Art & Fear: Observations on the Perils (and Rewards) of Artmaking

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Those who continue to make art are those who have learned how to continue—or more precisely, have learned how not to quit. In the final session of this three-part series responding to the All Too Human exhibition, an artist, historian and philosopher explore the concept, experience and representation of anxiety, from the personal to the societal, within the visual arts. Speakers include poet and visual artist Heather Phillipson, art historian Caterina Albano and philosopher Aaron James Wendland. His procedure was simple: on the final day of class he would bring in his bathroom scales and weigh the work of the “quantity” group: fifty pound of pots rated an “A”, forty pounds a “B”, and so on. Those being graded on “quality”, however, needed to produce only one pot – albeit a perfect one – to get an “A”.

This blog is not intended to diagnose or treat any mental health conditions. All directives, interventions, and ideas should be used by qualified individuals within the appropriate bounds of their education, training, and scope of practice. Information presented in this blog does not replace professional training in child and family therapy, art therapy, or play therapy . Art therapy requires a trained art therapist. PERFECTION The ceramics teacher announced on opening day that he was dividing the class into two groups. All those on the left side of the studio, he said, would be graded solely on the quantity of work they produced, all those on the right solely on its quality. His procedure was simple: on the final day of class he would bring in his bathroom scales and weigh the work of the “quantity” group: fifty pounds of pots rated an “A”, forty pounds a “B”, and so on. Those being graded on “quality”, however, needed to produce only one pot — albeit a perfect one — to get an “A”. Well, came grading time and a curious fact emerged: the works of highest quality were all produced by the group being graded for quantity. It seems that while the “quantity” group was busily churning out piles of work-and learning from their mistakes — the “quality” group had sat theorizing about perfection, and in the end had little more to show for their efforts than grandiose theories and a pile of dead clay.”What I love about this book is that it uses art to talk about life. Specifically, it uses art and fear to talk about how our choice to have courage or not drives the degree of light you will manifest in your own life. The writers explore the human need for acceptance, fear of failure, communication sensibilities between your work and yourself versus your work and the outside world.

For each of the emotions, I encourage clients to do an abstract picture and avoid words, faces, and recognizable images. I ask them to think about what colors they connect with each feeling and then what lines, shapes, and gestures could express that feeling. In large measure becoming an artist consists of learning to accept yourself, which makes your work personal, and in following your own voice, which makes your work distinctive.” Francisco Goya’s Saturn Devouring His Son is one example of this artistic shift. This work depicts Saturn, the father of Zeus in Roman mythology, eating his son. According to mythology, Saturn ate each of his children in fear that one of them would overthrow him.

I was also rather perturbed by the authors' description of entertainment as mass produced, clearly meant derisively. They barely reference commercial art and then rag on how there are very few paying opportunities for artists. It seems like they're missing something there. The first half examines the core elements of existentialist thought, and its relation to anxiety as a vehicle for self-discovery and ethical change. The second half will look at artistic depictions of emotion more broadly: how can a painted surface express happiness or misery? And who gets to judge whether it succeeds? By creating more work to enhance my artistic skills. By doing more you strengthen your artistic muscles. — Carmen S Go With the Flaw Encouraging client to express their feelings in art is something that I have often done as a therapist, in many different ways over my years as a therapist. For example, I have asked clients simply to “draw or paint what you’re feeling today.” I have suggested that they draw what anger, depression, or anxiety look like to them. I have done art about feelings and needs. I have tried feelings mandalas (draw what you’re feeling in the inside of the circle and then what is going on in your life on the outside). I have done feelings hearts and pie charts with kids who have trouble opening up about feelings. I often suggest that overly anxious or angry kids make a monster to represent the feeling.