Outsider Art and Psychoanalytic Psychiatry: The “Nativity of Fools” at the Cogoleto Psychiatric Hospital

Outsider Art and Psychoanalytic Psychiatry explores the relationship between psychiatric institutions and psychiatric violence through the art created by the inhabitants of a psychiatric hospital. It examines the Cogoleto Psychiatric Hospital, now abandoned, and how its architecture and ideology influenced treatment. The book includes an in-depth study of the "Nativity of Fools," a large art installation constructed by patients, nurses, and psychiatrists, representing their everyday lives in the asylum. It proposes original psychoanalytic reflections on the obsolescence of psychiatric hospitals and the treatment of mental suffering without institutionalizing people.

Format: Hardback
Length: 130 pages
Publication date: 29 February 2024
Publisher: Taylor & Francis Ltd

Outsider Art and Psychoanalytic Psychiatry delves into the captivating world of psychiatric institutions and the profound impact of psychiatric violence as seen through the art created by the inhabitants of a psychiatric hospital. Cosimo Schinaia takes us on a journey through the history of the abandoned Cogoleto Psychiatric Hospital, exploring how its architectural design and ideology shaped the treatment of its patients. At the heart of this book lies an in-depth historical, anthropological, and psychoanalytical exploration of the "Nativity of Fools," a massive art installation constructed from 1980 to 1984 by patients, nurses, and psychiatrists, capturing their daily lives within the asylum. Schinaia's interpretation of these scenes delves into profound themes of nostalgia, isolation, privacy, and freedom, raising thought-provoking questions about the risks of institutionalized segregation.

Furthermore, the book offers original psychoanalytic reflections on the subject of the obsolescence of psychiatric hospitals and the exploration of alternative approaches to treating mental suffering without resorting to institutionalization. This book holds immense appeal to psychoanalysts in both practice and training, psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers, and nurses, as well as readers with an interest in outsider art, Arte Povera, and the history of psychiatric institutions and contemporary psychiatry.

Weight: 470g
Dimension: 234 x 156 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781032464510