How Does Art Understand Mental Illness?

Attention Getter: Art can be used to express our innermost feelings and to convey ideas about anything such as society, economics, education, religion, and politics.

Art helped me learn to express the feelings I couldn’t say and during that time period and I choosing to study it is the greatest decision I have ever made. Art is the reason I live now. It gives me hope, happiness, and an ability to escape. I love how it can change my view and to make me feel things. This year one of my illustrations was hung in the Museum of Contemporary Art: La Jolla, and I could not be prouder.

The thought of art is more than what you see it is what you feel and what you learn from looking at it. Art can heal the soul and create and new outlook on images we may see every day. Sadly, we may not always see the art in things, pieces, or, humans.

Art has been a factor of our life as long as humanity has existed. For thousands of years, art has been created, observed, critiqued, and enjoyed by human beings in many regions across the world. Art aren’t just murals, sculptures, music, books or anything that someone may define as art but more of a bigger picture like if has a deeper meaning such a message or a theme that is looked upon. Art can be viewed at as many different ways in terms of people having different reactions or observing it in a different meaning. Someone could feel that the art work is very extraordinary and unique but someone else can have a different reaction and feel like it is no different than other artworks and have a literalist view upon the art. One art that made

Art as a therapeutic method was my primary focus throughout the psychology program at Ryerson University. I am familiar with much research regarding art therapy for mental disorders such as depression

ART is targeted at youth and teens that have a history of aggression as well as anti social type behavior. ART can work on many different populations and diversities, it is not categorized to just one. The most popular populations are those that are in some type of detention center and places that focus on behavioral health as well as substance abuse.

     Art, in each and every form that it comes in, shows us who we are. Our

Many people enjoy art in variety of different ways: through music, movies, television, writing, reading, painting, tattoos, clothing, jewelry and even the make up they put on. Many people utilize art in order to accomplish different things, for some it is a safe haven used to escape from reality, for others it

In Rhys Southan’s essay “Is Art a Waste of time?” he discusses art and if it can really be a tool to help those who are suffering or does handing over your money make a greater difference. In Yo-Yo Ma’s essay “Necessary Edges: Art, Empathy, and Education” he focuses more on art being used for educational purposes to essentially create more innovative and empathic people. Instead of focusing so much on STEM, the author states that we should also incorporate art. Although some people might disagree that art could make the world a better place it can by bringing attention to issues, art can become a teaching tool by integrating it into the education curriculum, and it can make the world a better place by saving lives and creating less violence.

An experienced design artist with a Fine Arts degree, who made the transition to studying psychology, I bring a unique background and perspective as a psychology student. My interest in Psychology began with my curiosity in the relationship between art and mental health. South Korea, my birthplace, has some of the longest working hours of any country. The people I met while working there often suffered from work-related stress that linked with symptoms of depression and anxiety. However, few were willing to discuss their situation. Due to cultural issues, people are loath to visit clinicians – instead, they commonly ascribe precarious moods to their mindsets. This phenomenon spurred me to consider artistic activities as a mean with which to deal with negative mood. As a result, my personal interest motivated me to study psychology at Ryerson University; I now hope to continue this path towards Clinical Psychology by enrolling at the McGill University.

I myself, as an artist have struggled with mental illness and although they are very different to Van Gogh’s I still find great comfort in how he continued doing

Art therapy is a mental health profession in which clients, facilitated by the art therapist, use art media, the creative process, and the resulting artwork to explore their feelings, reconcile emotional conflicts, foster self-awareness, manage behavior and addictions, develop social skills, improve reality orientation, reduce anxiety, and increase self-esteem. A goal in art therapy is to improve or restore a client’s functioning and his or her sense of personal well-being.

Good art allows me to flee the realms of reality. In my mind's limitless consciousness, I can escape the mundanity of everyday life. It opens a door in my head to a world only limited by my imagination. I am no more a slave to gravity, chained down on the earth when I am reading. I can be a bird and soar high above the clouds, or be a fish and swim deep down in the darkest depths of the ocean. I am there, I am that person, and everything else around me regardless of what it is, fades away. Sometimes these people are the one's I'd like to be but sometimes I encounter nefarious characters I wholly condemn. I am able to feel the emotions that the artist intends for me to feel. However, it is not merely reading or listening, but understanding

     Unfortunately, for some artists, the reality of life isn’t so beautiful. One of the most talented, yet mentally ill artists of all time was Vincent Van Gogh. He was also from the 19th century belonging to the post-impressionists. In order for one to analyze the art of

A lot of people think that art can only go as far as a class in school, but in reality there is art around everyone. Art can be a way of life for some people, and for others it is simply just something they pass every single day. What they do not realize is that art can have benefits in different aspects in their life, in children's lives, and even the world around them.