Gallery images are located in the Regina A. Quick Center
Photo courtesy of Jon Crispen
BY: DAVID SCIBILIA, NEWS ASSIGNMENT EDITOR
The upstairs section of the Regina A. Quick Center for the Arts accommodates four galleries. Three are filled with the University Art Collection, but the fourth—known as the Kenny Gallery—houses a rotating gallery. Currently on display until Nov. 20, The Willard Suitcase Photographs by Jon Crispin, shed an elegant light on the past, present and future of mental health.
The Willard Asylum was a mental institution located in Willard, NY, operating from 1869 until 1995. Here, patients had their personal possessions stored in suitcases and then placed in the attic. If a patient needed something, they were escorted up to their suitcase where they could retrieve the item. However, when a patient were to die, these suitcases were not thrown out. Rather, if the family did not come to claim it, the suitcase was placed back into the attic. At the time of closing, there were 400 suitcases in storage.
On Oct. 13, there was a panel discussion sponsored by Humanities New York about the Willard Suitcases and their meaning in the greater scope of mental health. The panel consisted of Jon Crispen, the photographer; Laurence B. Guttmacher, a Professor Emeritus in Psychiatry at the University of Rochester; Ashley Luedke, an Associate Professor in Counselor Education at St. Bonaventure University, Mary O’Leary, the Director of the Cattaraugus County Department of Community Services; and moderated by Tara Walker, assistant professor of communication at St. Bonaventure.
Going over everything from how Crispen got access to the suitcases to the stigmatization behind mental health, the panel went well below the surface of the images. In fact, there was a large emphasis not on the photos, rather the context behind why they were taken in the first place.
“Mental health isn’t something new,” Luedke said, “How we talk about it can be new and better, though, and how we treat it can be new and better.”
The best way to break through this barrier in Luedke’s eyes is to have these uncomfortable conversations.
“We start by talking about it and being honest about how we’re feeling,” Luedke said, “It’s okay to have a bad day, and it’s okay to talk about it. Having [these conversations] will start breaking down that stigma and normalizing these experiences.”
Assistant Director of the Quick Center, Evelyn Penman, echoes this idea and hopes that all students come to visit the exhibit.
“The suitcase photographs are just a vehicle, a way to talk about some of these tough topics.” Said Penman.
Available for free on weekdays from 12 pm until 5 pm, and weekends from 12 pm until 4 pm, the Willard Suitcase gallery, featuring 30 photos, is open to all Bonaventure students and community members.
