EXHIBITION STATEMENT

Introduction.  Have you ever wondered if there was a way to objectively determine the emotion present in a piece of art? That is exactly the question this study aims to answer. Art in this project can be defined as two-dimensional visual pieces. The final product is a collection of owls completed in focus groups and a list of conclusions drawn from these owls about how to determine the emotion of a piece of artwork. The display includes an interactive portion in which the audience can use my conclusions to determine which set of owls corresponds to which emotion. The conclusions will aid individuals in interpreting their own emotions for an at-home art therapy technique in which they can draw a picture and follow the conclusions to determine what emotion they are currently experiencing but is repressed.

Literature Review.  The history of studying art as an emotional mechanism began with Robin Collingwood (Robinson). Collingwood believed art allows us to become consciously aware of repressed emotions. Using art to bring repressed emotions to the surface opens up an avenue of art therapy. Art therapy is mainly used in a therapeutic setting to open up a pathway of communication. It can be difficult to directly speak to feelings or repressed emotions. Art offers a way around this. An example of this is the tree-house-person concept. Based on the drawings of a tree, a house, and a person, the patient's self-view can be realized by examining the size of the objects (Palmer et al.). Art can be used to make conclusions about the artist.

Methods. The methodology for this project involved a study through focus groups with a total of 21 college aged participants. The majority of these were female. Participants were asked to select an emotion they felt heavily during the day and write for 3 minutes about that emotion to prime their brains. Next, they were given 10 minutes to draw an owl using a variety of colored markers. Afterwards, there was a question and answer portion to gain insight into why the participants made the artistic choices that they made. The results of this study are as follows: 1) Those who feel happy are more likely to draw the owls using their favorite colors, pay the most attention to their backgrounds, putting the most detail into them, use a higher variety of colors than those who feel sad or anxious, and are most likely to place their owl on a branch; 2) Those who feel anxious are most likely to include scribbles or squiggles in the backgrounds of their drawings and are most likely to draw an owl who isn’t standing on anything. 3) Those who feel sad are most likely to draw an owl who is standing on the ground.

Audience & Impact.  The audience for this project is college students at UMD. This is because this research is done directly with college students, so the research is applicable to their age group, and because they have a high prevalence of mental health issues (Abdu-Glass, Schlozman, & Beresin) and low access to therapy. At UMD, only 8 sessions are offered to a student in a 12 month period (University of Maryland). By providing an at-home art therapy technique, although not as beneficial as clinical one on one sessions, this study provides a new way to achieve a better well-being. This project had a personal impact on me. I have discovered that I want to be a researcher for my career, where I was previously focused on therapeutic roles. I now know what I'd like to do with my life, and I'd like to continue to expand this study and collect more owls and add to my conclusions.

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References. 

Robinson, J. “Collingwood Family.” Grove Art Online. Oxford Art Online, 2003. https://www-oxfordartonline-com.proxy-um.researchport.umd.edu/groveart/view/10.1093/gao/9781884446054.001.0001/oao-9781884446054-e-7000018613 

Palmer, L, et al. “An investigation of the clinical use of the house-tree-person projective drawings in the psychologica; evaluation of child sexual abuse.” Child Maltreatment, 2000.

Abdu-Glass, E., Schlozman, S., and Beresin, G. “The College Mental Health Crisis: A Call for Cultural Change - Part 2.” The Clay Center for Young Healthy Minds, 2022. https://www.mghclaycenter.org/parenting-concerns/college-mental-health-crisis-call-cultural-change-part-2/ 

University of Maryland. “Scope of Our Clinical Services.” About the Counseling Service. Counseling Center, University of Maryland, 2022. https://counseling.umd.edu/cs/about

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Acknowledgements. I would like to thank Heather-Erin Bremenstuhl, my advisor, for assisting and guiding me through this research project and always being available to answer any questions I have. I would like to thank the 21 participants that came to my focus groups and made this study possible. I would like to thank Gabrielle Tillenburg for assistance marketing the focus groups.