Talking about Hitchcock in class today got me thinking about obsessive people and the things which they obsess over. Most artists, I would argue, have something that they obsess about. Actually, I would argue (and I think so would a lot of other people) that it is from this obsession that the artist creates. I mean, look at Eben in Portrait of Jennie (I know, I know, why beat a dead horse, but stick with me for just a second), his “masterpiece” comes from his obsession with Jennie. She is, after all, the object of his painting. And then there is Hitchcock himself. Obviously, if he had had a different set of obsessions, Vertigo would probably by a very different film.

This actually reminds me of a conversation I had with a friend the other day. I was joking with her that “naturally all great artists are substance abusers – I haven’t written anything great because I haven’t found a substance to abuse yet!” Then, seriously she replied to me: all great artists are mentally ill, you know. I’m not sure I buy into that. But after today’s class it got me thinking: are obsessive people mentally ill? I would say no. I would argue that everyone has an obsession, whether or not they are cognizant of it is a different story. Does that mean everyone is mentally ill? Well if everyone suffered from the same mental illness, wouldn’t that make it a normal state of being?

So, are artists crazy? Is obsessiveness crazy? I don’t know. I don’t think so.