Singing of loss and love

The case of Dr P also raises queslions about the wellsprings of creativity. In a quarrelsome and moving scene, Dr P's more than competent representational paintings from earlier years are compared with his more recent abstract works. Dr S links this artistic change with Dr P's developing illness, which provokes his wife's anger. She claims that the changes are a normal artistic development and accuses Dr S of failing to understand contemporary abstract art. Both are partly correct but the conflict between them and the movement from representation to abstraction raises profound and as yet unanswered questions about the nature of creativity. The abstraction in the art of known schizophrenic patients seems "mad" and fails to communicate to the ordinary observer. The abstraction in non-psychotic artists does not diminish communication. A little intellectual effort and emotional flexibility allow the observer to understand and respond to the painting. Both Dr S with his artistic naivety and Mrs P trying to protect her loved husband are correct.