Many artists could be called obsessive about their work. New Mexico artist Charles Benefiel really is obsessive. So much so that his condition, OCD, requires frequent psychiatric intervention. Benefiel does not mind the world knowing this as it is such a critical component of his artistic expression. His perception of the world certainly informs his art - is his art - but there is no
10 Sep 2004
Judi Jagger
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Performing Arts
Many artists could be called obsessive about their work. New Mexico artist Charles Benefiel really is obsessive. So much so that his condition, OCD, requires frequent psychiatric intervention. Benefiel does not mind the world knowing this as it is such a critical component of his artistic expression. His perception of the world certainly informs his art – is his art – but there is no question that his work stands on its own merits regardless.
Is Charles Benefiel an artist with a mental health problem, or is he an occasional psychiatric patient who just happens to make good art? And does it matter anyway?
Judi Jagger is a freelance writer who lives on 15 acres of rural isolation overlooking an island. She loves how the Internet can bring the world to her. When she does venture out, it is to the theatre and cinema and to visit galleries and bookshops. In a previous life she has been a teacher, a librarian, a cleaner (very, very briefly) and a hospital admissions clerk. The nicest thing anyone has told her was that she was “educated, not domesticated”. It was meant disparagingly. She will get round to putting it on a T-shirt one day.
