A moving article by John Crispin demonstrates the emotional, social and political power of found objects (and photographs of them). A reminder too, of the potential of careful attention to the overlooked ...
"In 1995, the New York State Office of Mental Health closed the Willard Psychiatric Center in Willard, NY. It would eventually become a state-run drug rehabilitation center for prisoners. A Willard employee, Bev Courtwright, was given the task of going through all of the psych center buildings to determine what should be salvaged. She unlocked an attic door behind which was a collection of over 400 suitcases containing the possessions of former patients.
The cases had been put into storage when their owners were admitted to Willard sometime between 1910 and 1960. And since the facility was set up to help people with chronic mental illness, most of these folks never left, and many were buried in the cemetery across the road. Craig Williams acquired the cases for the New York State Museum and they were placed in the permanent collection."
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ReplyDeleteSo intriguing!
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