Hidden Gifts: The Mystery of Angus MacPhee 2005
Distributed by Icarus Films, 32 Court St., 21st Floor, Brooklyn, NY 11201; 800-876-1710
Produced by Nick Higgins
Directed by Nick Higgins
DVD, color, 25 min.
Sr. High - Adult
Art, Psychology, Health Sciences, Schizophrenia
Date Entered: 10/05/2010
Reviewed by Janice Wilson, J. Eugene Smith Library, Eastern Connecticut State UniversityScotsman Angus MacPhee was diagnosed with schizophrenia in 1946 and spent the next 50 years at Craig Dunain Psychiatric Hospital. While there he refused to speak for 15 years. He found another way to express himself through his art which took the form of weaving hats, a coat, gloves, boots and pants from grasses he gathered on the hospital farm grounds. The documentary opens with a scene at an art gallery where his woven items are being displayed. Through the remembrances of his sister Peggy MacPhee, Joyce Lang, an art therapist who discovered his work, and hospital staff members, Angus MacPhee’s story is told. Family photos and footage of an aged Angus weaving the grasses adds to the message that his art was in the words of Joyce Lang “art extraordinary.”
Recommended for academic library collections.
Awards
- Best Documentary 2005 Britspotting Festival
- Jury Award, 2008 Scottish Mental Health Arts and Film Festival