BSmatic posted a video about disocative personality disorder. I really liked it and it got me thinking about how most people now have Digital alternate personalities. I was able to, in a way, relate to the "Crazy" guy in the film. With the internet... I mean.. we all got to pick a new name and most people could now express themselves more easily through these alternate personalities. How fuckin cool is that??? Then I started thinking a bit deeper than that. Most of us here are artists. Right? Some more true than others, but we (in most cases) speak our minds and express our feelings (Intentionally or subliminally) through our art and our comments/critiques about other peoples art and actions. We wear our hearts on our sleeves... We have to, after all.. If we didn't, we would quickly become failed artists and find ourselves invading Poland to make ourselves feel better. Ok... getting to the point now...

Its not easy being born an artist. (I for one cant keep my own desk organized and I have so many thought and ideas going through my head at any given moment that I have trouble staying focused on the task at hand when I find the task boring. But I can Hyper focus on my art and irresponsibly stay up all night to CHOP because I love it so much)... But we are generally given a get out of jail free card when it comes to expressing ourselves. And this my friends is, in my opinion... The ultimate Freedom. Do you think this freedom will more likely save us from the mad house OR will this drive us mad enough to cut off one of our ears?

sorry that went on for too long... YOU NOW HAVE THE FLOOR.

do not frivolously confuse artsy brain games with real mental illness.My father was a psychiatrist and let me tell you psychosis,schizophrenia,bipolar disorders,OCD etc are not a laughing matter... REAL mental illness is as close as you can come to being damned to an eternal life in hell.

I agree.. My grandfather lost his mind to Allzheimers. And it was terrible. My point is not to say that because Im an artist I can relate to someone with mental illness. Im asking for an opinion of what effect the constant out-pour of emotion and expression might have on an artists psyche. Will it save us from going insane or will it drive us closer to it?

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=muyvWp9uATE[/youtube]

Joke aside, I think any art is form of expression. If it helps you filter some complex emotions, slow it down, be more objective or deal with it in different way - great, but i don't think you can become angry, obsessive, violent or simply crazy because of it. Your art is extend of your emotions, not other way around.
On other hand you can use it just to make your self busy and delay any actual personal improvement, you can use it as misleading tool, to evoke or provoke some very bad emotions in some very bad people, to earn money or make thousands of people wanting your head on stake.
It can be very liberating but i wouldn't say it's real freedom...

Btw CHOWDAH being an artist AND an art critic is an oxymoron

if you ask me I'll tell you it's all bullshit, ...but don't ask me.

Wow... I had my Wisdom Teeth pulled out... so I wrote that all on a head full of pain pills. I was in a strange place. BUT... it is pretty much known that creative people do tend to have insane relatives more than most other people do. So insanity does seem to go hand and hand with creativity. Aristotle claimed that "There Is No Great Genius Without A Mixture Of Madness"

I just wonder if the people listed below didn't channel their wild thoughts into their work like BSmatics video suggests (good one by the way) would their insanity have took hold quicker or by not expressing those thoughts and ideas would they have been saved from their own insanity? Maybe held it at bay for a while longer?

Here are some: Newton, Einstein, Marie Curie, Rosalind Franklin, Emily Dickinson, Jane Austin, Mark Twain, Alexander Graham Bell, Bertrand Russell and many other great minds are said to have suffered from Asperger’s syndrome. Darwin, Nicola Tesla, Michelangelo, Beethoven, Samuel Johnson suffered from Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. John Nash, a brilliant Mathematician suffered from schizophrenia. Virginia Woolf, Vincent Van Gogh suffered from Bipolar Disorder.

And LUX... Although this is all funny to me... Im not trying to make jokes or poke fun at the expense of insane people. The thought of going insane is a terrifying one for me. BSmatics video just made me think.. So I thought Id share. Thats all. If I make jokes that just the way I am. No harm intended.

Michelangelo... His assistant claimed he didnt take his shoes off for so long that when he finally did, his skin came away from his foot with his shoe like a snake sheds its skin. That is pretty damn strange.


Yukio Mishima... his story is pretty damn funny. Maybe the craziest of all.

I know that, LUX.

I wasn't saying you were making fun of people who were insane I meant never underestimate the seriousness of mental illness is all,and I stress that it is an illness.Art is probably the last thing on someone' s list when they are suffering a bout of psychosis,personality disorder or what have you.Insanity is not a tool for the artist it is usually to say the least a major obstacle in expressing art both technically and creatively speaking.In music there are quite a few examples of ruined careers because of schizophrenia,Peter Green of the original Fleetwood Mac and Syd Barrett,the original guitarist of Pink Floyd come to mind.These people suffered greatly and would have left a much greater artistic legacy if not for their lifelong struggle with schizophrenia

Very interesting, Lux. I heard that LSD had something to do with that. But that may be just tall tails from around the campfire.

I heartily disagree. How many of your creations are you happy with? I know I am my own worst critic and I suspect we all are. Who of us is totally satisfied with most or all of our creations?

©The Oatmeal