Angels in the Architecture

Angels in the Architecture This is an amazing book by photographer Heidi Johnson chronicling the life and death of the Traverse City State Hospital (asylum) in Michigan. Told with the historical background and personal accounts of those who both lived and worked there layered over a backdrop of haunting photographs. Very moving and thought-provoking: the photographs alone will fill your imagination. The system of care proposed by Dr. Thomas Kirkbride is a fascinating study in and of itself. An entire architectural plan for care of the mentally ill that included exposure to the outdoors in a peaceful, calm environment and such tasks as gardening and tending to farm animals. It makes one wonder what would happen today if all of corporate America would combine their resources to renew and fund such a plan to house and care for those in today’s society who are the throwaways — the mentally ill with no support system. You likely won’t find this book in any bookstore, but as a fascinating read and just plain eye candy if you’re even vaguely interested in historical photography, I’d say it’s well worth the purchase. I came across all of this through the horror movie, Session 9, which was filmed and set in the Danvers asylum, another Kirkbride-planned institution. At the time I saw the movie, I was haunted by the notion of the people who lived and were treated there. A beautiful photographic essay of that institution is Abandoned Asylums of New England by John Gray, unfortunately no longer in print — also filled with eerie and moving photographs that seem to be filled with the spirits that inhabited the place.