Art

I do not consider myself as an artist in any way. When reading Hughes that was even more apparent. There are certain things that he mentioned that were described by artists themselves. Being completely consumed by your work doesn’t always sound fun. These artists needed it. Their work is their drug that keeps them going. I knew that van Gough wasn’t exactly sane but I never knew that he killed himself because his brother was going to die from a disease. I also never knew that it was his brother who told him to start painting so that he could cope with life and try to cure his depression. It seems that a lot of artists used their art as an escape that helped the majority of them.

Musicians were the celebrities back then. Their parents, like some parents today, pushed their children to the point of almost insanity. They were obsessed with perfection. Bach and Mozart are the examples that Hughes uses to make this point. When I was in middle school there was a kid who played violin. He was a very, very good violinist. He did it because he wanted to please his father. I, personally, don’t think that this is a good reason to do it. You should do something because you want to do it, not to please someone else.

Why is it that Shaman were diagnosed with such things like schizophrenia, epilepsy, and “hysteria”? The Shaman have always held a very respectful spot in their tribes. Were certain Shaman diagnosed with these to discredit them or to make them lose their high spot? There are some things that that Westerners don’t understand. Are we just trying to fit them into our vision of what life is supposed to be? Since they are different and doctors can really explain what is going on with Shaman they are just trying to fit them into their views of what people should be like and the medical problems they think could cause Shaman to think that they have power.