The Magic of Art
In the 1985 book titled “The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat” written by renowned neurologist Oliver Sacks, he writes of a man in his last chapter he describes as ‘The Autist Artist.’ José, a twenty-one year old man who had had seizures and a severe intellectual disability. Others had very politely told Sacks that José was an ‘idiot,’ not worth questioning, and emotionally stunted. They immediately, most likely due to the general knowledge of autism and intellectual disabilities at the time, deemed him sub-human without having tried to communicate with him on his terms.
However, when Sacks presented him with a pen, paper, and objects for him to draw, Sacks observed that his art was ‘richly expressive,’ and revealed a ‘lively and distinctive imagination — a sense of humour.”
Throughout the chapter, Sacks puts emphasis on the whimsy that José’s art brought out of the objects replicated — José seemed to breathe life into everyday mundanity. This art of his acted as a window for Sacks, looking into the untouched, charming personality of José. It revealed a part of him that possibly nobody had ever seen from him, one that had been put on the backburner while José’s early-life seizures took the spotlight.
Not just that, but Sacks noticed that José’s overall mood seemed to miraculously lift while drawing — and the good mood continued on once drawing had become a regular activity for him. Sacks dictates at the final pages of the book: “Now, finally, he started to speak.”
The rest of the book comments greatly on the human psyche — the consciousnesses, the subconscious, the unconsciousnesses; I highly recommend that you, dear reader, to take a good look at Sacks’ depiction of the inner workings of the mind (of course, with the idea in mind that his reports are, indeed, quite exaggerated). That being said, these consciousnesses, however obvious, certainly do come out in art.
Art and the Sub-Conscious
It is no coincidence that art has become a psychological tool. I witnessed this first-hand when I got a psychological evaluation of my own, and I was nothing short of astonished when I was handed blank paper and asked to draw a tree, a house, a person. This emotion carried on when they showed me several (rather ambiguous) images and asked me to create a story based on what was happening in these images.
Later, to fulfill my own curiosities, I learned that they administered the Thematic Apperception Test (TAT) and the very fittingly named House Tree Person Test (HTP). Serendipitously, psychology has utilized the idea that art is a medium that is ascribed onto by the artist. Thus art can be used as an evaluation tool to measure one’s cognition, in an unbiased manner that questionnaires and interviews miss.
They dub these sorts of tests ‘projective.’ When given ambiguous stimuli — simple drawing prompts or images to replicate like as seen with José — one tends to subconsciously reflect their experiences and views onto it.
Art Therapy — an Underrated Treatment
Art therapy has been developed as a sophisticated medium that utilizes different art mediums in order to access the psyche and practically eradicate language and speech as a barrier for communication in therapy. However, many still do not perceive art therapy as a viable science despite evidence of its effectiveness. Rather when I first searched up on art therapy, I received many forum posts questioning whether art therapy was a hoax. I, myself, didn’t know it was its own sophisticated field when I was looking into all the different psychological careers.
What has made this deeply rich and insightful apparatus so demeaned as a tool to increase well-being and insight into one’s self? This is purely speculative, but perhaps people equate it to the childishness of colouring books, or the unfortunate futility of an art-related career. For years, the subject of art itself has been left underfunded, underproduced and underappreciated. Yet it is extremely non-formulaic, freeing and so utterly human.
We live in a society that prioritises speed — instant results, efficient workers; we have lost sight of the craft of taking things slow, introspection and being in the moment. Art in a way is the antithesis to modern society.
Sometimes I find myself clouded in my piling workload, and the only thing I can do to relax is to set up my easel and let myself feel through colour. Now, I encourage you, dear reader, to pick up a pencil, or a paintbrush, or any medium you have on you. Let yourself feel through each placement of colour on your canvas, and take it with the same high regard as you would a math worksheet, or any other ‘useful’ hobby.
Perhaps, in this way, the arts and José are one in the same: lively, creative, intrinsically human, but monstrously overlooked. And perhaps we should learn to think a little harder about art’s capabilities, and its role in our daily lives.