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Winter 2011/12 | Vol 15 No 2

Review

Lisa Brown and Chris Mitchell

Exposing the art of addiction

Addiction science cultivates visual art as an advocacy tool for social change in a new book titled Addiction and Art. Published by Johns Hopkins University Press as a companion text to Addiction Treatment: Science and Policy for the Twenty-First Century, this new volume is intended to mark an intersection of science and visual art. It presents 61 artworks by 57 artists, accompanied by deeply personal artist statements. The editors, who come from psychiatry or art education backgrounds, position the book as a tool for advancing our understanding of addiction, which they argue is one of the major public health issues of our time.

The impetus for the book is rooted in a series of juried art exhibitions that were held over five years in conjunction with national substance abuse conferences. These exhibitions were funded by a national program initiated by Innovators Combating Substance Abuse at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. Inspired by valuable lessons from the HIV/AIDS community, which has successfully used art to portray the human experience of the disease, Addiction and Art similarly strategizes to use art to change how we view addictions and substance use issues. The art in the book was selected by a panel of addiction scientists, artists and professional curators from more than 1,000 submissions received in response to a national call for artwork responding to a theme of drug addiction and recovery.

The resulting collection reflects all types of addiction, including legal drugs, illegal drugs and addictive behaviours and disorders. It includes a broad spectrum of real-world experiences, including artworks by people recovering from addiction, as well as by family members, friends and health care workers. The collection showcases paintings, sculpture, drawings, photography and other mediums. The accompanying artist statements strive to broaden our understanding of the works and to provide insight into the personal experiences of the artists.

The goal of the selection panel was to present a group of artwork that would address all aspects of addiction “from its allure, to its destructiveness, to new life found in treatment of recovery.” Another aim was to reveal the social and cultural implications of these illnesses. The art and stories are honest, raw and challenging. Those created by people in recovery are especially rich in their complexity and imagery. Many, such as Neonate Alcoholism, are disturbing, challenging, even grotesque. Some stark, conceptual works are powerful in their blunt messaging, such as 0 Refills Left.

Neonate Alcoholism, Amanda Alders, 2008, acrylic on canvas, 24” x 36”. Courtesy of Johns Hopkins University Press.

0 Refills Left, Derek Cumings, 2008, mixed media, discarded medication, toy gun, 4” x 7” x 4.5”. Courtesy of Johns Hopkins University Press.

As a whole, this collection reveals the complexity of addiction issues, particularly in the accompanying statements, where many of the artists expressed that creating these works has in itself been a tool on the path to recovery. Many of the works by friends and family are clearly cathartic, often with the unfortunate result of seeming cliché. Where the collection risks failing to achieve its intent to engage individual readers to move beyond stigma and stereotypes is that it is so successful in revealing the sadness, despair, self-reflection, angst, pain and remorse that afflicts those suffering from their own or a loved one’s addiction that it could actually reinforce stereotypes. Messages of hope and success in recovery are virtually absent in these artworks.

It’s not entirely clear who this book is for. The editors say it is not intended to be part of a treatment program, but they hope it will inspire friends and family, people with addiction, policymakers and scientists. The impact of the artworks is hampered by the textbook format. It doesn’t feel like a coffee table art book intended for mass distribution, which it would need in order to achieve the societal shift in attitudes achieved by art projects like the AIDS Memorial Quilt. But it could inspire a group of individuals to conceive of and realize a project that would have that impact.

Addiction and Art. Patricia B. Santora, Margaret L. Dowell, and Jack E. Henningfield, eds. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press. 2010, 160 pp., $29.95US.

Lisa Brown is executive/artistic director and founder of Workman Arts in Toronto.

Chris Mitchell is visual arts manager at Workman Arts.