Brain disease seen in art
At the age of 52, "VW" had a sudden desire to quit work as lawyer and start painting. He previously hadn't been interested in art. Shortly after, he was diagnosed with frontotemporal lobar degeneration (FTLD) and amyotrophic later sclerosis (ALS). Above left is an artwork he painted just before he was diagnosed. Above right is a piece VW made a few years later, just before he died. From New Scientist:
"...Degeneration in a brain area responsible for controlling impulses might explain his creative urge, says Anli Liu, a neurologist and artist who recently authored a case report on VW. At the same time, symptoms of ALS limited VW's motor control and, eventually, his ability to create art."Brain decline reflected in patient's brush strokes
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I like the After picture. Maybe I should get me some of this brain disease.
Typo in the article. Should be amyotrophic "lateral" sclerosis.
I knew someone would say that
@1, trust me, you DON'T want ALS/Lou Gehrig's.
Oh that's right, I don't. Sometimes I get some funny ideas.
Louis Wain is an extraordinary case of this from the turn of the century. He became popular for his paintings of anthropomorphic cats, but in his later years was wrought with schizophrenia and started painting wildly psychedelic cat paintings which in my opinion are FANTASTIC!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_Wain
Does this imply that modern art is a mental condition? ;)
I thought there was a whole field in medicine where they diagnose what artists suffered from based on their art.
And God knows they all suffer from something. Otherwise they would just chill out and watch TV.
@Takuan #6 - There is! The practitioners are referred to as "Art Critics". ;)
http://instantrimshot.com/
Now I can finally explain why I do what I do to my in-laws.
But really, a lawyer turns into an artist and they call it brain disease?
What do they call it when an artist turns into a lawyer?
graduating?
It's more like a lawyer gives up lawyering and indulges in crafts. He gets a brain disease and some idiot starts calling his crafty indulgences "Art".
what a beautiful tragedy. it's like somebody playing a piano in a forest while it's raining, but they keep on playing until the piano falls apart.
@5, not at all, it implies that perception and changes on a physiologic level. Ever see the paintings that Van Gogh did later in life? Very intriguing. If you read the actual article on New Scientist the researcher does mention that there were some emotional factors that could have also contributed (dealing with loss of control, etc.).
I find the art very moving from that aspect.