Name/Title
Untitled (from "Closed Ward" or "Locked Ward" series)Entry/Object ID
2003.D10Description
With sepia ink on paper, Michael Mazur sketches the depressing reality of humans isolated from the “civilized” world. Washes of reddish brown pigment shadow the intertwined figures of two ward patients, while sharp, erratic sketch lines form the shape of their sprawled bodies. This sketch captures Michael Mazur’s “Closed Ward” and “Locked Ward” series in their rawest states.
Mazur’s visit to the Veterans’ Administration Hospital in Northampton, MA left him aghast. Exposed to the underbelly of a neglected community, Mazur felt inspired to create both of his acclaimed series, Closed and Locked Ward. Critics received the work as brooding, depressing, and deeply humanistic. These patients were not just closed or locked in the ward, but locked out of society. Isolated. Individuals exhibiting behaviors deemed abnormal by social standards were physically removed from society and placed in wards with inhuman treatment.
With the possibility of psychiatric exile hanging over one's head, social masking and repression presents themselves as admission into society. Fear in expressing oneself and one’s troubles weighs heavily on individuals in hostile environments. In combination with the analysis of Mazur’s Ward Series depicting humans existing outside of the "civilized" world, it is claimed these localized persons are left with loneliness and desperation. Subsequently, the logical assumption would then be made that individuals in the “civilized” world should exhibit no such feelings of loneliness or desperation. But, we know this isn’t true. When the support from civilization fails, a mask operates as a device to conceal one's perceived vulnerabilities. Therefore, it is not civilization that breeds security, but community.Acquisition
Accession
2003Acquisition Method
GiftCredit Line
Gift of Lynn L. Landy, 2010Inscription/Signature/Marks
Type
Signature, DateLocation
LRDimensions
Dimension Description
SheetHeight
17-1/4 inWidth
27-3/4 inDimension Description
SightHeight
17-3/4 inWidth
28-1/4 inDimension Description
FinishedHeight
23-1/2 inWidth
34 in