Byline: PAUL GRONDAHL Staff Writer
COLONIE - If a picture is worth a thousand words, these anguished abstracts and skewed self-portraits tell stories of struggles against mental illness.
There is Isaac Brown's 'At Rest,' an ironically titled oil on canvas that depicts vaguely human forms imprisoned by taut lines and boldly colored grids.
'My art is part of my therapy. It helps me focus and makes me happy,' said Brown, 46, who works as a trainer at the Mental Health Empowerment Project in Albany and commutes from his home in Elizabeth, N.J.
Plagued by hallucinations after being honorably discharged from the Israeli Army in 1982, Brown was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia.
'Painting lets me express feelings and vent emotions in an acceptable form,' Brown said.
Brown's 3-by-4-foot oil painting, with an asking price of $2,300, is the highest-priced piece in an art show sponsored by the Mental Health Association in New York State. About 150 paintings, drawings and photographs from 75 New Yorkers who have received psychiatric treatment or come from a family with a history of mental illness will be on display Thursday at The Crossings for a one-day fundraiser.
'It keeps me sane,' said Stephen Dootz, 50, of Slingerlands, a full-time artist who has three pastels in the show as part of a 'Wetlands' series.
'Creating art helps me deal with my own excess energy,' said Dootz, whose family has a history of bipolar disorder.
For Burnest Crumpler, 45, of Albany, who works as a night-shift custodian, doing portraits of Bob Marley, Ray Charles and Charlie Parker taps into his creative side.
'Doing art makes me feel better and helps me socialize,' said Crumpler, who was diagnosed as a paranoid schizophrenic. He was repeatedly hospitalized until a few years ago, when medication, therapy sessions and social
activities at Clearview Center in Albany enabled him to hold a job.
Susan Murante, a MHANYS board member, attributes the creation of art for helping to lift herself out of a deep depression.
'I just felt like I couldn't go on at one point, but art allowed me to discover something hidden inside that restored my sense of worth and self,' said Murante, 65, who lives in the Adirondacks and is semi-retired after a long career in public relations in Albany and as press secretary to New York's former first lady Matilda Cuomo.
'Art gave me back my self-confidence,' said Murante, who continues to work as a photographer.
An indication of the ongoing stigma is the fact that several of the paintings are signed, simply, 'Anonymous.'
Paul Grondahl can be reached at 454-5623 or by e-mail at pgrondahl@timesunion.com.
Art showWhat: A show of artwork created by people who have battled mental illness. Fundraiser for Mental Health Association in New York State When: 5:30-9 p.m. Thursday Where: The Crossings, 580 Albany Shaker Road, Colonie Information: Admission is $25, $10 for seniors and students; 434-0439 or http://www.mhanys.org
