Art Making in Schizophrenia: A Vision Science Perspective

Abstract

How does schizophrenia affect art making processes and the artwork that results from these processes? Here we discuss research dealing with this question, focusing on pictorial art, and applying ideas and methods from vision science. We briefly review the study of art by people with schizophrenia, focusing on Hans Prinzhorn’s application of Art Historical analysis to images. However, we argue that more quantitative methods are needed, which can be drawn from modern vision science. This approach is potentiated by the fact that there is considerable and growing evidence for deep relationships between specific patterns of visual dysfunction and the neural substrates and patient experience of schizophrenia. At the same time, images produced by artists with schizophrenia provide a unique window on the disorder and its sensory-perceptual effects. The goal is to unite these spheres of inquiry. There is evidence of effects of vision abnormalities associated with schizophrenia in art produced by people with the disorder. We also briefly discuss art appreciation in schizophrenia in the context of visual deficits. We then provide a case study of an artist with schizophrenia, Henry Cockburn, in order to give first-hand experience of artistic expression in schizophrenia. Bearing in mind potential pitfalls, we conclude by encouraging researchers to pursue systematic studies of visual art production—as well as the proclivity to make art—in schizophrenia in order to illuminate both patients’ perceptual experience and the neural underpinnings of the disorder.