Unhinged
On Jitterbugs, Melancholics and Mad-Doctors
Published on 13. December 2019
Book
Hardback
256 pages
978-94-63887-22-9 (ISBN)
Description
Madness deranges, throws us off
balance, and makes us lose our footing. Yet some writers claim that
madness is an enlargement of normality. But how can that which we cannot
control belong to 'normality'? And what is normality?
For more
than 30 years, the permanent display on psychiatry has been the very
heart of the Museum Dr. Guislain in Ghent. The history of psychiatry is
the inspiration for new thematic exhibitions every year, in which the
museum seeks to dislodge entrenched views and deep-rooted stigmas and
reframe them in the context of today. In October 2019, this permanent
display received a make-over and has been presented under the title
'Unhinged', in which the Museum Dr. Guislain offers a fresh look at its
own history as a museum.
The richly illustrated publication
explores the boundaries of the traditional and goes in search of the
sane in the insane. It provides an overview of psychiatry on the basis
of five contemporary themes that enter into dialogue with each other:
'power and powerlessness', 'body and mind', 'architecture',
'classification' and 'imagination'. Historical documents are also put
side by side with contemporary art, creating a dynamic interpretation.
This
new approach reflects today's 'crazy' society, in which, happily,
increasing attention is being paid to psychological vulnerability, but
in which mental health care is also facing new challenges more than
ever.
balance, and makes us lose our footing. Yet some writers claim that
madness is an enlargement of normality. But how can that which we cannot
control belong to 'normality'? And what is normality?
For more
than 30 years, the permanent display on psychiatry has been the very
heart of the Museum Dr. Guislain in Ghent. The history of psychiatry is
the inspiration for new thematic exhibitions every year, in which the
museum seeks to dislodge entrenched views and deep-rooted stigmas and
reframe them in the context of today. In October 2019, this permanent
display received a make-over and has been presented under the title
'Unhinged', in which the Museum Dr. Guislain offers a fresh look at its
own history as a museum.
The richly illustrated publication
explores the boundaries of the traditional and goes in search of the
sane in the insane. It provides an overview of psychiatry on the basis
of five contemporary themes that enter into dialogue with each other:
'power and powerlessness', 'body and mind', 'architecture',
'classification' and 'imagination'. Historical documents are also put
side by side with contemporary art, creating a dynamic interpretation.
This
new approach reflects today's 'crazy' society, in which, happily,
increasing attention is being paid to psychological vulnerability, but
in which mental health care is also facing new challenges more than
ever.
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
Belgium
Illustrations
Illustrations
Dimensions
Height: 240 mm
Width: 170 mm
Weight
940 gr
ISBN-13
978-94-63887-22-9 (9789463887229)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Persons
Patrick Allegaert
studied philosophy, criminology and educational sciences at KU Leuven.
He used to be the artistic director of the Dr. Guislain Museum, where he
is now the artistic advisor and policy advisor.
Arnout De Cleene
studied cultural sciences and literature at KU Leuven, where he
obtained his PhD with a thesis on the relationship between literature
and madness. He works as a scientific staff member and policy advisor at
the Dr. Guislain Museum.
Yoon Hee Lamot studied art history at Ghent University. She is a scientific staff member at the Dr. Guislain Museum.
Bart Marius
is the artistic director of the Dr. Guislain Museum. He studied
clinical psychology and art history at Ghent University. He has worked
on many exhibitions and publications over the years.
Andrew Scull is the author of many books on the history of psychiatry, including Madness in Civilization, which has been translated into a dozen languages (London: Thames and Hudson/Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2015).
Sarah van Bouchaute studied history at Ghent University. She is a scientific staff member at the Dr. Guislain Museum.
studied philosophy, criminology and educational sciences at KU Leuven.
He used to be the artistic director of the Dr. Guislain Museum, where he
is now the artistic advisor and policy advisor.
Arnout De Cleene
studied cultural sciences and literature at KU Leuven, where he
obtained his PhD with a thesis on the relationship between literature
and madness. He works as a scientific staff member and policy advisor at
the Dr. Guislain Museum.
Yoon Hee Lamot studied art history at Ghent University. She is a scientific staff member at the Dr. Guislain Museum.
Bart Marius
is the artistic director of the Dr. Guislain Museum. He studied
clinical psychology and art history at Ghent University. He has worked
on many exhibitions and publications over the years.
Andrew Scull is the author of many books on the history of psychiatry, including Madness in Civilization, which has been translated into a dozen languages (London: Thames and Hudson/Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2015).
Sarah van Bouchaute studied history at Ghent University. She is a scientific staff member at the Dr. Guislain Museum.