tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2343439372519556254.post5867087943892739106..comments2024-02-11T03:50:53.613-05:00Comments on Counterlight's Peculiars: The Divine Madness of CreationUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2343439372519556254.post-3423057955967489002008-08-21T15:03:00.000-04:002008-08-21T15:03:00.000-04:00Counterlight, you are correct that Van Gogh could ...Counterlight, you are correct that Van Gogh could not have done his masterworks during his bouts of madness, but surely his madness haunted him during his lucid periods. The fear of the return of a mad episode was always there, don't you think? To me, his pictures evidence that hauntedness. OCICBW. You're the teacher, and I'm thankful to you for sharing your knowledge and wisdom with us. You understand the creative process of painting much more than I, because you do it. <BR/><BR/>"Starry Night" itself looks hallucinatory. In fact, I have the sense that if I looked at it for too long, it could drive me mad. Of course I may be part way there already.<BR/><BR/>FWIW, you seem pretty sane to me.June Butlerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01723016934182800437noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2343439372519556254.post-62190923918556527702008-08-20T21:09:00.000-04:002008-08-20T21:09:00.000-04:00Thank you so much. I am so tired of the old idea t...Thank you so much. I am so tired of the old idea that people need to be neurotic or even worse to do art. I've know writers refuse to get psychological counseling for fear of losing their creativity.Ruth Hull Chatlienhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08797146501548509911noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2343439372519556254.post-43005918878759601702008-08-20T01:53:00.000-04:002008-08-20T01:53:00.000-04:00Counterlight, what you say about his paintings com...Counterlight, what you say about his paintings coming from periods of lucidity and relative wellness rings true. Many years ago, around 1971-72, I viewed an extensive Van Gogh exhibit at the de Young in San Francisco. It was quite wonderful to see up close the bold, bright colors laid out in fresh, clean, thick paint, a vision so singular and passionate. The exhibit ended with what was believed to be his last painting, a yellow wheat field with black crows flying away into a blue-black, stormy-looking sky. People were commenting on the significance of the jagged road that cuts through the center of the painting and stops abruptly, leading nowhere. But my roommate, who stared into it for a long time, turned around beaming. "It's ecstatic!" she whispered. I looked again, and it was.fshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03999534065792796382noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2343439372519556254.post-59578548415754506932008-08-19T23:40:00.000-04:002008-08-19T23:40:00.000-04:00Yes. Is this way of teling the story original (I m...Yes. Is this way of teling the story original (I mean that in the technical sense), Doug? I don't ever remember hearing it told this way before now. The idea that Van Gogh painted in periods of lucidity and joy rings so much more true that what I have always heard before. Thank you. In an odd way, this stirs up hope. So many of the folks in this town suffer mental illnesses - because the state hospital was closed some 20 years ago. Those who are members of our parish are also among the most insightful, passionate, truthful and articulate people in town when their illnesses abate for a season.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2343439372519556254.post-60319704101599332962008-08-19T23:36:00.000-04:002008-08-19T23:36:00.000-04:00Masterfully written, Counterlight. I want to come...Masterfully written, Counterlight. I want to come back and say more, but I don't have time now.June Butlerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01723016934182800437noreply@blogger.com