Louis Wain | Art and Schizophrenia

[Music] you've probably seen a work like this one before maybe you even chuckled seeing cats act like people or have human emotions this is the artwork of Lewis Wayne his work which always centers around cats caught the attention of the masses and he quickly became wildly popular in Britain in the early 20th century he is often credited for changing the perception of cats to be a likeable animal HG Wells the author of The Invisible Man once remarked he invented a cat style a cat society a whole cat world but in Blaine's personal life he endured many struggles the style of his work changed after he developed a mental illness analyzing how has worked evolved as he suffered through this mental illness provides a unique insight into the mind of someone with schizophrenia and adds a whole new layer to understanding his works [Music] Louis Wayne was born on August 5th 1860 in London he was the oldest of six and all of his siblings were female interestingly none of his sisters were ever married one of his sisters was put in the same asylum Wayne started his career as a teacher at the West London School of Art Lewis Wayne was only 20 when his father William Mackay Wayne passed away this caused Lewis Wayne to return home to support his family he left his teaching job and became a freelance artist at this time his artwork was mainly animals and country scenes and he had not yet developed his fascination with cats in 1883 Lewis Wayne married Emily Richardson she quickly became ill from breast cancer one evening a stray kitten came into their home and they decided to keep this black and white cat they named the cat Peter Peter was a great comfort to Emily during her terminal illness and he helped keep her spirits up Lewis who often spent hours by Emily's bedside began drawing Peter from every possible angle in 1884 when Wayne was only 24 years old he sold his first drawing of a cat to the Illustrated London News Wayne was later commissioned to Illustrated children's book written by Caroline Hughes called Madame tabbies establishment his illustrations in this book are more traditional with muted colors but you can still see his ability to anthropomorphize cats in this early work this was the first of over 200 books Wayne would go on to illustrate this work called a kittens Christmas party was hugely popular and his first great success soon afterwards Emily passed away in 1885 only two years after their marriage Emily's death affected Fame as he became more inward he continued to have many other successful pieces but he quietly struggled with anxiety and depression Wayne was a prolific illustrator his works were frequently in magazines newspapers books and even postcards in the 1900s he averaged about 600 new designs every year and since many of his pieces had more than one cat that equated to more than 1.5 thousand cats annually Louis Wayne's works were extremely popular at the start of the 1900s most homes had at least one of his famous cat annuals but why was this odd theme so well-received Wayne's cat illustrations resonated with the people of the time his artwork playfully teens popular trends he drew cats reading having formal meals being mothers playing with dolls drinking and smoking cigarettes and much more not to mention the cats he drew had an intensely accurate human emotions but in these people Lewis Wayne was not only a popular illustrator he was also considered a celebrity he was the leading authority on cats and was elected president of the national cat club he judged many cat competitions and he was involved in many animal charities despite the success Wayne was modest and didn't use his popularity for material gains because of this he was frequently exploited by businessmen winning often sold his work without asking for publishing royalties to add to this when the first world war broke out there was a paper shortage which made things very difficult for Wayne who made his living off of his illustrations so by the 1920s Wayne was living in poverty throughout this difficult period Wayne's mental health worsened unfortunate events in his personal life such as the death of his mother one of his sisters and his cat Peter could have contributed to his mental breakdown Wayne became paranoid and event experience periods of psychosis he would often strike out in unexpected and violent ways towards his remaining family Wayne entered the Springfield mental hospital in 1924 he spent the last 15 years of his life in institutional care when his friends and supporters discovered his situation it was widely publicized a public appeal was made that raised 2300 pounds Prime Minister Ramsay MacDonald even intervened on Reed's behalf the money sent Wayne to one of the better-known hospitals of the time during this time in the mental institution Wayne continued to make art work but before we explore how his artwork changed through this period let's pause to understand schizophrenia a disease that Wayne had developed in his adulthood schizophrenia is a long-term mental illness that involves an inability to manage emotions relate to others or make decisions schizophrenia is characterized by hallucinations and delusions hallucinations are experiencing sensations that others do not perceive this can be hearing voices or seeing things it is important to recognize that these hallucinations are very real to the person experiencing them delusions are false beliefs that do not change even if presented with facts or logical explanations that counter the belief people with delusions usually have difficulty concentrating and confuse thinking diminish social skills and memory problems can be symptoms of schizophrenia as well schizophrenia is thought to be caused by a combination of factors including brain chemistry genetics and environment it is usually diagnosed in early adulthood for males and can be triggered by an event that causes emotional distress a consideration of wayne's personal life makes it clear that there are many possible tragedies that could have triggered his schizophrenia during his time in the mental institution Wayne's drawings of cats became more and more abstract often reaching a point where their features were nearly impossible to identify while the change in his works are often shown as a classic example of the mental degradation of psychosis it is important to note that Wayne did not date all of his works this makes it difficult to definitively determine if the change in his artwork is due to a change in his mental state since we do not have access to the thoughts of Lewis wound we will not be able to answer this question regardless Wayne provides an interesting case study on the impact of illness on art the subject of his work was a controlled variable he always drew cats but the style of his artwork changed vastly potentially reflecting the effect of illness on his mind when we consider the broader question of what is art Wayne's pieces play a special role in the interpretation of our definition if art is meant to be a communication between the artist and the viewer then as viewers we gain a whole new layer of understanding by considering the health of the artist each person who creates art is not a blank vessel to transmit beauty rather each artist brings their own experiences and perception of the world into their work so our understanding of artwork can be greatly promoted by considering the health of the artist what physical and mental state will they in when making this piece sometimes help conditions can serve as a benefit to help enhance art work for example stereo blindness is the inability to perceive depth people with this condition C + 2 D so transferring real images from our 3d world into a two-dimensional canvas or paper came naturally to artists with stereo blindness like Rembrandt but sometimes the relationship between an artist's health and their work is less clear health condition can complicate artwork and our understanding of it perhaps the most creative minds are the ones who have answers that are different from anymore whether you view it as an aid or a hindrance there is no doubt that health effects are [Music]

Channel: Isra

Views: 229,918

Keywords: schizophrenia, Louis Wain, Neuroaesthetics, Art, Healthcare, Health, Mental Health, Artwork, Art History, educational

Id: 9rZgA63MBV0

Length: 9min 39sec (579 seconds)

Published: Mon Dec 10 2018