Dona Ann McAdams

"The Garden of Eden"

November 7 - December 31, 1997
Menschel Gallery catalogue #50


Dona Ann McAdams' series The Garden of Eden is a lesson in compassion, collaboration, and commitment. Beginning in 1983 she has spent nearly every Friday morning running an art workshop in Coney Island for a group of individuals who suffer from a variety of mental illnesses. The ethical issues raised by photographing and writing about the severely mentally ill are enormous. In the past, the mentally ill have been photographed, filmed and displayed in the most appalling ways. This is not the case with this exhibit. Here the purpose has been to empower and enlighten. The trust (and love) built up over the course of fourteen years between the photographer and the photographed is the foundation of this work. McAdams photographs of her subjects and their artwork serve to demystify schizophrenia, and help end the stigma against people who suffer from it.