Ana içeriğe atla

Edvard Munch and Anxiety



Mental ilnesses has always been an important topic in the people's minds since the beginning. Until the 20th century, nobody knew the reasons of those ilnesses and why they occur in people's minds. But with the progress of pyhschology and reseraches, today we know most of the reasons of the mental ilnesses and we know how to cure them.But until the age of englightenment, people thought that patients of mental ilness were haunted.

"Early medicine men, considering such individuals to be possessed by demons, introduced a technique called trephination. This procedure involved drilling a hole in the head of the individual to let evil spirits out of the body. Many other civilizations independently developed such a procedure. For example, among the remains of the Incas in Peru are skulls with holes and trephination devices." 1  But today we have many medicines and cures for those ilnesses.And if we look at the history, we can even say that those ilnesses can have some benefits.If you research the artists in world history, you can see that a lot of them had madness. And their madness effected their creativity. So what if madness is not a bad thing as we thought? What if people who are suffering those ilnesses can turn them into an advantage? 


I will give samples from depression for our idea. And I will support our idea with the "Edward Munch" who had depression,nervous breakdowns and hallucinations.
Edvard Munch, best known for his painting, The Scream, was tormented by the tragedies of his childhood – and haunted by the demons of his mind. 


"Munch was born in the capital of Norway, Christiana (now called Oslo) in 1863. His father was a religious fanatic who earned a modest income as a doctor. His mother, 20 years his father’s junior, died of tuberculosis when Munch was only five. Tragedy struck in the Munch household again when Edvard was 14. His 15-year-old sister, Sophie, died – also of tuberculosis. Death later permeated Munch’s paintings, one of them is simply called: The Dead Mother.The demons of Munch’s mind took the form of anxiety, depression and later close shaves with alcoholism. Another of Munch’s sisters, Laura, was considered mentally ill. Of five siblings, only one brother, Andreas, married – only to die soon after his wedding." 2 And we can show a sample that his mental ilness was also a benefit for him.



His most popular piece of art which called "Scream" is a productivity of his depression and hallucinations. In his diary he tells us how his ilness inspired him; “I was walking along the street with two friends – the sun was going down – I felt a touch of melancholy. Suddenly the color of the sky changed to blood red. I stopped walking and leaned against a fence feeling tired to death – I saw the flaming clouds like bloodstained swords – the blue-black fjord and the city – my friends went on walking – I stood there trembling with fear – and I felt how a long unending scream was going through the whole of nature.”


 It is very impressive to realize that one of the most important painting's of the world history is productivity of depression.If Munch didn't have madness, we wouldn't be able to see his impressive paintings. And Munch is only one of the samples around the hundreds. There are a lot of artists who has effected by their mental ilnesses.We can accept that it is so hard to suffer from a mental ilness and first thing those  people got to do is to get a treatment. But if there is nothing to do, they don't need to get upset. They can turn their disadvantage to an advantage and they can change their life to a better one.And if this idea can be supported by the psychologists, professionals, and clinics  we can gain a lot of new creative and talented artists!

1- http://www.encyclopedia.com/science/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/mental-illness-during-middle-ages
2- http://www.sleepandhealth.com/edvard-munch-fear-illness-and-fame/

Yorumlar

Yorum Gönder

Bu blogdaki popüler yayınlar

Michaelangelo and Obsessive Compulsive Dissorder

"Michelangelo was born on March 6, 1475, in Caprese, Italy. Born to a family of moderate means in the banking business, Michelangelo became an apprentice to a painter before studying in the sculpture gardens of the powerful Medici family. What followed was a remarkable career as an artist in the Italian Renaissance, recognized in his own time for his artistic virtuosity. His works include the "David" and "Pieta" statues and the ceiling paintings of Rome's Sistine Chapel, including the "Last Judgment." Although he always considered himself a Florentine, Michelangelo lived most of his life in Rome, where he died in 1564, at age 88." 1 He sometimes fell into spells of melancholy, which were recorded in many of his literary work. e had OCD, he had hard times but it didn’t stop him. He kept the creativity in himself and did not beware to show it to the whole world. But what is OCD? "OCD, or obsessive compulsive dissorder,  is...
Yorum Gönder
Devamı

"Art is to console those who are broken by life." -Van Gogh

Mental Disorders on Painters in Europe  There is genius&madness. And then there is art, which is the combine of these two. In life, there are ots of common mental disorders. People who are getting treatment are often tend to feel lonely, insecure, worthless and mostly, suicidal. This article is about those disorders and that disorders's effects on painters in Europe.  Firs of all, unlike the common belief, it's not always psychological. For example, depression is so common in todays world, yet it is not only a psychological illness. As it can be seen on the photo below, these illnesses has serious effects on the brain.  But is there a link between mental illness and creativity? Kay Jamison (1992), a psychiatrist, spent some years studying the lives of famous contributors to the arts, including poets, artists and musicians. She concluded that there did seem to be a link between mood disorders such as Bipolar Disorder and creativity and artis...
Yorum Gönder
Devamı