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13. Get Together Talk: Art and Mental Health
Here’s a summary of the talk, presented with bullet points and bold text where necessary:
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The conversation begins with an individual’s overwhelming first Art Basel experience and the plan to interview two experienced therapists: an art therapist and a family psychologist specializing in cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). The goal is to collect questions from the community for these experts.
Art Therapy vs. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
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One speaker notes that art therapy conventions are large, mostly attended by licensed, trained women who are often academics.
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CBT is described as activity-based and involves doing things, not just “talk therapy.” An example is given of a family attending meals together for a son’s eating disorder.
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The idea is that art can be integrated into CBT as “guided art projects” to foster understanding.
Artists’ Resistance to Art Therapy as a Profession
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The speaker tried to encourage 10 artists to investigate art therapy as a career, but all responded with “what is that?” and then “no, I don’t want to do that.”
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The artists’ reasoning was, “I don’t want to help people. I want to help me. I made art to heal me. I’m not a psychologist. I don’t want to go into counseling.”
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This highlights a paradox: art as personal healing vs. art as a therapeutic tool for others.
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An example is given of an art therapist who retired to “do her own work” because she was too busy helping clients and administering programs.
The Paradox of Art as Personal Healing vs. Market Value
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A central question is raised: “How to handle the conflict of using art as a tool to heal myself, yet it creates a product to have other people paying for?”
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The speaker compares it to getting a massage – one pays the masseuse, not gets paid for receiving one.
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The concern is that if the goal is to “please the market,” the art becomes commercial, like commission work, rather than a process of self-healing.
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“Business” and “individuation”: The term “business” is linked to “busyness” and craft, while for artists, it’s often a work of introspection where value should “come by itself.”
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“Individuation” is defined as finding your place in society by linking your “drive” (often from trauma) with that place.
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Western culture often portrays the artist’s path as solitary, contrasting with the “Very Private Gallery” which tries to foster collaboration.
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Therapy is also seen as a solitary process, but the speaker suggests that grouping with others who have similar “drives” and messages can lead to societal impact.
Art as Therapy and the Artist’s Journey
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One participant states, “Art is therapy,” even if not intended to heal others. Workshops often attract people seeking a therapeutic process.
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A personal anecdote about the residency being therapeutic for the speaker is shared, helping to process difficult topics.
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The idea is to make work that touches something deep inside oneself, using the best materials, and not trying to control how others respond. Those who respond are “natural fits.”
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This process can go from individual healing to impacting others once the work is “put out there” as a product.
Collaboration vs. Individualism in Art
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Fear of collaboration is acknowledged, often stemming from negative childhood group project experiences.
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The speaker suggests approaching collaboration on a project-based basis with timelines, focusing on shared work ethic rather than similar materials or backgrounds.
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Historically, art was often a collective effort (e.g., Rembrandt’s studio), contrary to the modern “bohemian” individual artist notion.
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Finding like-minded individuals, even outside one’s specific field, can foster mental and emotional well-being.
The Art Therapist’s Role vs. the Artist’s Process
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An art therapist does “more therapy than art,” focusing on using art for patients’ expression and exploration, not necessarily producing art themselves.
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For an artist, art as therapy is the process of making it.
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“Art is only yours until it’s done. Once you finish your painting, the painting is no longer yours because you have an audience, and the audience interpretation paints the other half of the story.”
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The question remains: Art for self-healing or for audience reaction? Great art often doesn’t keep the audience in mind; those who identify with it will find it.
Trauma, Market Value, and the Artist’s Identity
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A participant (Charlotte) describes her personal trauma (childhood tooth pain due to poverty) and questions how it translates to market value, especially in a high-end art world where “even trauma is a luxury when you can monetize it.”
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The observation is made that art buyers often come from backgrounds where such traumas are not understood.
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The “dark place” that art buyers want to see is a “very specific dark place.”
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The struggle of making a living as an artist while creating art “never for money” is discussed.
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Charlotte shares her strategy: opening a separate, more commercial craft studio to protect her artistic practice and make art for herself.
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Historical examples like post-WWII European artists are given, whose powerful work about trauma may not have been commercially successful in their lifetime but is now in museums.
Redefining “Art” and “Commercial”
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The speaker argues against the separation of commercial and non-commercial art, stating that “it’s not a bad thing to try to define your value and try to find the value you want to exchange with.”
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The term “art” is seen as a “cluster” or “box” that limits and allows artists to be “targeted by marketing” without giving them power.
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“Visual expression” is preferred as a term, where one finds its value and who wants to acquire it.
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The “schizophrenia” in society is the inability to accept art being commercial, leading to separation between personal “drive” and exchange value.
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The ideal is to link commercial endeavors with the authentic artistic drive.
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Not all art needs to come from trauma; strong positive experiences can also be communicated and find an audience.
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“Art therapy” is clarified as using art for helping people, while “therapy and art” is the artist’s personal journey.
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The advice from art school to “go to see a psychologist” is remembered as something not followed.
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Individuation is about finding one’s place as an individual, not individualism. Grouping with others who have similar drives and messages is key to societal impact.
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The example of artists protesting Gaza or Ukraine individually on Instagram with few followers vs. a powerful collective voice.
The Value of Technical Skill and Community
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The term “artist” is seen as devalued and watered down; “craftsman” or “artisan” is preferred by one classically trained painter.
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A belief that the modern art world no longer values hierarchy based on technical or expressive skill.
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The idea is that individual artists have no power in a “sea of artists”; a collective with a common goal is more powerful.
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The struggle of being a highly skilled, technically proficient artist in a market that doesn’t prioritize it is discussed (e.g., figure drawing vs. conceptual art).
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The importance of creating a narrative for one’s diverse practices is emphasized, as others may not automatically connect them.
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A desire to escape the “rat race” of the art market and find a “harmonious” environment with like-minded creative people is expressed.
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The idea of online teaching as a way to make a living while living in a preferred location is explored.
Education and Career Paths
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The value of an MFA in the US is questioned regarding skill development, but acknowledged for teaching and defending one’s work.
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The importance of a degree for “behaving” and being “domesticated for society” is mentioned.
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The declining public funding and scholarships for fine art in academia globally are highlighted, urging prompt action for those seeking degrees.
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Suggestions for academic artists: teaching (community colleges, online), and leveraging “nerdy” communities like the Portrait Society.
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The importance of location for artists and the potential for moving to art-rich environments is discussed.
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The personal struggle of being supported by parents as an older (27-year-old) artist in America is shared, contrasting with the societal expectation of independence.
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The importance of knowing what one wants and how to ask for help, framing requests as project proposals or fundraising campaigns.
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The idea of influential connections (e.g., a CEO coach, a Harvard professor) who can offer contacts but
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