Stuck

Why we can't (or won't) move on from bad jobs, bad relationships, and bad habits, and how we can all move ahead.

by Anneli Rufus

Can Art Drive Us Crazy?

By Anneli Rufus on August 12, 2009 in Stuck

At the Louvre on August 2, security guards wrestled a Russian visitor to the floor and subdued her after she hurled a cup of tea at the Mona Lisa. The woman was handed over to police and is now in their custody, having undergone a psychological examination during which psychiatrists strove to determine whether or not she was afflicted with Stendhal Syndrome, "a rare condition that causes dizziness, confusion or violent acts when an individual is exposed to art." Read More

This must be scary

Submitted by Wallaby on August 12, 2009 - 11:23am.

As an art major, I often felt the desire to toss my art books out my car window, but I think that was a different thing. I was in Paris for a semester, and I literally felt weak in the knees many times, almost drunk on the power of the beauty all around me. As someone who grew up in an ugly suburb full of strip malls and pavement, it was like being in sensual overload. I can believe some people would be driven mad by it...

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I can understand how this could happen.

Submitted by Marcia Dream on August 13, 2009 - 3:01am.

Art can evoke a strong emotional response in people. - That's the whole point of art, isn't it? So I can certainly see how some people can have such a strong reaction.

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Psychology image tests

Submitted by Robert Fisher on August 13, 2009 - 7:45am.

I wonder if this has anything to do with the psychology tests were they ask the test taker what they think the image is.

I think this story makes lots of sense, it has been proven that colors affect our mood, why wouldn't a mixture of colors in the right perception not do worse?