Psychology and Art: A Smmary and Critique by Douglas N. Morgan

The Psychoanalytic Approach is an inquiry into the personality factors, which condition the creation and/ or appreciation of work of art.

The attempt seems to be to read the work in whatever field, symbolically, and to correlate these readings with whatever biographical data may be available, to the end that we understand more fully the personality of the creating artist, and through this understanding, light maybe thrown upon the "mystery” of creation in the arts.

The Gestalt Approach is characterized by a belief that perception (and perhaps other psychological phenomena as well) can be explained in terms of neural factors tending to produce organized, through dynamically changing patterns segregated groups of "units or wholes”. Thinkers in this tradition ask, what perceptual organizing factors condition the experience of seeing or hearing a work of art.

The Experimental (Behaviorists)  Approach is characterized by distrust of any method which makes inferences on any basis other than precise mathematical measurements of behavior and which make predictions to any other conclusions than those measurable in such precise terms. (Psychological testing.)

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ACTIVITY NOTES:

The activity and art making process I often use involves Paris Craft.  This is a safe material made of gauze imbedded with Plaster of Paris.  The activity embraces sensory integration, trust, sequential processing working in tandem along with highly successful results.  It bypasses drawing or any prior art making experiences which may have been negative. 

For instance some clients often recall early experiences in drawing that were challenging or even negative when asked to draw.  Until this is factored out, it may infuse that therapeutic  alliance with unexpected transferential aspects.

I find it easily fits into all three of the approaches listed above.

For the therapist or trainee it offers a wide range of task-analysis opportunities.

 Tamar is studying a mask before learning the process.

 Sofia actually decided to cast her arms and part of her internship.

 Sofia and Tamir attached their masks to canvas board an embellished them with acrylic paint.

 Tanya and Aisha are painting their masks.

Aisha is taking a selfie with the Good Brother Darth.  I encourage the interns to explore humor and playfulness in the studio process to learn how to manage the space and the materials appropriately.