Jurate Macnoriute
The
Drawing Test for Individuals
Suffering Mental
Illness
I asked the casual respondents treated earlier or at present in mental hospitals to draw some simple thing from nature with only request that image would be similar to that thing. All respondents never studied drawing at any special art school.
Medium pencil on paper. Sheets' size 14.8 x 21 cm.
1
fig. The
drawing
of 34 years old liking to draw female suffering schizophrenia, education -- special
professional school. Though upper
part of telephone as if presses lower one, the drawn object is weightless.
2
fig. Drawing of 25 years old female with Down's syndrome, education -- 4
classes. Distortion of shape. Imbalance.
3
fig. The drawing of telephone set by 64 years old male with trouble obscure for
me. Education -- special professional school. Distortion of shape.
4
fig. The
drawing of telephone set by 36 years old male with trouble obscure for me.
Education -- special professional school.
Distortion of shape to unknown.
5
fig. The
drawing
of 46 years old female suffering schizophrenia. Educational background main school (11 classes).
Characteristic touchiness, weak touches to surface of sheet, hardly discernible
from white background image.
6
fig. The
drawing of 59 years old male with trouble unknown for me. Education -- special
professional school. Unbalanced arrangement.
7
fig. The drawing of 42 years old liking to draw male as he said himself with
concussion and sleep disorder. Education -- main school (11 classes).
8
fig. The
drawing
of mobile telephone by 35 years old male suffering some inborn trouble of central nervous system.
Education -- special professional school. Unbalanced arrangement. The respondent
tested only one from other three mentally ill ones said that he likes red color. This liking is
conditioned by security on the road and a chance to cruise, because he being
mentally ill has driver’s license and a red car.
Characteristic features of drawing of individuals suffering with mental illnesses:
-
Work process piece by piece.
-
Distinctly asymmetric and often unbalanced arrangement. The object drawn not in mid of sheet, main object in periphery of picture
-
Sometimes distortion of shape.
-
Weightless.
-
Originality and modernism of mentally ill people is unwitting, unintended, for incapacity. The very truth they want to draw similar things to real things what their evaluations of artworks of eminent artists show. If you look at artworks of mentally ill patient, you feel only the bowels of pity to such artist.