University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics Medical Museum

Diagnostik

Exhibit Brochure

Exhibition Description
Through the medium of art, Diagnostik strives to provoke contemplation and dialogue concerning perceptions about the mentally ill and the dignity of the individual patient. Stimulated by photographs, documents and objects from the collections of the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics Medical Museum, the exhibition represents an aesthetic and critical response to the history of mental health care.

University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics Medical Museum's permanent collection is comprised of over 5,000 artifacts, hundreds of photographs, a research archive and other documentation such as original patient records. These materials resonate with the social, cultural and ethical climate of their time, providing a rich resource for study and research.

One need not become a chamber to be haunted,
One need not be a house;
The brain has corridors surpassing
Material place.

Emily Dickinson (1830-86)

In 1921, at age 36, Swiss physician Hermann Rorschach published Psychodiagnostik, the now famous Inkblot test. Rorschach was an amateur artist who first began to explore the potential of using a visual approach to psychological evaluation and diagnosis while working in an adolescent psychiatric ward.

The Iowa State Psychopathic Hospital, founded in 1920 in an annex of the original University Hospital, moved to a new state-of-the-art facility in 1921. An association is drawn between these two events to acknowledge the emphasis placed on devising scientific approaches to treating mental illness in Iowa and elsewhere at this time. The Psychopathic Hospital was an advanced facility that exemplified a shift away from the custodial asylum toward research, treatment and prevention. Moreover, it was the first hospital for the mentally ill associated with a university to be established west of the Mississippi.

The inkblot serves as a theme throughout this exhibit. It is used to reveal, obscure and modify images. The Rorschach test is based on the human tendency to project interpretations and feelings onto ambiguous stimuli. Here it becomes a metaphor for subjective and projective analysis, a criticism of the inkblot test as it was widely used in the 1940s and 1950s. This was never an intention of Rorschach, who died at the age of 37, before he could refine his method.

16.Courtesy of Marguerite Perret and Bruce Scherting.

Many early forms of psychological diagnosis and treatment were likewise diluted by personal, moral and social bias. In the 19th century, "moral insanity" was a diagnostic category for patients who, while considered generally sane, were thought irrational only in specific subjects such as unpopular or radical ideas on politics and religion.

By the early 20th century, some of these ideas had been discredited, but others persisted. More pervasive still were preconceptions about the patient's class, gender and ethnicity. These are represented in the installation through excerpts from patient admissions logs and quotes drawn from a variety of sources. They are included here as part of the historical record.

The Iowa State Psychopathic Hospital closed in 1991 after 70 years of service to the residents of Iowa and it's mission was absorbed by the Department of Psychiatry at University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics. The Psychopathic Hospital was revolutionary in many respects. The first Director, Dr. Samuel Orton (1920-1927), initiated the Mobile Mental Hygiene Clinic, which provided diagnostic services and referrals for children across the State of Iowa from 1926-1927. Such advanced ideas would not resurface again until the 1960s and 1970s. The Psychopathic Hospital was also progressive in that it admitted people "affected with abnormal mental conditions." By using this terminology instead of the label "insane," patients were able to receive treatment while maintaining their civil rights.

17.Courtesy of Marguerite Perret and Bruce Scherting.

Diagnostik is a collaborative project by visual artist Marguerite Perret and exhibition designer Bruce Scherting. The exhibition draws content from the collections of the University of Iowa Medical Museum and utilizes museum artifacts, photographs and textual materials in the creation of original art works. Marguerite Perret has exhibited nationally and writes about art as a freelance critic. Her work often explores scientific subjects. Bruce Scherting is a professional exhibition designer who has worked for the Field Museum of Natural History and the Shedd Aquarium in Chicago. He is currently employed by the University of Iowa Museum of Natural History and teaches in the Museum Studies Program.

Part One: Life CXXVI The brain is wider than the sky, For, put them side by side, The one the other will include With ease, and you beside. The brain is deeper than the sea, For, hold them blue to blue, The one the other will absorb, As sponges, buckets do. The brain is just the weight of God, For, lift them pound for pound And they will differ, if they do, As syllable from sound. Emily Dickinson (1830-1886)

18.Courtesy of Marguerite Perret and Bruce Scherting.