Art as Therapy

Symbols as the Language of the Unconscious

Having this blog has been a way of keeping my mind ticking over and thinking about art even when I have no art to show. Now in my second year of the MA Art Psychotherapy I’m near approaching the half way point and still finding the course immensely interesting. Not only because of its influence on my own art practice, but also the effect its had on me as a person.

This has largely been informed through the exploration of my own art imagery, helping me to understand how personal symbols can become manifest through art making whilst also highlighting how this process may help cements images in visual form that might otherwise be too ephemeral to describe or show to others.

In thinking about the nature of symbols it is useful to consider Jung’s model of the psyche as a self-regulating system striving to find balance between its opposing qualities. In this model, the goal of the Self is to achieve wholeness in which symbols function as a ‘bridge’ between the unconscious and the conscious (Gordon, 2000: 107).

Consequently, within each individual is a rich store of narratives and images which derive from certain archetypal drives. Archetypes are unconscious collective forces acting in relation to the past, present and future developments in ways not readily evident (Hopwood, 2006). In this instance, Jung highlighted that the ‘transcendent function’ of symbols can by useful as they help inform transitions from one psychological attitude or condition to another (Edwards, 2004: 31).

Hence, the psyche as a structure is not concrete but changeable and can be mobilized through certain processes which actively promote imagination, such as art making, visualized imagery or dream.

Art psychotherapy can be viewed as providing an appropriate framework for these types of meditative experiences; a space defined by its own rules and boundaries, within which the client is free to explore their own symbolic material. However, not all artworks created within therapy will have the same symbolic potential. The client’s ability to work with their own symbols, and their capacity to exercise active imagination, may be revealed through the products and processes of their own art making. Artworks made within this setting may be identified as being either diagrammatic or embodied images (see below), or a combination of both.

Diagrammatic Images:

In an art psychotherapy context, the client maybe unfamiliar with art making in this setting and may feel inhibited about what to do or make.

Diagrammatic images are preconceived by the client and attempt to recall some other event or experience as seen through the minds eye.

Aesthetically these types of images might be likeable to a diagram in which words and explanations are required to supplement their meaning.

The image may not match what the artist had envisioned after the event as these types of mental images are transitory. The artist may therefore identify with these failings within their explanation.

Diagrammatic images are not ‘imbued with life’ and maybe dispensable after they have served their function (Schaverien, 1999:86)

Embodied Images:

May have originated from a preconceived image though not necessarily.

On the other hand, the client may have relinquished the attempt to recreate a preconceived image and may primarily work with art materials in a non-directive/ experiential way.

Embodied images are deeply symbolic, employ visual metaphor and ‘touch depth’ (Schaverien, 2005:45).

The process of making may awaken ‘live ‘ experiences within the client.

Unlike diagramatic images, embodied images do not require verbal explanations to convery their meaning.

References:

Bennett, A., (2011), Using the Jung-Myers Model of Psychological Type
in Systems-Psychodynamic Coaching:
A Case Study, Available at: http://typeindepth.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/PSYCHO.jpg (accessed 02.10.13)

Edwards, D., (2004), Art Therapy, London: SAGE Publications Ltd.

Gordon, R., (2000), Dying and Creating: A Search for Meaning, London: Karmac

Hopwood, A., (2006), Jung’s Model of the Psyche, Available at: http://www.thesap.org.uk/jung-s-model-of-the-psyche (accessed: 21.12.13)

Schaverien, J., (1999), The Revealing Image: Analytical Art Psychotherapy in Theory and Practice, London: Jessica Kingsley Publishers

Schavaverien, J., (2005), Art and Active Imagination: Reflections on Transference and the Image, International Journal of Art Therapy, 10 (2) pp. 39-52, Available at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/174548305000345959 (accessed: 02.10.13)

It’s been a month since my last post due to commitments related to my course so I’m a little out of sorts.

I often feel my entries onto this blog are overly eclectic. Having read back on a few of my recent posts I sporadically move from one topic to the next frequently. I sometimes wonder whether I need to have more focused and show greater continuity with what I’m writing about.

However perhaps what I perceive to be a weakness about the blog format; the ability to combine and consolidate lots of different themes and ideas, is actually its greatest strength. A sort of melting pot of stuff that may; or may not, be connected.

Backtracking to a few weeks ago I’d been thinking a lot about these ideas of dirtiness, filth and outward appearances. In a previous post I alluded to the similarities between faeces and paint. However in recent weeks I have been readings bits about the qualities of clay in an art therapy context and wondered whether this might be a medium to consider in the development in ideas. As such, I’d been reading a book called Windows to Our Children by Violet Oaklander which outlines a Gestalt approach to working with children and adolescents. What is a Gestalt approach you may ask? Well, I’m not 100% sure myself other than to say that it’s related to cycles and what happens when we get blocked in our own cycles of thinking or working (quite pertinent to a previous post about creative blocks). Maybe that could be the starting point for a separate post. In any case, there is a part of the book where Oaklander details the materiality of clay describing how mushy, soft and sensuous it is. Interestingly, ‘whilst most are put off by the messiness of people clay, it’s actually the cleanest of all art materials, second to water…. Clay has healing properties. Sculptures and potters have observed that cuts heal faster if left uncovered as they work with clay’ (2007:68).

The paradoxical nature of clay to be both messy and clean had a particular resonance with the biblical metaphor of the dirty cup mentioned previously. In addition one could argue that clay (as a medium) is closer to faeces than paint and maybe this could be something that I start to explore as part of the studio practice module offered as part of my course.

Perhaps clay has also been on my mind as I had recently been watching a programme about Edmund de Waal, a ceramic artist working towards his 2012 exhibition, A Thousand Hours. Watching him craft these clay vessels; one after the other, revealed how immersive this practice is and how these vessels might be viewed as units of time. Unsurprisingly I was also reminded of my own persistent interest in containers, a theme which I re-imagined in a series of doodles generated a few weeks ago (see opposite).

As a result, maybe these ideas aren’t as unrelated as I first thought.

References:

Oaklander, V., (2007), Windows to Our Children, Maine: The Gestalt Journal Press

taran333tula, (2013), 1/2 Edmund de Waal – What Do Artists Do All Day ?, [YouTube], Available at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=me2EmbWZYH8 (accesssed: 04.12.13)

Edmund de Waal – What Do Artists Do All Day ?

‘Art does have a very powerful thing that it can offer you and that is when you get involved in making something you kind of forget yourself for a moment as well. And you also; in little ways, are affecting the world. You know if you feel powerless and depressed, and you’re making something, you are in a small way changing the world. You do have that power, you do have that opportunity. And also art in places like prisons and hospitals, it gives a people who can’t talk about their feelings to work out their subconscious processes without them even realizing what they’re doing (and to get it out of their system). If they’ve got strong emotions flooding about or if they find it hard to talk about then [art] is a great way to do that, that’s what I do.’

(Perry, 2013)

Like others contributing to Projects unedited I have been enjoying snippets from Grayson Perry speaking as part of the BBC’s Reith Lecture series. As part of a Q & A at the end of his third lecture – Nice Rebellion, Welcome In! – Perry talks about what he perceives to be the health benefits of art, though not art therapy specifically (see above).

Perry is a thoroughly enjoyable listen, walking a fine line between ‘establishment insider and snarky outsider’ (Moore, 2013). It is also interesting to note that Perry himself attended therapy between the late 90s and early 2000s and is married to a psychotherpist (Dean, 2012), so he appreciates the links between art and therapy more than most. I’m looking forward to listening to his next (and final) lecture tomorrow night.

Useful Links:

Aitkenhead, D., (2012), Grayson Perry at Guardian Open Weekend, Available at: http://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/series/grayson-perry-at-guardian-open-weekend, (accessed: 01.11.13)

References:

British Broadcasting Cooperation, (2013), Nice Rebellion, Welcome In!, Available at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b03f9bg7, (accessed: 30.10.13)

Dean, L., (2012), Grayson on Life and Therapy, Available at: http://laurajanedean.com/post/19951123512, (accessed: 01.11.13)

Moore, S., (2013), Postmodernism killed the avant garde. Lady Gaga is no substitute for Lou Reed, Available at: http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/oct/30/postmodernism-avant-garde-lady-gaga-lou-reed-x-factor, (accessed: 01.11.13)

Holding Things In

In thinking about the creative process described within the workshop a few weeks ago, I started to develop other trains of thought which might be linked to this. As mentioned, myths and stories can offer new perspectives on human dilemmas and struggles whilst also providing possible routes to their resolution (Huckvale, 2011:31). Hence in thinking about the funnel, and the process of pouring liquid into it, I was reminded of a bible passage that uses the metaphor of a dirty cup to describe how the Pharisees (or religious leaders) were dirty on the inside whilst appearing clean on the outside. As the passage describes:

What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you are so careful to clean the outside of the cup and the dish, but inside you are filthy—full of greed and self-indulgence! You blind Pharisee! First wash the inside of the cup and the dish, and then the outside will become clean, too.

(Matthew 23:27)

In revisiting this metaphor of the dirty cup, I started to consider my own need to disguise harmful or unwanted emotions. Ideas of contamination or toxicity are also prevalent in my thinking as well as the notion of ‘keeping up appearances’ in regards to holding things in.

Similarly this type of retention is comparative to Freud’s notion of psychosexual development in which a child may become fixated on controlling bowel and bladder movements (see below).

Oral Stage (0-2 years) – Pleasure derived from the mouth (e.g. sucking, biting, swallowing)

Anal Stage (2-4 years) – Pleasure derived from the anus (defecating or retaining faeces)

Phallic Stage (4-5 years) – Pleasure derived from the genitals

Latency Stage (6 – puberty) – Sexual urges sublimated into sports and hobbies. Same-sex friends also help avoid sexual feelings.

Genital Stage (puberty onwards) – Physical sexual changes reawaken repressed needs. Direct sexual feelings towards others lead to sexual gratification.

Freud developed a theory of how our sexuality starts from a very young ages and develops through various fixations. If these stages are not psychologically completed and released, we can be trapped by them and they may lead to various defense mechanisms to avoid the anxiety produced from the conflict in and leaving of the stage (Changing Minds). Consequently in the anal stage, two possible outcomes may emerge. The anal retentive personality is stingy, with a compulsive seeking of order and tidiness whilst the anal expulsive personality is messy and out of control.

Whilst Freud’s description of these fixations is somewhat extreme, they do have some resonance with the ideas I’m exploring in my own art making, particularly the funnel.

As a final point, David Maclagen discusses how these human functions are likeable to art materials which share the qualities of these bodily wastes. As he explains:

‘Faeces certainly do evoke a whole experiential spectrum, from the sloppy to the compact, from control and retention to explosive incontinence…. Paint by its very consistency, as well as in the activities associated with it of squeezing, smearing, dribbling and so on, lends itself to perform as a phantastic analogue for these body products and how they might be ‘handled’, so to speak.’

(Maclagen, 2001:54)

References:

Bible Gateway, (No Date), Matthew 23:27 (New Living Translation), Available at: (http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%2023:27&version=NLT), (accessed: 20.10.13)

Changing Minds, (No Date), Freud’s Psychosexual Stage Theory, Available at: (http://changingminds.org/explanations/learning/freud_stage.htm), (date assessed: 21.10.13)

Huckvale, K., (2011), ‘Alchemy, sandtray, and art psychotherapy: Sifting sands’, International Journal of Art Therapy, 16 (1) pp. 30-40, Available at http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/17454832.2011.570272 (accessed: 02.10.13)

Maclagen, D., (2001), Psychological Aesthetics: Paintings, Feelings and Making Sense, London: Jessica Kingsley Publishers

Active Imagination

‘The term active imagination was applied By Jung to refer to a means of mobilizing the psyche through an image or a chain of images and their related associations. It is a ‘concentration on some impressive but intelligible dream image, or on a spontaneous visual impression, and [one] observes the changes taking place in it.’

(Schaverien citing Jung, 2005: 40)

In starting back on my course last week we’ve started a new module relating to symbols as the language of the unconscious. As part of an exercise we were told story called Sealskin, Soulskin, taken from Clarissa Pinkola Estés’ Women Who Run with the Wolves. With my eyes closed I tried to envision what the story would like through my minds eye. We were then asked to think about a part of the story that spoke to us and to make an art work in response.

Something that resonated with me was the description of ‘a man so lonely that over the years, tears had carved great chasms into his cheeks’(Estés, 2008:255). I envisioned these tears to be like a waterfall flowing down into a ravine. Upon revisiting the story this week I started to consider why these themes had held so much meaning for me. I started to think about people’s willingness to cry and how I myself couldn’t remember the last time I had cried openly. I wondered what that would feel like and decided to make an artwork to convey these feelings. .

As in previous posts, I found myself returning to the idea of the container though this time I felt I coming at it from a different direction. I started off by making a funnel out of paper and tacking the end with a piece of masking tape (see opposite). I wanted to fill it with liquid and with this in mind I began to pour watery ink into the funnel. Initially the funnel-form seemed up to the task of containing the liquid although gradually the paper became sodden with ink and started to leak out of the bottom. A short while later the paper began to feel heavy and soggy in my hands. I worried that it might spill all over the floor if I didn’t do something with it. I maneuvered my way over to the sink and decided to untape the funnel. Unsurprisingly the ink flowed freely out of the bottom; it was thoroughly satisfying – an instant release.

This continuous flow of thinking, prompted by the story and then developed as an art work, is linked to Jung’s description of active imagination. Active imagination is the process by which someone may discover an image that is visualized or dreamt. The individual is then encouraged to contemplate a fragment of the fantasy that seems important to them until its contents becomes visible (Schaverien citing Jung, 2005: 40). In this activity for instance, I’d become particularly drawn to the part of the story which described the man’s tears which then lead me to consider my own emotional wellbeing.

Within the group discussion, someone commented that because I could cry myself I’d made something that could ‘cry’ for me. My tutor on the other hand described how people often hide their innermost feelings alluding to the Jungian notion of the persona; a kind of mask that the individual presents to the world. Unsurprisingly active imagination, as the name suggests, is a dynamic process; the image generates ‘psychological movement’ (Schaverien, 2005: 41). Whilst on the surface the making of the funnel was a pragmatic response to the story, the dramatic element of pouring the liquid into the funnel and letting it spill out of the bottom spoke to me at a deeper level about a personal need to control or contain my emotions. Moreover there are parallels with a previous blog postings in which words and phrases like ‘blocked’, ‘flow’ and ‘containment’ are often repeated.

References

Estés, C. P., (2008), Women Who Run with the Wolves, London: Rider

Schaverien, J., (2005), ‘Art and active imagination: Reflections on transference and the image’, International Journal of Art Therapy, 50 (2) pp. 39-52, available at: http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/17454830500345959 (accessed: 02.10.13)