Van Gogh was Mentally Sick — What’s Our Excuse?
Van Gogh’s excuse for cutting off his ear was that he was mentally ill. What’s our excuse for cutting off our breath, facial expressions, and voice audibility?
I had just completed my walkthrough this weekend of the Van Gogh exhibition at the Columbus Museum of Art when an elderly man exited just after me with loud and labored breathing. He had pulled his mask down to his chin, revealing an oxygen tube, and had faced himself toward a corner of the gift shop to try to hide the fact that his mask was down. …and then he would pull it back up to continue his walk.
“Sir. Just pull the mask down. It’s not safe for you to keep it on.”
But that’s not what he heard. He was so sure I must be scolding him for having his mask down that his first response was, “I’m trying to keep it up as much as I can.”
“No,” I replied. “I mean, pull it down and keep it down. It’s not safe for you to leave it up. Take the damned thing off.”
By the look in his eyes it was clear he was still not fully certain I had just suggested taking the mask off.
“Don’t worry about what anyone thinks. It’s not good for you.”
He got it this time, overcoming his priors.
“Thanks for that,” he replied.
Here we have a man that had just made his way through the entire exhibition, presumably only rarely pulling his mask down when on the inside, because it was clear he was relieved to be out where he felt there were less eyes on him and he could pull his mask down. This fellow has years left in his life. Probably less. And he’s under profound pressure to put his health at risk and undergo extreme distress just to go enjoy himself at a show.
“Poor Van Gogh, on the edge of insanity,” many a museum attendee says to themselves in such a show.
Van Gogh’s excuse for cutting off his ear was that he was mentally ill. What’s our excuse for cutting off our breath, facial expressions, and voice audibility?
Those in a mass psychosis may not have any psychopathy (as I discuss in the video below), but their behavior is often orders of magnitude worse than what any psychopath would do.
I talk about this event in more detail in the second Moment video below.