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gatun's review
5.0
Oliver Sacks wrote the forward on Asylum. He discusses his time working in an asylum and watching the changes that led to most asylums being closed. Christopher Payne has beautiful and heartbreaking photographs of asylums all over the country. The pictures conveyed an overwhelming sadness. With so many of these asylums, which are historic buildings, being torn down, Payne felt the need to document them as much as possible.
I strongly recommend this book if you have any interest in the history of mental health in the United States. The text sections by Sacks and Payne are relatively short; the photographs comprise the majority of this book. Personally, I found myself drawn back to look at them multiple times. This will be a book that I purchase in print format.
I strongly recommend this book if you have any interest in the history of mental health in the United States. The text sections by Sacks and Payne are relatively short; the photographs comprise the majority of this book. Personally, I found myself drawn back to look at them multiple times. This will be a book that I purchase in print format.
p0tat0's review
4.0
This was a really beautiful and unexpected volume of photographs. Given the cover image, I was expecting that Payne would be highlighting a sinister side of mental hospitals but in reality it was quite the opposite. In the brief introduction and afterword, Oliver Sacks and Christopher Payne focus more on the civic pride felt by communities hosting grand mental hospitals and the sense of purpose that these vibrant hospitals afforded their patients. My only complaint is that the photographs left me wanting to know so much more about the lives lived in those spaces.
lisacurl's review
3.0
The photographs are interesting, but I was more engaged by the introduction by Oliver Sacks and what little explanatory texts there are. The photos of the demolition of Danvers State Hospital were strangely unsettling, as I, like the author, have felt a fascination for that place since I saw it.
katrinaburch's review
3.0
What a beautiful coffee table book. I've been getting into urban decay and this book is a good illustration of that type of photography. Excellent essay to open the book by Oliver Sacks (which if you haven't read any of his books, they're excellent too!).
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