The Lamp Art Project is in Skid Row which lies in the shadows of
downtown Los Angeles' central-east sector.
(lamp art project photos / photoshop work/ rory white)
Below: A glancing view of downtown viewed from the west.
To those with schizophrenia and other mental illnesses
our visual environment can be seen with either more clarity,
with an intensity of beauty, or can suddenly shift
into a hyper-saturation of stimuli.
Highly catalytic drugs, like LSD, were once referred to as
"psychoto-mimetic", meaning they elicited a neurological and
perceptual response which evoked a mimic of psychosis.
In fact, our clearest theories as to mental illness, from depression
to psychosis, suggest that certain persons are genetically predisposed
toward an inbalance in the delicate equilibrium that transpires in our
neural synapses, that is, in the junctions of our nerves.
Medications, for many, can cause a balancing of neural chemistry, and
create the necessary first step toward achieving mental health.
However, the nurturing of the human spirit, through enlightened care,
destigmatization, and the encouragement of self-actualization,
such as often found in the creative arts, are equally essential toward helping
individuals with mental diagnoses achieve a stronger foothold in life.
It is particularly noteworthy that, while some individuals with
mental diagnoses do not need, or do not respond to medications,
while many others do, that in either case, the substantiation of that
individual's human value and their creativity is essential to healing.
It is equally essential to note that balanced use of medications
does NOT quench the artist's vision, but empowers the artist living
with a mental diagnosis, in very many cases, to pursue and manifest
the great creative urges inherent to the artist, and to the human being.
Below : Darlene Altemeier Dobb's "5th & Crocker", oil on canvas, 40"x30". 2004.
The view directly outside of Lamp Village.
Below : Darlene working on a street scene. 7th & Gladys.
She is depicting the direct view from the door way of the art project.
Below : 7th & Gladys. (shot from approximately same spot as Darlene's painting, above.).
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