Social Construction Of The Mad Artist

Abstract

This research project is about perceptions of mental illness and its relationship with creativity in the art field. How do the perceptions of mental illness and creativity affect the art world? Is there a connection between mental illness and art? How is art used as a medium to portray mental illness? This paper will use a historical analysis in gaining insight on perceptions of mental illness and how they relate to artistic genres such as visual arts, music and poetry. I will be focusing on stigmas about mental illness and artists in different environments such as in asylums, educational institutions and the effects these stigmas have in the art field. Furthermore, I will include through my research the romanticization of mental illness using artists as an example. I will conclude by demonstrating that the relationship between mental illness and creativity has gone from between stigmatized to being romanticized and that in contemporary times both processes are existing simultaneously. When analyzing different sources, it will be essential to explore the social construction of the Mad Artist and the involvement of the media, art dealers, psychiatrists and consumers of art. These will be some of the key actors that play a role in researching the construction of the Mad Artist. The information I gather will be used to further understand perceptions of mental illness and artists using an analysis of books, scholarly journals and articles. It is important for artists and institutions in which art is involved to understand perceptions of mental illness and their connection to the art world.