To what extent is there a genetic, sociological, and historical link

between ‘madness’ and creativity?

Jade Robbins

Senior Project Advisor: Stephen Sellers

Some of the most beloved figures in western households are the musicians we know and love.
Their melodies evoke an empathic response that kindles nostalgia and happiness. But, recent
studies have concluded that not only musicians, but artists in general, are more at risk of
suffering from mental disorders and violent lives. In this thesis, I explore the underlying causes
for this risk, and how we can use this information to better support artists. Using scholarly
articles, I find an underlying theme of the nature vs. nurture debate when examining why artists
are at risk. Like most things that boil down to this question, the answer lies within both nature
and nurture. This means that being prone to fantasy due to childhood adversity, and a societal
longing for connection resulting from pain, as well as genetic factors, are reasonable causes of
the link between madness and creativity. In order to prevent early artist death, dangerous
misconceptions, and unnecessary pain, this research can be used to further the applicability of art
therapy for established and unestablished artists.

12th Grade Humanities

Animas High School
06 April 2020
 Part I: Introduction

“No great mind has ever existed without a touch of madness.”- Aristotle

Athens is one of the earliest examples of a culture that accepted tragedy and art being

intertwined. The theatre of the ancient Greeks is still revered thousands of years later. Stories of

love, war, romance and tragedy would ring through amphitheaters of quiet, captivated observers

on the edge of their stone seats. Aristotle used the metaphor of catharsis in his exemplar

anthology ​Poetics.​Catharsis is the concept of purification or purgation of negative emotions,

through many art forms. Aristotle writes that ​the purpose of tragedy in theatre is to portray

“terror and pity” and thereby affect the catharsis of these emotions ​(Encyclopedia Britannica​).

This idea has been carried forward in psychology, with modern understandings of hormones and

empathy. ​In Ancient Greece, it was thought that without pain, a story had no meaning. For

thousands of years this idea has been widely accepted. From the legendary 27 club1 to the

infamous story of Vincent Van Gogh, the image of a mad genius is well known: a wide-eyed

artist, whiskey in one hand, paintbrush in the other, stuttering manic words that can only be

described as divinely inspired. Why is it so easy to conjure this image? Is it the result of a society

where artists are deemed the outcasts, or a reality where madness and creativity are intertwined

in our DNA? As statistics concerning the artist community become clear, the necessity for

finding the truth behind the Tortured Artist Trope becomes more apparent. Psychologists have

concluded that there are biological and sociological links between creativity and mental

1
​27 Club: The 27 Club includes popular musicians, artists, actors, and athletes who have died at age 27, often as a
result of drug and alcohol abuse or violent means.

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disorders. However, there are dangerous outcomes stemming from the misconception about the

necessity of madness in order to be a successful artist. Therefore, these links must be better

understood.

Part II: Historical Background

Perhaps the most famous example of the tortured artist2 in the West is Vincent Van Gogh,

who historically suffered from mental illness. Alongside this disease, he fostered enormous

creative ability. The extensive research diagnosing and analysing Van Gogh speaks volumes

about our fascination with this trope. In the most desperate times in his life he created his most

famous works. According to Mary Novitsky ​of the University of Mary Washington. “...he would

spend extended periods of time in the sun, avoided eating meals, and painted with lead-based

paint.”​He would spend countless hours repainting his work as the light changed and shifted on

his landscapes. In these hours, he was his most manic, licking the paint off of his brush and

scrawling tiny dashes in order to capture the uncapturable (Mary Novitsky). When looking into

these paintings, they are beautiful, but without the knowledge of his mania, and endless

dedication to his craft, they fall closer to the status of the other great impressionist painters of his

time.

Although Van Gogh is regarded as skilled and devoted, it is argued that his madness lives

on alongside his works, giving them more meaning and historical importance. In letters to his

brother, Theo, he expresses the necessity of alcohol and madness in order to create real art. One

particular letter written in 1888, shortly after moving closer to his brother, states that “if the

2
​Tortured Artist Trope: The tortured artist is a ​
stereotype​who is in constant torment due to frustrations with ​art​
,
other people, or the world in general.

2
storm inside gets too loud, I take a glass more to stun myself.”(Vincent Van Gogh)​​This sentence

is very important because there are many psychologists such as Dianna T. Kenny of ​The

University of Sydney​who conclude that life after fame is the main reason for drug and alcohol

abuse in the artist community. Although this is true as well, Van Gogh’s pleas to his brother

suggest that even unknown artists are more prone to substance abuse.

Van Gogh lived a grueling life, only to find success after his death. His sister-in-law, Jo

Van Gogh-Bonger, sold some of Van Gogh’s works. After she published his letters to Theo, his

tragic life story propelled his works into the category of masterful. In museums, his letters hang

next to his work almost as art themselves (Martin Bailey).

Van Gogh is a particularly visible example, but from Edvard Munch to Billie Eilish, the

story of pain producing greatness repeats itself generation after generation. Many artists

recognise this and believe that pain is necessary for creations of importance. Edvard Munch’s

The Scream. ​1893 Orsla, Norway National Gallery, is a haunting representation of terror and

internal devastation. Alongside this famous painting, he wrote journals later to be published to

further solidify his genius. Written in​T

​ he Private Journals of Edvard Munch: We Are Flames

Which Pour Out of the Earth​is a heart wrenching example of acceptance of one's connection to

their mental illness. He scrawls:

My fear of life is necessary to me, as is my illness. Without anxiety and illness, I am a

ship without a rudder. My art is grounded in reflections over being different from others.

My sufferings are part of my self and my art. They are indistinguishable from me, and

their destruction would destroy my art. I want to keep those sufferings. (Munch)

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 Munch was a man who feared many things, but what he seemed to fear most was losing

the very thing that was eating him alive. Edvard Munch was a prolific artist for the majority of

his life, but the most famous of his paintings is ​The Scream​. Although many of his paintings are

uplifting, ​The Scream​expresses the greatest amount of emotional turmoil and has such become

iconic. Perhaps the most compelling part of artistic expression is the ability to be completely bare

with even the darkest of human emotions. There is something more intense and important about

The Scream​when compared to his later and more refined work. ​The Scream’s​red toned color

palette is striking, and although art and its meaning is subjective, the angst is clear in this

painting. The distortion in the background, and in the painted man’s stance is unsettling, adding

an extra layer of drama to the flaming skies and dark river. His separation from the dark figures

on the bridge gives off a cold feeling of isolation. This painting feels as if it has meaning in every

brush stroke, whereas his later work, ​KrogerØ in Spring ​feels familiar and repetitive in the art

world. Humans are curious creatures, and highly emotive art peaks our curiosity. ​KrogerØ in

Spring r​eflects a muted color palette, and yet expresses vibrancy and peace with it’s rounded

edges and use of the golden ratio. Although technically more masterful, from the excellent

composition to the soft lighting, ​KrogerØ in Spring w

​ as never considered a masterpiece. The

pieces beg the question: Why are we attracted to something so obviously expressing anxiety and

terror?

4
 The Scream​(1893) ​KrogerØ in Spring(​1929)

Part III: Research and Analysis

Part 3.1: The Genetic Link

Creativity can be understood as the ​ability​to ​produce​or use ​original​and ​unusual​​ideas

(Cambridge English Dictionary). This might seem purely a trait of someone’s personality, but

recent studies have led beliefs in the direction that creativity is genetic. A recent study in ​PLoS

ONE​, a journal by the Department of Medical Genetics, University of Helsinki, measured the

musical creativity of participants based on their ability to judge pitch and time, as well as the

ability to compose and improvise. ​Their study compares musical creativity with the genetics of

their participants. They have discovered a certain cluster of genes that are directly correlated

with musical creativity. This cluster is responsible for the brain's ability to break and form new

connections between cells within the brain. Otherwise stated:

Creativity in music was found to co-segregate with a duplication covering glucose

mutarotase gene (GALM) at 2p22. GALM has influence on serotonin release and

5
 membrane trafficking of the human serotonin transporter. Interestingly, genes related to

serotonergic systems have been shown to associate not only with psychiatric disorders

but also with creativity and music perception. (Department of Medical Genetics,

University of Helsinki​)

This study is extremely interesting as it points to genetic reasoning for why creativity

seems to run in the family. Mental illness also has a history of running in the family, and for a

very similar reason. A recent study conducted by the NIH’s National Institute of Mental Health

(NIMH) examined 33,000 patients with​​autism, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD),

bipolar disorder, major depression and/or schizophrenia. They have also researched about 28,000

people with no major psychiatric diagnosis as a control. The analysis reveals significant genetic

variations between the two groups. These variations include two genes that code to aid in the

flow of calcium to the neurons. One of these variations is called CACNA1C, and has previously

been linked to many of the disorders analysed in the study. CACNA1C affects the brain’s

circuitry involving emotion, attention and memory, and most importantly the ability to form

individual ideas(NIMH). Although mental illness has long been thought to be partially

genetically caused, there has not been enough concrete research to say for certain whether genes

are mostly to blame for the recurring pattern of mental illness. While this is true, the research

that is being done allows us to move in a more positive direction when it comes to diagnosis of

mental disorders and the treatments associated.

Analysing the genetic connection between creativity and mental illness is the next course

of action after concluding that both have genetic ties. Creativity is a slippery subject, and is hard

to measure in a meaningful way. A recent study published in 2016 by ​Nature Neuroscience

6
focused not on measuring creativity but rather occupations that required creativity to research the

genetic link between creativity and mental disorders. ​Matthew C. Keller​and ​Peter M. Visscher

studied a sample of about 86,000 adults from Iceland, and none of the participants knowingly

suffered from a mental illness. About one percent of the participants were artists, actors, dancers,

musicians, or writers. The associations between the genetic risk scores and creativity were found

to be highly statistically significant. ​Nature Neuroscience​reported that the study “...found that

people at higher genetic risk for schizophrenia or bipolar disorder had a higher probability of

being employed as an artist or belonging to an artists’ union.” Without the tools to study

genetics, Aristotle might have been correct in assuming that there is no great mind without some

touch of madness.

Part 3.2: The Sociological Link

Although predisposition to madness and creativity is apparent, there is more to the

tortured artist trope than genetics. In fact, the sociological factors leading to and stemming from

this topic might be more substantial than the genetic factors. Childhood adversity and its

connection to creativity has long been an idea in psychology. The term fantasy proneness

originates in 1981, later to be developed even further in 1990 by Deirdre Barrett at Harvard. Its

basic meaning is a person with a personality trait that is prone to live in a dream world. Deirdre

Barrett takes the research a step further, relating it to research about early childhood trauma. She

concludes that exposure to abuse, physical or sexual, often leads to fantasizing as an escape or

coping mechanism. Adults whose self reported scores suggested higher fantasy proneness in

childhood also scored higher in the self reported Creative Capacity Questionnaire devised by

Susanna A. Lack​located at the ​Minnesota School of Professional Psychology.

7
 Some do believe that painful experiences are necessary to create real art, and the current

research being conducted on childhood adversity and the creative experience aids in the validity

of this belief. The ACE study is a self reporting instrument meant to compare a person's health

with higher and lower ACE scores. It is basically a system of tallying different types of abuse,

neglect and other adverse childhood experiences. ​Performing artists experienced significantly

higher rates of emotional abuse and neglect compared to the original ACE study (​Felitti​).

Whether that means that children of abuse and neglect are more likely to be artists or not, the

trend does validate the importance of studying fantasy proneness due to childhood adversity.

Does a higher ACE score mean an individual is predisposed to be an artist? If so, then the

necessity for mental health awareness in the artist community is extremely evident.

Understanding the roots of this trend is the first step, but consumers of music and art have a role

to play in how we think about mental health for artists.

Part 3.3: The Empathetic Link

According to data scientists at the​Lawrence Technological University in Michigan, the

expression of anger in popular music lyrics has increased gradually over time. During the mid

50s, the most popular songs released were the least angry, and eventually the popular music

became angrier and sadder, until reaching its peak in 2015. The music that is made popular has a

huge effect on the music that is continued to be produced, and the idea of what it means to be a

successful musician. If angry and depressing themes are popularized by the music listener, then

music with similar themes will continue to be successful.

The most popular female musician of 2019 and 2020 is the eighteen-year-old Billie

EIlish. In her lyrics, she explores themes of nightmares and suicide, especially within her most

8
popular album,​When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go​? Teens resonate with the singer for a

multitude of reasons. She expresses the angst for the current state of our treatment for mental

health issues. She is not afraid to write about things that are current and dark. From “Bury a

Friend” to “Xanny”, she delves into her own experiences with watching her musician friends

descend into darkness through drugs and violent deaths. Our culture eats it up because it is rare

to hear a popular artist create such raw and honest work, without following the pop algorithm3.

Fans of Eilish find a sense of community in empathizing with her. She reaches out to the people

who feel lost and angry and she brings them something beautiful but undiluted.

Music listening is a highly empathetic process. According to lead researcher Zachery

Wallmark of Southern Methodist University: “Higher-empathy people, who are more sensitive to

social stimulus, hear music as if in the virtual presence of another person.” Without the ability

for humans to empathize, music would hold much less meaning. So, it makes sense that in order

to increase social bonding, a conversation through music that feels more emotional would cause

a positive response. Just like the concept of Catharsis, purging negative emotions through art is

scientifically sound. There is pleasure in listening to sad music. In fact, accor​ding to Huron D,

Margulis E. H, “Melancholy music is linked to the hormone prolactin, a chemical which helps to

curb ​grief. The body is essentially preparing itself to adapt to a traumatic event, and when that

event does not happen, the body is left with a pleasurable mix of opiates with nowhere else to

go.” Highly melancholic melodies and emotional lyrics resonate differently with empathetic

people, who are more likely to be avid music listeners. This leads to the question, does an

individual have to have mental disorders or childhood adversity in order to create highly

3
Pop algorithm: A certain structure or style that is similar in popular music given any era.

9
emotional music? ​Huron D.’s​research concludes that although artists are more likely to suffer

from mental disorders, suffering is not necessary, and may even be detrimental to artistic

creation.

Part IV: Discussion and Conclusion​:

One of the most fascinating ways that the link between mental illness and creativity is

explored currently is through art therapy. Although most of the work with patients concerning art

therapy has been theoretical, recently many studies have quantitatively examined the benefits of

creative pursuits in patients with mental health issues. One study in particular conducted by

Heather L. Stuckey​uses self reporting to determine that “​creative engagement can decrease

anxiety, stress, and mood disturbances” (Stuckey). This connects with the hypothesis that many

artists are drawn to art to cope with pre-existing mental conditions. This suggests that art is not a

result of madness but is linked because creative stimulation is very positive to those with mental

illness. Understanding this connection from a biological and sociological standpoint is important

because art can be used to heal. Examining the roots of this link can lead to a more scientific

understanding of art therapy, and how/why it works.

The research referenced previously suggests that the link between ‘madness’ and

creativity is deeply ingrained in our DNA and in our society. Whether this is harmful or

beneficial to the artist community is debated, but artists who suffer from mental disorders should

seek help because it is not necessary to suffer in order to create. In fact it may be that artists

create in order to suffer less. It is important that individuals deemed creative are not dismissed

simply because of the normalisation of ‘madness’ in the artist community. Instead, the arts

should be looked at as a vessel through which healing is conducted.

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 Moving forward, it is necessary that we find a way to better support artists, famous or

otherwise. According to ​Dianna T. Kenny, PhD, and Anthony Asher, PhD, the average age of

death for artists who achieved fame or notoriety, (measured by All-Time Top 1,000 albums), is

30 years old. This is extremely frightening, because the average age of death in the UK and

North America is 80.6 years old, meaning something is very wrong. Even more frightening, the

results showed that popular musicians have an excess mortality rate from violent deaths such as

suidice and drug overdoses. Although half of the artists in this study that died from substance

abuse had experienced childhood adversity, the reality that fame kills is becoming glaringly

obvious as each month passes. The culture of Sex, Drugs, and Rock n Roll4 is dangerous and yet

predominant in the music industry. Media such as movies, interviews, and documentaries

highlight and arguably glorify dangerous trends like this to the point of normalisation. Even

though the likelihood of a famous musician dying from a risk taking activity is twice as high as

the average Uk population(Dianna), this does not have to be the case in the future. Whether these

artists are predisposed to be risk takers, or the industry itself is a killer, it is important that we

notice the trends and try to prevent future deaths. This can be done by limiting the glorification

of the culture of Drugs, Sex and Rock n Roll, and emphasisng the importance of healthy outlets

for creative people.

Part 4.1: Further Research

It would be beneficial to study the groups who work creatively as their sole profession

and whether they have different patterns of psychiatric morbidity and personality traits. This

4
Sex, Drugs and Rock n Roll: A pop culture reference to the rockstar lifestyle which is often described as
over indulgent and harmful.

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would lead us in a better direction when concerning whether morbidity and or psychiatric

differences are actually more or less important in order to be a successful artist. Although it is

interesting to analyse an artist's individual philosophies when concerning the necessity of

madness, using this model would solidify the research. Much of this quantitative work has been

conducted to study the genetic link between mental illness and creativity, but this is hardly

transferable into the validity of the importance of madness in creative pursuits. After researching

the necessity of trauma and or mental abnormalities in order to create successful art,

psychologists could better treat individuals who are creatively inclined.

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 Appendix:

Figure One: ​Edvard Munch’s ​The Scream. 1​893 Orsla, Norway National Gallery

Figure Two: ​KrogerØ in Spring. ​1929 Private Collection

13
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Blumer, Dietrich. “The Illness of Vincent Van Gogh.” ​American Journal of Psychiatry,​1 Apr.

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Coben, Benna. "Another 27 Club Member:An Examination of Amy Winehouse’s Life and

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2015, ​www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4590283/​.

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