerousminds.net/comments/the_psychedelic_madness_of_louis_wains_cats (Accessed: 8 May 2015)
Text and image: Montreal Museum of Fine Arts and Dali, S. (1990) Salvador Dali. Quebec, Canada: Musee Des Beaux-Arts de Montreal