Drawing Autism [Hardcover]

Jill Mullin (Author), Temple Grandin (Introduction)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 15, 2009

Although autism was first identified in 1943, the last decade has seen the complex neurobiological disorder become a topic of conversation the world over. Knowing no racial, ethnic or social barriers, today autism is diagnosed in 1 in every 150 children, with boys four times more likely to be autistic than girls. Known as a spectrum disorder, autism manifests differently in every diagnosis. From social deficits to behavioral difficulties and language delays, the severity of autism varies greatly from person to person. The unique nature of how autism affects individuals in myriad ways makes the disorder a challenge for those who have it, have children with it or work with those living with the diagnosis. Art has long been an outlet used by some individuals with autism to express themselves in instances where words do not work, or cannot be made to.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Jill Mullin is a New York City-based behavior analyst and educator working as a clinical supervisor, training teachers and social workers to use a behavioral approach when working with individuals diagnosed with autism and their families.

Temple Grandin is an American doctor of animal science and professor at Colorado State University, bestselling author, and consultant to the livestock industry on animal behavior. As a person with high-functioning autism, Grandin is widely noted for her work in autism advocacy. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 160 pages
• Publisher: Mark Batty Publisher; 1 edition (November 15, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0981960006
• ISBN-13: 978-0981960005
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 0.9 x 11.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #805,286 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The soul of autism in form and color, February 21, 2010

By 

Dennis Littrell (SoCal) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Drawing Autism (Hardcover)

This art book is primarily a celebration of form and color as done by artists on the autistic spectrum. I counted 53 different artists with a wide range of styles. Just to note a few: there is the blueprint precision of Temple Grandin, the cubist-like work of Wil C. Kerner, the pointillism style of Esher Brokaw, the cartoons of Justin Canha and Glen Russ, the categorical detailed work of Gregory L. Blackstone, the ethereal anguish of Marilyn Cosho, and many more. I felt an overall sense of estrangement and longing that is at the heart of the human predicament. We are both part of this world and estranged from it; we are among family and friends and yet we are alone. We feel the contradictions and the confusions of life and we try to make sense of it.

I think it was at least partially the intent of Jill Mullin, who edited the book and conducted the interviews with the artists, to allow the artwork to reveal the unique soul of autism. She writes: "...I sorted the work so that it provides an overview of the spectrum while celebrating the creative individuality of every single person on the spectrum. These themes and visual tendencies do speak to aspects of the diagnoses." (p. 13)

We, so-called "normal" people, necessarily see the world in a utilitarian sense heavily colored by subsistence and social need. Consequently I have always thought that one of the things that an artist must do is free our minds from the prison of utility in which we see the world only in so far as it is useful to us or not. While most manmade objects in our lives are useful for something, art is its own reason for being.

It is in this context that I find this book most interesting. Some autistics naturally see things as they are, without the coloration of utility. Temple Grandin, who wrote the introduction for "Drawing Autism," is probably the most famous autistic in the world. (A movie about her life, Temple Grandin (2010), starring Claire Dane in the title role has recently been aired on HBO.) She is an artist herself although her work is enormously precise and detailed and in fact of great utility. But much of the "utility" in her designs for the livestock industry shows that she sees the design from the point of view of the animals themselves, and that is the secret of her success. Most designers of such equipment would naturally be interested in designs that work for the company, and would be unlikely to see things from the point of view of the animals. But Grandin did, and because the equipment that she designed calmed the animals, the equipment proved to be very useful to the industry and a godsend to the animals.

Similarly the art of Donna Williams, for example, as shown in this book depicts a unique, non-utilitarian, non-social point of view. In "Cat's Home" (p. 20) she identifies with a homeless cat. In "The Outsider" on the next page, she identifies with someone outside a social network. She says, "Being object blind and context blind, I'd tap everything to make noise, to hear its 'voice,' flick it to feel its movement, turn it to experience how it caught light..." (p. 21) The "normal" person would not see the object beyond what it is useful for, and the context would be monetary, social or sexual.

Professor Grandin sees three types of specialized minds on the autistic spectrum. First there is the visual thinker who sees the world primarily in pictures like herself. The second type is the pattern thinker who see relationships between numbers and geometric forms. The third type is the word specialist. Grandin notes, "These people are often really good with words, and they usually are not interested in art." I think people of this third type are often recognizes as "Aspies," or people with Asperger's syndrome, which is now considered part of the autistic spectrum of disorders--a designation that has been met with much controversy.

One thing is clear: most of those on the spectrum have reduced social skills and so can examine and experience the world from an outsider's perspective. In other words, we can learn from them things we could not learn by ourselves, and we can gain from them a view of the world cleansed of utilitarian bias. But it is also obvious from looking at the work of the autistic artists presented here that there is a great yearning for social acceptance and understanding.

(Note: The following books by Dennis Littrell are now available at Amazon.com:

Yoga: Sacred and Profane (Beyond Hatha Yoga)
Dennis Littrell's True Crime Companion
Novels and other Fictions
Cut to the Chaise Lounge or I Can't Believe I Swallowed the Remote!
The Holon
Teddy and Teri
High School from Hell
Let's Play Overkill!
Like a Tsunami Headed for Hilo
Understanding Evolution and Ourselves


Coming soon:

The World Is Not as We Think It Is)

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Art Describes the World of Autism, November 27, 2009

By 

Grady Harp (Los Angeles, CA United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Drawing Autism (Hardcover)

Jill Mullin opens this very sophisticated and well-designed book with a foreword titled AS SEEN THROUGH THE AUTISM SPECTRUM in which she opens with the statement ' Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a developmental disability associated with social interaction and communication impairments and rigid and/or repetitive behaviors.' She then proceeds to study the visual manifestations of autistic people by presenting a book, every page of which is filled with not only full color reproductions of 'artists' presenting their art accompanied by a brief but telling note by each person whose art is displayed.

By deciding to allow the art speak for itself Jill Mullin, who comes to this project with years of experience working with both children and adults with autism, makes a strong statement about the manner in which the mind of autistic people view the world. She asked every artist represented in this book the following questions: At what age did the act of creating art enter your life?, Why did you start creating art?, What inspires/excites you about creating art?, How do you choose your subjects?, Do you think your art helps others understand how you view the world?, Who are some artists you like?, What was the inspiration for each piece of art that you have submitted to 'Drawing Autism'? What follows is a splendid portfolio art from a number of very gifted artists. This is a book not only about autism but also about the spectrum of art being created today. It is entertaining, enlightening, and another well designed publication from Mark Batty Publisher. Grady Harp, November 09

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excelent, June 28, 2010

By 

Gabriel Manzanares - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Drawing Autism (Hardcover)

La capacidad de expresarse a traves de la pintura es siempre conmovente pero la de estas personas es todavia mas especial.

Felicitaciones a todas las personas que trabajan con ellos para poder darles esta oportunidad.