The World's Self Conscious And The Healing Process

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

In addition, I will examine the differences between male and female sexuality and how each tended to be perceived and treated by society. Then, I will look at prominent female artists and their personal experiences and beliefs on feminism and the female in their art focusing on how it tended to be received along how male artists responded to it. Mainly, I will be analyzing the clash of sexualized images in art, focusing on the differences not only between male made art versus female art, but the differences in the women’s art community, as well. What are the reasons and goals for women to use a “sexualized image” of women in their art versus

In Chapter 3 of his book, “Ways of Seeing”, John Berger argues that in western nude art and present day media, that women are largely shown and treated as objects upon whom power is asserted by men either as figures in the canvas or as spectators. Berger’s purpose is to make readers aware of how the perception of women in the art so that they will recognize the evolution of western cultured art.

Judy Chicago (artist, author, feminist and educator) has a career that now spans five decades. In the late 1960s, her inquiry into the history of women began a result of her desire to expose the truth of women’s experiences, both past and present. She still continues on a crusade to change the perception of women from our history, “Women’s history and women’s art need to become part of our cultural and intellectual heritage.” (Chicago, 2011) Through our history women - their struggles, accomplishments and contribution to history, have been overlooked, downplayed and even completely written out of a male dominated society and culture. In anthropologist Sherry Ortner’s 1974 essay “Is Female to Male as Nature Is to Culture?” she supports this view, writing “…woman is being identified with—or, if you will, seems to be a symbol of—something that every culture devalues,” (Ortner, 1974) Where Mendieta's work primarily came from a striving to belong and an understanding of where she came from, I feel that Chicago's aim was to find a place for all women, past and present in this world, starting with herself in the art world. Chicago did explore her peronal heritage in later works entitled 'Birth Project' and 'Holocaust Project'.

Since the 19th century and first-wave feminism, to the 21st century and post-modern feminism; women have used art as a method of expression and activism. Art has allowed women everywhere to speak out against political and social inequalities and impact history through an indubitable visual language. Hannah Wilke and Jessica Ledwich are two visual artists – decades apart from each other – that explore and challenge the standards set up against women.

Within two hexagonal galleries in the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, the Beyond Boundaries collection is composed of all female artist or works which express a feminine worldview. These artworks range from the early 20th century to the modern era in time and consist of a variety of traditional and non-traditional mediums, from painting and sculpting to the altercations of everyday objects. Through these individual works and their constellations, which help organize and explain the subjects displayed, the exhibit means to question society’s relationship with gender and if the gender of the artist influences how their work is seen and analyzed.

Linda Nochlin’s arguments against calling artists great, and how this negatively affects women as creators of art boils down to a muddling of facts and glorification of the legendary aspects of the artists’ lives and works. Women’s limited academic access, status, and gender expectations served as a short leash that allowed them, at best, to create pale reflections of what their male contemporaries would become famous for.

The gender politics is an interesting line of enquiry that Allan Kaprow and Lynda Benglis explore in their art practices during the 60s and 70s in relation to gender. Firstly, looking at Lynda Benglis’ ‘Art Forum 1974’ advertisement shows the radical nature of the feminist movement by the time of its creation to capture society’s attention. Benglis in 1974 purchased a place in the well-known magazine Art Forum, a common place for artists to advertise their works. The photograph shows a naked Benglis, posing like a man wearing sunglasses, and holding a dildo firmly to her genital area. She stands tall and proud of her body as her face is turned looking back at the viewer to capture their attention. Many readers were outraged by the advertisement, some critics even suggested that Benglis was mocking the woman’s rights movement by the she presented herself

The art therapies are often overlooked and under estimated in terms of efficiency. Felicity Baker, Olivia Metcalf and others from the University of Melbourne reviewed studies to see just how effective the creative art therapies are for those suffering from PTSD. The way they did this was by searching databases for peer reviewed published studies to test the "efficiency" of the creative art therapies for PTSD sufferers. The focused population was adults who suffer from PTSD. They categorized treatments into three different categories: ongoing therapist involvement, limited therapist involvement and unknown therapist involvement.

The feminist art movement is built from the revolutionary foundations of headstrong individuals striving for gender equality within the art world and society in general. It’s intriguing to notice the great injustice they faced purely based upon gender or race. The definition, overtime has changed greatly as it once meant just the movement of women advocating the same rights as men, today it means so much more and encompasses the recognition of rights of people who are all along the gender and sexual preference spectrum. This has come from the greater acknowledgement that gender is not purely black and white and is harder to define than just that. Feminist art is not necessarily constrained by time but is influenced

Sigmund Freud (1856-1939), was an influential Austrian psychologist and the founder of psychoanalysis. Freud went on to produce several theories, such as his theory on psychosexual development, which will be the focus of this assignment. Using the case study of a six-year-old patient, I will discuss the key principles of Freud’s theory on psychosexual development. Including, comprehensive definitions of the concepts used, and the stages of Freud’s psychosexual development. Lastly using Freud’s theory, I will explain how the patient’s current behaviour, could impact her behaviour in adulthood.

Nonetheless, the idea of penis envy becomes extremely important when examining Freud’s view on women for several reasons. Freud based the majority of his work on female sexual and personality development around penis envy, and Freud held the view that considered penis envy as natural and universal in all women (Slipp 16). According to Freud, the realization by the little girl that they had no penis was the defining moment in the realization of a female’s sexual identity. In The Feminist Legacy of Karen Horney, Marcia Westkott comments: “In sum, the Freudian concept of penis envy explains all one needs to understand of female behavior” (53). Freud

Expressive arts therapy is the use of art modalities, creative process, and aesthetic experience in a therapeutic context. It is a therapy of the imagination (McNiff, 1992). Effective communication is an essential element in therapeutic relationships and, although verbal language is the most conventional means of conveying information, other forms can convey just as much as words. The arts are an alternative form of communication that has recently received recognition for their value in therapeutic settings. There is a long well-established connection between the arts and psychology. Expressive arts therapy builds on a natural, complimentary relationship between the two disciplines. As a formal therapy, this form is relatively new with its

There is some disparity between the way critics and philosophers like Judith Butler view Cindy Sherman's work and the way that Cindy Sherman speaks of her photographs. It may be the disparity that exists between many modern artists, who often operate on an intuitive level, and the philosopher critics who comment upon them from a theoretical perspective or a pre-established framework. On one level, Cindy Sherman may only be playing "dress-up" (as she herself admits) in her famous History Portraits (1989-90) (Berne, 2003). On another level, however, her "dressing-up" may be indicative of a deeper problem in modern gender identity theory which is the problem of "becoming" woman (Butler, 1994) or, as Judith Butler sees it, the problem of performativity. In the History Portraits, Sherman may certainly be said to be "performing" and perhaps even attempting to "become" the male and female characters she represents in her work. Indeed, it is upon such a premise that philosopher critics and gender theorists find her work so engaging. This paper will examine Cindy Sherman and her History Portraits in relation to Judith Butler's gender theory, the portrayal of the self, and how gender identity has changed throughout the course of modern history. It will examine representations of womanhood from Romantic Idealism to Post-Modernism and will also

Western traditions narrowly define art as a market-oriented specialized discipline (Levine & Levine, 2004). When art is used therapeutically, content and meaning take priority over mechanics and technicalities.