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The art of being crazy

The art of being crazy

Those who suffer from mental illness immediately lose their place in society.

Dr. Janos Marton

‘Over the last 30 years, I’ve come to the conclusion that there’s a lot of beauty hiding behind mental illness,’ says Dr. Janos Marton. The Hungarian-American doctor has won the Dr. Guislain Award for his project The Living Museum in New York.

The Living Museum has given patients the opportunity for over 30 years to convert their mental illnesses into various forms of artistic expression. This transforms them from psychiatric patients into artists, and they are also regarded as such by society. We had the chance to talk briefly with Dr. Marton.

Is The Living Museum art or therapy?
Dr. Marton: Primarily, The Living Museum is about art. On the other hand, it certainly does have a huge impact on patients’ lives. Those who suffer from mental illness immediately lose their place in society: you’re no longer a journalist, tailor, or baker, but you become ‘the outsider’. Thanks to the Living Museum, patients once again have a place in society. They become artists, and people come to The Living Museum to see their work. And that changes everything.

How do you find the contact with people with mental illness?
Dr. Marton: Over the last 30 years, I’ve come to the conclusion that there’s a lot of beauty hiding behind mental illness. Anyone who visits The Living Museum will undoubtedly find it an almost bewitching place. So open, so genuine. There’s absolutely no question of stigmas.

Each year, Janssen, in collaboration with the Guislain Museum in Ghent, awards a prize to someone who draws society’s attention to mental illness in a special manner, thus helping to break the taboo. ‘Although science has made vast progress, we’re still stuck in a taboo,’ says Husseini Manji, Global Head of Neurosciences at Janssen. ‘We’re honoring Dr. Marton’s work in order to help break the stigma and create a best practice for the treatment and restoration of patients with a mental disorder.’