The article Creativity and Mental Illness examines mood disorders as they relate to artistic pursuits. One of the artists explored is Frida Kahlo, her life was dynamic, troubled and riddled with both medical and psychological disorders. Through her struggles she was still able to produce some of the most prolific and famous works of art for her time. Here we will dig deeper into her life and illnesses.
Kahlo’s physical struggles began before she was born. Diagnosed with Spina Bifida, a condition where the spinal column and backbone do not fuse before birth, she was destined to experience symptoms throughout her life. She constantly experienced spine and leg pain, which today is linked to this condition.
At age 6 Kahlo was diagnosed with Polio. She suffered a life long deformity to her right leg and foot, which were already effected by Spina Bifida. She developed topical ulcers that she struggled with throughout life.
The book, Song of Her Self, expresses that during this time she found comfort from the gained attention from her parents. Up until this point she often felt neglected and ignored by her mother.
At age 18 Kahlo was in a bus accident. Not only did this accident prevent her from carrying children, but it also broke her right leg and foot, adding complexities to the already weekend extremities. She remained on bed rest for three months before being told that she had made a full recovery.
It was at this time that Kahlo began to paint. Her father gifted her his paints and encouraged her artistic pursuits. It was around this time that Kahlo also met her future husband, artist, Diego Rivera.
They shared similar communist political views and a passion for artistic expression, but their relationship was not simple. Kahlo was insecure, depressive and suffered from what are today classified as narcissistic behavior. Rivera was unfaithful and often pushed Kahlo to points of mad jealousy and hysterics.
Their relationship, her mental illness, and the terrifying circumstances of physical conditions fueled her creativity, and helped produce some of the most recognizable artwork to come from Mexico. Her story, while extreme helps to exemplify how illness, both physical and mental, can inspire an artist.
“The arts are more dangerous [than other professions] because they require sensitivity to a large extent,” Ketter said. “If you go too far you can pay a price — you can be too sensitive to live in this world.” Terence Ketter, professor of psychiatry and behavioral science at Stanford University.
The sense of slow suffocation, the pain of isolation, or a deepening sense of dread and melancholy are all feelings that have captivated imaginations for years. Some of the greatest films, novels, ballets, and works of art have been crafted from these sentiments. When truly experienced these symptoms can be terrifying and potentially deadly.
Many artists have called upon thoughts provoked by mental illness and used them to influence some of the most recognizable and profound works of art known today. Since the acceptance of psychology as a science researchers have been trying to find a link between creativity and mental illness, and they are getting closer.
Frida Kahlo died seven days after her birthday on July 13, 1954, she was barely 47 years old. During her short life she created far-reaching paintings that still influence creative works today.
Kahlo survived a nearly fatal bus accident as a teenager, married the same man twice, participated in the Mexican Revolution, and emerged as one of Mexico’s most prolific artists. She also joined the ranks of many great creative thinkers including Vincent van Gogh, Virginia Woolf, Eugene O’Neill, and Ludwig van Beethoven in having been documented as mentally ill.
Kahlo was diagnosed with minor depression, known today as dysthymia, marked by periods of sever depression which were emphasized by two suicide attempts as noted in the book Song of Herself by Salamon Grimber.
When asked why she always painted self-portraits she alluded to the idea that she knew herself best, which made her the best subject to paint. Her painting, “What the Water Gave Me,” depicts her being strangled by a cord that connects all of the painful and traumatic events from her life. She drew inspiration from her personal struggles.
Representation of illness in artwork is by no means common to Kahlo, it is a theme that runs throughout the work of both famous and unknown artists alike. One artist, Keith Duncan, a choreographer, artistic director, and former dancer spoke about his struggle with depression and anxiety and how it has influenced his work by stating that “I think it does shape your creativity because I think for you to have depth in your work there needs to be a certain amount of light and shadow,” he continued to describe how nearly manic highs and heightened creative vision have allowed for intense focus on his work and have lead to major successes throughout his career.
Keith Duncan
While it was once easy to point a finger at the relationship between creativity and mental illness and draw simple conclusions, researchers, therapists, and doctors today have discovered a much more complex relationship between the two. A study by the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Stanford University School of Medicine compared a group of mentally ill individuals suffering from bipolar disorder and major depressive disorder with people in both creative disciplines and a healthy control group. The study found that the creative group, although not suffering from mental illness, shared more common personality traits with the mentally ill group than the creative controls. This study highlights that although highly creative people may appear different, and may have unique outlooks on life they are not, in all cases, mentally unwell.
An artist’s unique outlook can be developed through any number of personal experiences, but one common and shared experience is growing up in a household with a mentally ill parent. A study reported about in Science Daily compared a group of children, all ranging from age ten to eighteen, whose parents suffered from bipolar disorder. Half of the children studied suffered from the same condition, but both the diagnosed children and the healthy children scored significantly higher on creativity tests than children coming from families with mentally well parents.
Erin Marklein, an Art Therapist, discussed how it is possible for a child brought up in a family where one or both parents suffer from some form of mental illness may develop higher creative skills than the average child by stating that, “ it creates a coping mechanism, because when you grow up in that environment you [may] need some place to be safe and to create a place where you know nothing will change and there isn’t that instability and unknowingness of what you are coming home to.” She explained that children use their imagination as a form of escape and control, which develops creative faculties that, with determination and hard work, can lend its self to an artistic discipline.
Art Therapist Erin Marklein
An interview with Art Therapist Erin Marklein about creativity and mental illness.
Some artists find inspiration from their illness, but others find it to be a roadblock that hinders the creative process. An article by Cathy Malchiodi, PhD from Psychology Today discusses how some forms of mental illness, such as bipolar disorder can spur bursts of heightened awareness and creativity but also points out that a great many artists find mental illness to be debilitating and that it can make the idea of producing artwork terrifying. Kahlo herself found it very difficult to produce artwork the majority of the time, it often took a financial need or pressure from her husband, Diego Rivera, to gather enough strength and motivation to embark on a creative pursuit.
While there still is not a single clear reason that explains how creativity and mental illness relate, there is a greater understanding about how creative minds develop which may, eventually, help artists struggling with illness find some relief. Duncan has been actively seeking treatment for the past 15 years. He takes a combination of anti-depressants and anti-anxiety medication that he says, “helps to soften the edges.”
“I think its ridiculous. Sites like Youtube and Wikipedia shouldn’t be punished for something a user uploads. They should just have to remove the content,” Caitlin Kelly an everyday internet user.
The web revolted on Jan 18. Some websites, Wikipedia included, chose to disable service and access to their content with the intention of drawing awareness to the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and the Protect Intellectual Property Act (PIPA). Other websites like Google remained active but created awareness campaigns and provided links to petitions and contact information to each states governing officials in hopes of stopping these law’s progression. It is easy to understand why the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) and the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) with their powerful lobbing groups were pushing so diligently for these laws to be voted into affect.
Purchased Content: photo by Christopher Kelly
So what was the big issue with SOPA and PIPA? ? “I don’t steal anything and I don’t share anything I buy. I buy all of my music and movies,” said Caitlin Kelly, a regular Internet user said about her use of copyrighted content. Most law-abiding citizens, who pay for content, agree with the idea that stopping piracy and illegal distribution of copyrighted content seems logical and even overdue. According to the Computerworld.com article The Real Reasons Why SOPA and PIPA Are Real Bad, by Mark Gibbs, “A complaint to the DOJ [Department of Justice] under SOPA and PIPA could result in the accused website being taken offline … not by actually shutting it down, but by requiring Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to disable the resolution of the site’s name by the Domain Name Service to an IP address.” This means that any origination has the ability to file a complaint and have the accused party’s website disabled. This process denies the targeted website their right to due process.
Due Process, according to Dictionary.com, is a constitutional right and fundamental principal of fairness in legal maters. This right indicates that both civil and criminal matters will undergo an appropriate process to determine the legitimacy of a complaint before action is taken. With SOPA and PIPA access to any accused website can be potentially restricted or denied.
Many websites, such as Youtube, have automatic anti-piracy and copyright protection practices in place already and with laws like SOPA and PIPA the entire site could be taken offline for one users decision to upload content that they do not own of have rights to share.
SOPA and PIPA have been put on the back burner for now, but hopefully the new versions or new laws will be introduced with a more comprehensive and legally sound policy that both respects the rights of websites and helps put an end to internet piracy.
On June 13, 2011 Adbusters, a Canadian magazine proposed a peaceful protest that would occupy Wall Street drawing attention to the potentially corrupt policies and decisions instituted by big business in America. September 17, 2011 was the first day of the protests and they continued, peacefully, until the 8th day when, according to OpEdNews.com, over 100 arrests were made at the New York location.
The arrests began to spread as the Occupy movement took hold the country. Most major cities had protestors, gathering groups as large as possible then occupying public spaces near important government buildings. According to the Wall Street Journal article, Protestors Clash With Police, many more arrests were made including 177 people arrested during a rally as they crowded an intersection near the New York Stock Exchange on Nov. 17.
Occupy Austin Photo: Christopher Kelly
Occupy Austin Photo: Christopher Kelly
With countless protestors being arrested around the country news organizations and the Occupiers themselves began to wonder if there was a national strategy in place meant to silence or contain the protests. The publication Truth-out.org submitted a FOIA request to the Federal Bureau of Investigation on Oct. 31, 2011 with an attempt to search for any information related to the occupy movement, including: “emails, memos, audio/video, transcript reports, and threat assessment.”
They received a timely reply. On Nov. 15 FBI FOIA Chief David Hardy responded with a letter stating that, “we were unable to identify main file records responsive to the FOIA.”
Since then another request has been made by the magazine with more specific search parameters, hoping that information will be provided.
According to The National Freedom of Information Coalition, the National Layers Guild and the Partnership of Civil Justice Fund have filed FOIA requests for information about the protests with the Central Intelligence Agency, Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the National Park Service. Each request was made with specific search parameters, so that now information could be left out or misinterpreted.
As of Dec. 21, 2011 the CIA has refused to process the FOIA request and the FBI continuously claims that they do not have any documents on the protest movement.
While FOIA requests are important to journalists and often the information gained from these requests can help inform the public, there is no strict science and the information can be withheld.
These organizations are still trying to gather information from all potentially involved government agencies, but no involvement has been confirmed.
“When using public property it is subject to rules. You can only use public property in accordance with these rules, regardless of your job or position,” Mark T. Kelly an Attorney practicing in Connecticut.
Journalists have always had to pay close attention to national and state laws while covering stories, particularly trespassing laws. The article, Tracking Journalist Arrests at Occupy Protests Around the Country, states that since the beginning of the Occupy Protests over 50 journalists or media gatherers have been arrested during rallies held by the Occupy movement.
Protester Occupy Austin - Photo: Christopher kelly
According to an article on Pixiq.com Jared Malsin from the New York Time, Karen Matthews from The Associated Press, and Seth Weing, a photographer from The Associated Press were just a few of the many journalists who were arrested for trespassing on Zuccotti Park during a surprise raid by police on the Occupy Wall Street protestors in Manhattan, NY.
According to Jared Malsin’s article, Video: Reporter for The Local Is Arrested During Occupy Wall Street Clearing on Tuesday November 15th nearly two hundred protesters and journalists were arrested while peacefully protesting with Occupy Wall Street. He states: “While some officers, many in riot gear, moved into the park, others blocked access to the park within a one- to two-block radius, also closing subway stations in the area as well as access to the Brooklyn Bridge.” This action taken by the NYPD isolated and trapped the protestors within the confines of a police made barricade.
Officer Occupy Austin - Photo: Christopher Kelly
As officers began to push the group of protesters and journalists down Broadway the arrests began. In the same article Jared Malsin commented on a video captured during the raid and described the arrest of a journalist, “one of the officers arrested him using plastic Flexi-Cuffs, even as he continued to identify himself as a journalist and called attention to press credentials hanging from his neck.”
So, what can journalists do to keep safe and avoid being arrested while covering stories that potentially involve breaking a law and trespassing? We spoke to Attorney Mark T. Kelly of Connecticut to find out. His best advice is to, “be sure not to violate any reasonable rules and regulations.” He discussed the importance of being informed of any ordinances or laws in the specific city and state you are working in that may affect the way that you do your job.
“Freedom of information is freedom of information.” Dani Gonzales, Occupy Austin activist.
The Occupy Wall Street movement may, at first, seem a little unfocused. But with modern technology and the use of social networking tools this widespread protest has been able to define its mission and organize huge rallies, community improvement events, and distribute information to the public.
Net neutrality laws have aided the occupiers by guaranteeing that their information, ideas, and documentation are readily available and easily accessible to anyone who is interested in the mission of this group. According to the article Net Neturality and Occupy Wall Streat – Making a Connection, by Mark Scheerer the Occupy Chicago movement has more than 33,000 Facebook “likes,” 20,000 Twitter followers and thousands of website hits every day. These avenues have provided invaluable information to those that participate in the movement, keeping them informed where they feel that main stream media has let them down.
This use of social media, small independently run websites and blogs has helped balance traditional media outlets. Today, when searching Occupy Wall Street on Youtube there are over 91,700 results, which included posts from traditional news sources as well as user posted video blogs and video coverage demonstrating police brutality, personal opinions and contradictions about facts reported through other outlets. “It provides a defense, it keeps traditional news honest,” said Dani Gonzales when asked about how new media helps this movement.
In the CNET article Verizon CEO Slams Net Neutrality, Verizon CEO Ivan Seidenberg talks about how Net Neutrality is horrible for big business and would weaken the economy. Mr. Seidenberg also stated that priority needed to be given to service providers over applications. Google, Facebook and other large web organizations support net neutrality.
If the net neutrality laws are reversed organizations like Verizon and other internet service providers will be able to charge websites a fee that will determine how quickly their website will load and how quickly content will become available.
“People still would have participated. People are frustrated and they want change; it just would have taken a lot longer to organize and would have taken a much greater effort,” Dani Gonzales speaking about how Occupy Austin would have been different without easy access to information via the internet and a reversal of Net Neutrality.
River City Ballet and Central Texas Ballet Conservatory’s annual performance of The Nutcracker Suite and Ave Maria are happening this weekend! Get ready for a beautiful evening filled with your favorite characters from this classic ballet.
Tickets are available at the Hays County Performing Arts center and at Central Texas Ballet Conservatory. Discounts are available for groups of ten and over.
This year guest stars will be traveling from The Canadian Ballet Company to help round out this cast of talented ballerinas.
River City Ballet is dedicated to raising community awareness about the arts, providing children with experience in the world of professional dance, and creating opportunities for youth to perform.
If you have any questions please don’t hesitate to contact River City Ballet at rivercityballet@yahoo.com
Showtimes are this Saturday at 7pm and Sunday at 2pm.
The late Steve Jobs incorporated Apple Inc. on January 3, 1977. His unique vision of superior products and of a strong, responsible company have guided and inspired his company, Apple, for over the past 30 years. Throughout his career he took huge leaps of faith and introduced phenomenal new technology that has forever changed the way that we interact with ideas about learning, creating art, and connect with each other.
From Apple's environment page
More than a company focused on technology, Apple has aimed to remain a socially responsible and environmentally friendly organization. This goal has been demonstrated by transparent reports focusing on the company’s carbon footprint. By focusing on the products and how each effects our environment throughout their lifecycle the company has been able to influence other companies standards.
In 2008 Apple’s revenue grew 74 percent. During that time their greenhouse gas emissions grew only 57 percent. When considering the amount of employees, products, plants, and materials that were consumed and used throughout that process it is a truly honorable achievement. According to an article published in The Economist Magazine, the amount of energy used on electronic data has doubled between 2000 and 2005. The European Social Investment Forum declares technology and data are responsible for 2% of the world’s carbon emissions, as much as air travel. This number is expected to at least triple by 2020.
According to Apple’s website it is the only company in it’s industry where every product has met the stringent guidelines of Energy Star. Apple is committed to minimizing the impact of their growth.
Writing about depression and mental illness is not easy. Sifting through research, personal stories and the creative works of those afflicted with mental illness is a painstaking process that I take the upmost care in doing.
There is a lot of speculation about the relationship between creativity and mental illness. I have read blogs, articles, and listened to many talks discussing the topic and while it is clear that there is some connection between the two, I am by no means trying to imply that one can not exist exclusively without the other.
My thesis project for my Masters Degree in New Media Journalism is going to explore this topic in much greater length than my previous articles, and while objectivity is key in this process it would be unfair to continue with out disclosing my own personal past struggles with depression and creativity.
The two have most often come knocking on my door hand in hand. My most successful artwork has come out of deeply depressive cycles and this project is not only fueled by a desire to inform, but a desire to understand truly and objectively.
Through the years I have found methods to manage and become aware of my own condition and I hope my continued work on the subject will help others to do the same.
Drawings created coming out of a depressive cycle.
My story Depression, Illness, Heredity and the Creative Person was written to help illustrate the connection between illness, creativity, and family life. This story was not meant to indicate that every depressed person comes from an un-well family, or that every creative person has come from an unhealthy environment. This article simply highlights the fact that there are many creative people that come from a similar home situation.
On a positive note I have provided a video below that features Elizabeth Gilbert, author of Eat Pray Love, speaking about creativity and how it does not, necessarily, need to come from a dark and depressive place.
Please continue to come back to my site and explore as continue to build toward my final thesis project. And thank you for your comments.
