The role of Artistic Subjectivity in educational and therapeutic processes that use art as a relational support

Abstract

Accompanied by other historical events, the Industrial Revolution initiated a process of social transformation that directly affected art, making the subject a focus of interest and artistic practice a means of understanding human subjectivity. From this perspective, it is proposed that art-educational and/or arttherapeutic processes involve a form of Subjectivity, referred to as Artistic, that the facilitator must actively engage with. The aim is to describe this concept and identify key aspects of facilitation.

A qualitative design was proposed, based on direct testimonies from 31 visual artists. A total of 46 texts were coded and analyzed using thematic analysis methodology, resulting in two main categories: Concept of Art and Creative Process, both adequately represented (89% and 74%, respectively). The subcategories Function, Participants in the Creative Process, and Motivators/Drivers of the Creative Process emerged as effective descriptors for the construct of Artistic Subjectivity.

Finally, “Artistic Subjectivity” is defined as a dispositional state that allows access to subjective reality, symbolically connecting implicit content with factual materials, assigning them to visual forms, and transforming them into intersubjective references. Key elements of art-educational and/or art-therapeutic facilitation include: engaging one’s own Artistic Subjectivity, listening through the Intuition-Emotion-Reflection system, encouraging a sensitive encounter with the Ineffable and the Profound, and creating a space that validates and promotes exploration.