Experiential exercise:
Let’s make an exercise of the line from Spear (p. 229-230), “....“observe, register and accept” these messages [from your subconscious] in whatever form they arrive, be it dreams, memories, reveries, slips of the tongue, changes in mood, fantasies or sudden and seemingly inexplicable emotional responses.” (Jacobi, 1958, p.104)
Make note of the next time or couple times this occurs for you and share it with the group. What was the setting? How was your response different than you think it would be if you were not making notes for the class?
When I think back to my time starting undergrad at a small liberal arts college in rural Indiana, and falling in love with art and writing, my initial perspective on the arts were 'thicker' in a way that I felt good art and writing possessed certain qualities that I could never obtain. Often never feeling good enough in my own work, I definitely experienced bouts of depression and frustration. I decided the fall semester of my senior year to 'study abroad' in New York, where I was exposed to a sea of so many different artists, work, writing, people, food, and everything else. This is not to say that I didn't experience diverse cultures growing up in Texas, but I think there is something special about New York being what it is. It was that short semester in the city, working and doing all that I could to stay alive, exposed and aware, that I felt my boundaries thin and garnered a little more confidence in myself and what I was working towards as an artist.
Within a similar vein, my research on the relationship between travel and creativity, in a way, tackles the process of thinning and thickening of artistic boundaries. Based on personal experience, and hours of interviews with different artists who have traveled to far away places, to different cities, or even as simple as different neighborhoods in their hometowns––what I am starting to discover is that many of the artists I interviewed noticed drastic changes in their process, and creative growth, when they were immersed in a culture different than their own. It was not so much about moving locations, but adapting to a different culture. I think theres is something worth point out about this, our boundaries of ego may shift as we move between, and expand, our physical boundaries.
It's hard to exercise these boundaries consciously and actively--I think retrospectively, we can reflect on our boundaries and make mindful shifts, but I'll try this exercise again tomorrow as see what I can make work!
Let’s make an exercise of the line from Spear (p. 229-230), “....“observe, register and accept” these messages [from your subconscious] in whatever form they arrive, be it dreams, memories, reveries, slips of the tongue, changes in mood, fantasies or sudden and seemingly inexplicable emotional responses.” (Jacobi, 1958, p.104)
Make note of the next time or couple times this occurs for you and share it with the group. What was the setting? How was your response different than you think it would be if you were not making notes for the class?
When I think back to my time starting undergrad at a small liberal arts college in rural Indiana, and falling in love with art and writing, my initial perspective on the arts were 'thicker' in a way that I felt good art and writing possessed certain qualities that I could never obtain. Often never feeling good enough in my own work, I definitely experienced bouts of depression and frustration. I decided the fall semester of my senior year to 'study abroad' in New York, where I was exposed to a sea of so many different artists, work, writing, people, food, and everything else. This is not to say that I didn't experience diverse cultures growing up in Texas, but I think there is something special about New York being what it is. It was that short semester in the city, working and doing all that I could to stay alive, exposed and aware, that I felt my boundaries thin and garnered a little more confidence in myself and what I was working towards as an artist.
Within a similar vein, my research on the relationship between travel and creativity, in a way, tackles the process of thinning and thickening of artistic boundaries. Based on personal experience, and hours of interviews with different artists who have traveled to far away places, to different cities, or even as simple as different neighborhoods in their hometowns––what I am starting to discover is that many of the artists I interviewed noticed drastic changes in their process, and creative growth, when they were immersed in a culture different than their own. It was not so much about moving locations, but adapting to a different culture. I think theres is something worth point out about this, our boundaries of ego may shift as we move between, and expand, our physical boundaries.
It's hard to exercise these boundaries consciously and actively--I think retrospectively, we can reflect on our boundaries and make mindful shifts, but I'll try this exercise again tomorrow as see what I can make work!
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Given our readings on individuation and identity, consider these two statements:
Social change and freedom from oppression needs to occur before a person can experience individuation.
Social change and freedom from oppression cannot occur until individuals are empowered through individuation.
Which position do you agree with and why?
As you reflect on your life, can you pinpoint a time in your life when you utilized the arts and/or imagery to better understand yourself? Please explain this experience and how it has/has not enhanced your life. If this is not something you've experienced in life, please feel free to share your thoughts on why this may be the case.
I use art and imagery to better understand myself on a daily basis. As I had mentioned early on, I have struggled with my identity on many levels throughout life. Particularly when it came to understanding where I fit in regarding my culture and heritage. I suppose art and poetry, for me, became a way of understanding the complex macro and micro-cosms of identity. As an abstract painter, with a process that uses imagery from both place and (literal) space, I think this method, or ritual, for me is a way to connect with my identity as a human being in time and space rather than focusing on the meticulous, microscopic details of identity. Through 'zooming out' in my process I feel a sense of ephemerality and weightlessness. I suppose for me, this is my act of meditation, where I can feel a part of everything and nothing all at once. Or what Kaya speaks about, the levels of "solitary and social."
On the other hand, my poetry is a way to understand the concrete, and tangible aspects of 'me.' Something that I have been working on for quite some time, that I recommend as an exercise for others who are interested, using found photographs to create a relationship through writing actually can reveal quite alot about about the self, at least, that's what worked with me. See example below:
Kaya (2009) mentions during her conclusion and reflection that "a key aspect of designing learning processes that integrate emotions and imagination
with rationality is to encourage learners (recognizing individual preferences) to participate in a
variety of expressive practices (Yorks & Kasl, 2006), such as collaging, sculpture, drawing,
movement, and other creative activities to help learners access and engage with their inner self" (p. 213).
The idea of a process that integrates emotions, with imagination, with rationality is a perfect way to engage with and enter a point of critical reflection. I think arts are an expressive entry point that gives individuals a sense of weightlessness, yet their results are concrete, grounded, and very real.
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