Paradoxical Fiction Examples
In 1975, Dr. Radford conducted a study focusing on emotions and their response to representational artworks and the paradox of fiction. Throughout his study, he discovered three elements of paradoxical fiction; individual's “experience genuine emotions directed at fictional character and situations” ,fictional emotions condition, “in order to experience emotions towards X, one must believe X exists”, belief requirement, and “we do not believe that fictional characters and situations exist, disbelief condition (McNiff, Source K). Without those three elements, the paradox of fiction and the other components of emotions. stifles the ability to connect to one’s inner self. Art Therapy acts as a release of emotions for individuals. Creating art reflects daily lives, if practiced everyday and displays various events or other aspects of life that left an emotional
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impact on the artist. Some simple examples of daily psychotherapy techniques include finger painting, mask making, and even listening to music and dancing to the song (“Expressive Art Therapy”/Source G), those examples remain broad, whereas therapist recommend specific exercises based on individual needs. If an individual seeks this branch of art and psychology for relaxation, a therapist may prescribe coloring in a design such as the design books trending in today’s market whereas an individual seeking attention for happiness may draw a favorite quote or perfect day (“100 Excellent..”/Source A). Inspiration blogs surfaced recently as a very popular direct example of patients who healed and not use that information to help others. In one post, “The decorative collages of Milo Matthieu”, the artist explains his process as a “discovery” because he lets “the colors set the tone of work”(“Artists inspire…” Source D), he shared his artwork to inspire others to create their emotions. Another popular technique used by many famous individual includes the use of music to discuss times of their lives. For example, Taylor Swift sings about what she believes is beautiful in life; love, loss, and loneliness, while the band, The Killers draw from a “range from classical roots, random jam sessions, and life events” for inspiration(Kocsis/ Source J). No matter the method, most methods affect the individual in the desired way because therapists choose music that provokes happy memories associated with the tone of the song allowing positive emotions to soar, Likewise, color choices also cause spur memory connections that transform a patient’s state of being from sad to a more positive mindset. Many individuals choose to ignore their emotions or pretend to lack emotions, however therapists diagnosis this as bottling up emotions. Keeping emotions within the body and allowing them to build negatively affects the individual, a healthier way of dealing with unwanted sensations starts with the removal of them from the body. Art Therapy acts as a healthy release of build up feelings. In a study conducted by James Gross on how emotions affect relationships, he discovered “suppressing your emotions pretty well shuts down communication within the relationship”(Johnson /Source H), without a catharsis, an individual fails to communicate themselves in other aspects of their lives. He also found that emotions intensify the more they sit below the surface instead of addressing them means the body continues to send signals of that feeling and affect the others around you. This attempt to avoid sensations tend to send negative signals to others. Another common link between art and therapy materializes in the body at night; dreaming. The state of dreaming acts as a time for unlimited creation, similar to imagination. During the sleep cycle, the body cleanses itself in order to perform at its peak the next day, however many components leaving the body appear in dreams. Any aspect of life that upsets or left an impact on an individual almost always imbed themselves into a dream. Also, memories, both good and bad, tend to surface in dreams as well which directly relates to the emotions of the day. Freud influenced the development of the study of the unconscious mind which includes dreaming, in addition to Art Therapy. He theorized dreams contain two portions, latent content and manifest content. Manifest content contains “the dream itself” whereas Latent content describes the “underlying or hidden meaning” (McNiff/ Source K), these parts define the two aspects of dreams. When looking at manifest content, a therapist examens the dream on a holistic scale whereas the latent content investigates the specific representation of each feature of the dream. In relation to Art Therapy, experiencing a dream and a shift in emotions or thinking, many artists choose to re-create their vision through art. In the novel, Art As Medicine, by Shaun McNiff, he describes an example of an artist who swam under docks as a child and dreamt she swam under a boat. After looking at the dreams as a whole and individual aspects, the artist concluded the swimming represented her happiness at the moment like what she felt as a child which caused her to create a giant painting of the scene,This perfectly illustrates the link between art and psychotherapy. The influences previously talked about all stem from daily events, an individual heritage plays a role in the technique of psychotherapy to use. Many individual who hail from lands of rich culture tend to find traditional art very therapeutic. These therapeutic qualities stem from one’s ability to connect to their inner self and create a link to their heritage which seems a powerful ability. This time to immerse an individual in their culture may provoke good memories from their homeland which causes positive endorphins and energy. This energy linger and helps to infuse positivity into other areas of a patient's life. Art Therapy touches almost every aspect of lives and encompasses a wide range of techniques to reach and react to most aspects of lives. Ironically, many individuals may feel this branch of psychotherapy only provides help for the artistically inclined and fails to work for everyone. That statement remains inherently false. Art Therapy connects one to their inner self and allows communication without words. Those two tools define some of the most powerful abilities for successful health. Another myth that some may lack artistic ability, humans exist as intrinsically artistic. When the brain receives an artwork, “images excite the primary motor cortex and the muscles” (Naar/ Source L), biologically, art provokes excitement. Also, a study found that “engaging in new and complex activity helps the brain to create new connections between brain cells” (Alban/ Source B), those with an artist block enhance their brain by trying to attempt the complexity of art. That moment qualifies as a technique of Art Therapy. Art Therapy may only work as a portion of a prescription but remains effective enough for every individual. Art Therapy remains a field of psychotherapy able to heal individuals.
Through the various techniques, a patient may connect to their inner self and express those emotions through movement or visual art. This catharsis allows the individuals to heal from a disorder or another damaging event, without this treatment option, individuals may not receive the relief they need. This release of emotions compares to a massage, the patient feels relaxed and calm after each session. The techniques provided by therapist may work for some, but others connect to their heritage through cultural art which provides a better release of emotions than the prescribed technique. Think of your heritage, not matter what it may be, how has that culture touched your life? Imagine that moment cured every conflict you may face, now apply that to psychotherapy, the end result remains untouchable. Art Therapy seems to be a new form of psychotherapy, however most cultures, died or alive, employed these techniques throughout history and helped evolve Art Therapy into the global phenomenon it transform into in today’s
society.
impact on the artist. Some simple examples of daily psychotherapy techniques include finger painting, mask making, and even listening to music and dancing to the song (“Expressive Art Therapy”/Source G), those examples remain broad, whereas therapist recommend specific exercises based on individual needs. If an individual seeks this branch of art and psychology for relaxation, a therapist may prescribe coloring in a design such as the design books trending in today’s market whereas an individual seeking attention for happiness may draw a favorite quote or perfect day (“100 Excellent..”/Source A). Inspiration blogs surfaced recently as a very popular direct example of patients who healed and not use that information to help others. In one post, “The decorative collages of Milo Matthieu”, the artist explains his process as a “discovery” because he lets “the colors set the tone of work”(“Artists inspire…” Source D), he shared his artwork to inspire others to create their emotions. Another popular technique used by many famous individual includes the use of music to discuss times of their lives. For example, Taylor Swift sings about what she believes is beautiful in life; love, loss, and loneliness, while the band, The Killers draw from a “range from classical roots, random jam sessions, and life events” for inspiration(Kocsis/ Source J). No matter the method, most methods affect the individual in the desired way because therapists choose music that provokes happy memories associated with the tone of the song allowing positive emotions to soar, Likewise, color choices also cause spur memory connections that transform a patient’s state of being from sad to a more positive mindset. Many individuals choose to ignore their emotions or pretend to lack emotions, however therapists diagnosis this as bottling up emotions. Keeping emotions within the body and allowing them to build negatively affects the individual, a healthier way of dealing with unwanted sensations starts with the removal of them from the body. Art Therapy acts as a healthy release of build up feelings. In a study conducted by James Gross on how emotions affect relationships, he discovered “suppressing your emotions pretty well shuts down communication within the relationship”(Johnson /Source H), without a catharsis, an individual fails to communicate themselves in other aspects of their lives. He also found that emotions intensify the more they sit below the surface instead of addressing them means the body continues to send signals of that feeling and affect the others around you. This attempt to avoid sensations tend to send negative signals to others. Another common link between art and therapy materializes in the body at night; dreaming. The state of dreaming acts as a time for unlimited creation, similar to imagination. During the sleep cycle, the body cleanses itself in order to perform at its peak the next day, however many components leaving the body appear in dreams. Any aspect of life that upsets or left an impact on an individual almost always imbed themselves into a dream. Also, memories, both good and bad, tend to surface in dreams as well which directly relates to the emotions of the day. Freud influenced the development of the study of the unconscious mind which includes dreaming, in addition to Art Therapy. He theorized dreams contain two portions, latent content and manifest content. Manifest content contains “the dream itself” whereas Latent content describes the “underlying or hidden meaning” (McNiff/ Source K), these parts define the two aspects of dreams. When looking at manifest content, a therapist examens the dream on a holistic scale whereas the latent content investigates the specific representation of each feature of the dream. In relation to Art Therapy, experiencing a dream and a shift in emotions or thinking, many artists choose to re-create their vision through art. In the novel, Art As Medicine, by Shaun McNiff, he describes an example of an artist who swam under docks as a child and dreamt she swam under a boat. After looking at the dreams as a whole and individual aspects, the artist concluded the swimming represented her happiness at the moment like what she felt as a child which caused her to create a giant painting of the scene,This perfectly illustrates the link between art and psychotherapy. The influences previously talked about all stem from daily events, an individual heritage plays a role in the technique of psychotherapy to use. Many individual who hail from lands of rich culture tend to find traditional art very therapeutic. These therapeutic qualities stem from one’s ability to connect to their inner self and create a link to their heritage which seems a powerful ability. This time to immerse an individual in their culture may provoke good memories from their homeland which causes positive endorphins and energy. This energy linger and helps to infuse positivity into other areas of a patient's life. Art Therapy touches almost every aspect of lives and encompasses a wide range of techniques to reach and react to most aspects of lives. Ironically, many individuals may feel this branch of psychotherapy only provides help for the artistically inclined and fails to work for everyone. That statement remains inherently false. Art Therapy connects one to their inner self and allows communication without words. Those two tools define some of the most powerful abilities for successful health. Another myth that some may lack artistic ability, humans exist as intrinsically artistic. When the brain receives an artwork, “images excite the primary motor cortex and the muscles” (Naar/ Source L), biologically, art provokes excitement. Also, a study found that “engaging in new and complex activity helps the brain to create new connections between brain cells” (Alban/ Source B), those with an artist block enhance their brain by trying to attempt the complexity of art. That moment qualifies as a technique of Art Therapy. Art Therapy may only work as a portion of a prescription but remains effective enough for every individual. Art Therapy remains a field of psychotherapy able to heal individuals.
Through the various techniques, a patient may connect to their inner self and express those emotions through movement or visual art. This catharsis allows the individuals to heal from a disorder or another damaging event, without this treatment option, individuals may not receive the relief they need. This release of emotions compares to a massage, the patient feels relaxed and calm after each session. The techniques provided by therapist may work for some, but others connect to their heritage through cultural art which provides a better release of emotions than the prescribed technique. Think of your heritage, not matter what it may be, how has that culture touched your life? Imagine that moment cured every conflict you may face, now apply that to psychotherapy, the end result remains untouchable. Art Therapy seems to be a new form of psychotherapy, however most cultures, died or alive, employed these techniques throughout history and helped evolve Art Therapy into the global phenomenon it transform into in today’s
society.