Obsessive writing

An example of Graphomania

I am looking at the mental illness of Graphomania which is the the mental disability which makes you obsessively write and draw, this is also known as Scribomania.  When statements are written they often don't make sense and are rambled they have no direct meaning. The statements or drawings are often about something that has had deeply had a impact on the suffer. They could be of anything related to the incident. 

This is very similar to Hypergrahia which is a condition that gives you a great desire to constantly write. Suffers of this condition tend to write with sense, but in tiny detail often to the minute even. Also they tend to write lists, poetry and essays, but rarely with substance. This condition is related to epilepsy also a mental condition, but is also possibly caused by bipolar and schizophrenia. This is interesting as I have already researched these and it suggests that there are some great links between mental illness and creativity. 

I think that I am going to take inspiration from these conditions to start making a start on my work. I want to experiment with pattern and words and then repeating it over again to see where I get to.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Graphomania

Mental illness and creativity

There has always been a link between mental illness and creativity, it has been consider as an idea since Aristotle. Then in the 1970's there was found to be a more direct link between bipolar and creativity. There was a study done by psychologist J Rushton that found that people that suffer from schizophrenia, depression and bipolar are more likely to be creative individuals and have a creative profession than someone who doesn't suffer from the condition. 

However more recent research to do with mood creativity suggests that to produce creative work you need to be in a positive mood, but when you suffer from these conditions you are usually in the opposite of this. Further research now suggests that creativity is now suggested to lead to a mental illness. It is also suggested that when suffering from a mental illness some suffers to release stress create art, which may not make sense and might simply be a repetitive make, and make making, something that gets stuck in there head. This is particularly common with cases of schizophrenia.

Famous artists such as Sylvia Plath and Van Gogh have both suffered with mental illness in the public view, Van Gogh is commonly referred to as the tortured artist. Creative people tend to be able to "think outside the box" which is how a mental illness may also be able to form it is now proven. I could go into great complexity about which part is which, but it's way behind my understanding and could only be understood by someone who studies the brain religiously. Another connection that they where able to make is that creative people can find many solutions to  a problem something that tends to be a quality of a mentally ill patient. 

I want to research further into conditions that involve obsessive drawing and writing and then from this begin to create drawings reflecting on my research which I can can then develop, but at the same time continue to research this link between art and mental illnesses. 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Creativity_and_mental_illness

Mental Illness

Mental illness

I have looked into some of the main mental illnesses to help me develop my ideas, which if I decide to develop I will conduct further research into, also I will look at the links between creativity and mental illness. 

OCD

OCD is a illness that is very commonly found and when you have this disorder you fear and are really scared and worried if they have to stray from their usual routine. You obsess about small things and have to have everything perfect. As it suggests by the name if you suffer from this you are very over compulsive and paranoid, if things don't appear in the way that they are used to then they can get really distressed and upset. Suffered have obsessions about sometimes tiny details and fantasies about these things. It is believed that OCD can be caused by a significant event in a persons life, but can also be passed down from the parents or further back in the family. OCD can be treated by both medication and therapy.

http://www.thecalmzone.net/help/get-help/obsessions-compulsions/?gclid=CMOemNXeiL4CFQ7MtAodzR4AlQ

Depression

Depression is a sense of really low mood that effects the the persons behavior and sense of well being, it makes the person feel worthless, hurt and can then if not treated can go on to lead to suicide at worse. Depression can be caused by a significant life event such as a loss, illness or anything that could seriously effect you mentally. It can be treated with medicine, but a lot of people don't realise they have it and it goes on untreated. 

http://www.depressionalliance.org/information/what-depression

Bipolar disorder

Bipolar is a disorder which is where you have very dramatic mood swings that can happen in seconds. They are call episodes which can go on for minutes or even for weeks and it can really create a impact on or daily life. You are also advices to change you lifestyle to give you the best outlook on improving the mood swings. It is also known as manic depression disorder, the main ways that is found is through the genetics, but can be bought on by extreme stress and life changing incidents. It can be treated both with medicine and therapy but like many mental disorders it can never be cured.

http://www.rcpsych.ac.uk/mentalhealthinfo/problems/bipolardisorder/bipolardisorder.aspx

Schizophrenia

This is the breakdown of the thought process which leads to a deranged emotional response. Symptoms could be any of delusions, paranoia, hallucinations, disorganized thoughts and depression. Suffered often avoid any social situations and want to avoid as much communication as possible. Schizophrenia is usually only first identifiable when you are in late teens and is diagnosed by having repeated tests and your behavior is monitored. Scientists believe that this illness develops because of both genetics and environmental factors, but also of a trauma in a young age. 

Suffers tend to be socially awkward right from a young age. Schizophrenia is mainly treated with medication called chotic medication, but can also be treated with therapy along side the medication. There are other types of schizophrenia others worse than some, the same with most mental illnesses. Suffers tend to lose touch with reality and are in there own little world.   



http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/schizophrenia/Pages/Introduction.aspx

Phobias

These are classes as anxiety disorders, these types of phobias are persistent and are really serious fears. So serious that these fears make you not want to leave the house. Suffered group to really great lengths to avoid these fears, for example moving house, even dramatically changing there lifestyle. Phobias can make suffers treat a situation where the phobia is involved very irrationally. Suffers feel really trapped and scared. Phobias can be of anything and can be caused by anything a traumatic event, influences from other people and it is stored in the frontal lobes of the brain which trigger the reaction to the phobia. Treatments that can help phobias are hypnotherapy, therapy, but you can also be shocked into changing.


http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/phobias/Pages/Introduction.aspx

Autism

This is a illness that is usually diagnosed at a young age and is a life long illness. It effects hoe communicates and relate to other people,but can effect people differently because it is a spectrum illness. Suffers are often over sensitive to sounds, touch, taste, smells and light. Asbergers is a part of autism and suffers of this particular form are usually found to have very high intelligence, but the condition is often confused in the eye of the public. 

Autistic people find it hard to understand jokes and sarcasm and don't pick up on facial expressions or change in tone of voice. They also find it hard to pick up on social understanding and commonly used slang, also they tend to live in the moment and struggle to think about the future and find I hard to stray from routines. Research again suggests that this disability is caused by genetics and environmental reasons. There has been developments to improve learning and development for suffers, it's hard to diagnose, but there is a push to diagnose so help and support is offered.

http://www.autism.org.uk/about-autism/autism-and-asperger-syndrome-an-introduction/what-is-autism.aspx

Proposal for drawing project

I want to look into the way and how the body automaticity responds to simple things that we don't think about. I want to look at why and how this happens. I want to look at how the body moves and the simple way the muscles contract and relax. I want to research these Ideas to then take them further to develop my project around them. I have been thinking about how I can capture movement and how I can take them further. To start off I want to photograph people moving in everyday life. I stood in one position when and took a photograph of the same spot every two seconds so I can capture a journey. I have then repeated this at different times of the day at different times so I can both compare them to see what works best but also to see the difference and to refine my ideas on how to further my project.

Proposal for main project

I wanted to look at mental illness as a starting point to my project because I find the subject very interesting, but also I want to look at the links between creativity and mental illness, but to also explore why it effects people and how it happens. This is a subject quite close to my heart as many family members have suffered from mental illness both now and in the past. I want to start my project by looking into pacifically different types of illness in detail, before moving onto links with creativity and mental illness. I would like my work to represent and be inspired by my findings. I have also been told that I have no boredom threshold and I would like to test this to the limits as a sort of investigation into the way that my brain works along side mental illness. 

Drawing artist research

My work has been inspired by the work of Hiroyuki Doi. I have mainly been attracted to this work simply because visually they where very similar, but then when I looked into it it is made up of loads of small circles which is how I make my work. The work was inspired by his morning after losing his brother. He works as a chef as we'll and used creating art as a release to ease his stress and get over losing his brother. The work is also clearly influenced by the artist Yayoi Kusama by the use of dots and repetitive patterns.Kusama uses art as a mental release as we'll she has suffered from mental illness from a young age and has lived In a mental assilam since 1977 and has her studio next door. Her work is very repetitive and reflects what's happening in her head.

The work of Paul Klee has also inspired my work, most of his paintings started as a response to architecture, I went to see his exhibition at the Tate where it was clear that a lot of his work was inspired by the new forms of architecture around him. His paintings are a representation of this and to me his works are painted in such a way that there is a movement of evergy within. The image that I show here it's really interesting because of Klee's use of colour and line makes the painting quiver in the middle and shows a uneasy movement that looks like its going to collapse at any moment. Klee's work is small and intricate and although being abstract it was inspired by architects drawings, perhaps why it's so intricate. I am mainly focusing on his patchwork paintings which where created at the start of the First World War and it was this point that he really became popular. Maybe it's the colours that he dared to use in the time they where in, maybe it lifted people's sprits, but he is one of the most famous artists of the time and is compared to Kandinsky and has inspired the likes of Rothko. 

I'm looking at Van Gogh simply because of his The Starry Night painting and the energy in the sky. The deep swirly pattern shows a transformation of energy across the canvas. Van Gogh was influenced by the impressionists of the time and has been an inspiration to many famous artist to date. He was excited by the new colour pallets that where now available they where allot brighter than before and made him want to paint in both an expressionist style but also more freely. Gogh may have behaved in the way that he did because he is believed to have suffered from bad mental health, he suffered from epilepsy which he then agrivated by drinking a cocktail of alcohol and drugs. He was also believed to have suffered from bad depression and lead poisiioning from his paints.