Art Therapy VS. Art Education

1. Art Therapy VS. Art Education Caitlin Schwarz Chelsea Sihota Tanya de Frias

2. Art Education Activity • Using your black construction paper and some squares of red tissue paper, glue the tissue paper into the shape of an apple.

3. Art Therapy Activity • Choose a monumental time in your life and chose some colours and use lines to draw a representational or non-representational image to represent the emotions you experienced during that time.

4. Peter London’s Article • Believes that art education has a flawed foundation. • Suggests new assumptions based on the foundations of art therapy. • Believes, as an art educator, that art is an essential means to a civilized society.

5. London’s Argument • Direct contrast to parallels in art therapy • Art should be self-centered before it can be others centered. • Art should be posed as a form of reflection instead of ‘pleasure’. • Civilization is the result of inner balance and not aestheticism.

6. London’s Concerns • Art Education is: • On the fringes of the curriculum • Under-funded • A decorative frill • False Assumptions

7. Possible Solution • Advocating for change in Art Education • Workshops • Information in Staff Room • Newsletters and Journals for educators

8. Edith Kramer’s Article • Tries to link art therapy and art education by discussing three things: • Process VS. Product Oriented theory • Uses of praise and rewards • The role of competition in art

9. Kramer’s Argument • There are many similarities and many differences between art therapy and art education. • As an art therapist, she tends to focus a lot more on the differences, as a result, she had several concerns.

10. Edith Kramer’s First Concern • If it is assumed that the purpose of art education is to create a product with a specific result in mind, that is demeaning to the profession.

11. Possible Solution • Look at other ways of applying art to the classroom that focus more on artistic process.

12. Edith Kramer’s Second Concern • Parents and administration demand easily demonstrable achievements and finished work.

13. Possible Solution • Compromise with parents and administration. • Educate or explain why a different approach is necessary.

14. Edith Kramer’s Third Concern • Disturbed children’s preoccupations with inner conflicts frequently make them inaccessible to conventional educative methods.

15. Possible Solution • Make modified lessons for such students. • Assess process rather than completed works.

16. Edith Kramer’s Fourth Concern • Art Education does not provide the training necessary for art therapy.

17. Possible Solution • Attending workshops. • Brining in an art therapist to the classroom to do some activities with the students.

18. Agree or Disagree • We agree to some extent with both articles; art in the classroom should be process oriented as opposed to product oriented.

19. What’s Missing? • London neglects to consider to the fullest extent the differences between art therapy and art education. • The Kramer article lacks a coherent structure; and this detracts greatly from the clarity of her argument.

20. Practical Implications for the Classroom • Research methods and apply them in the classroom • Celebrate any steps in ego-functioning a child makes • Change lesson rationales • Change lesson delivery and focus more on process and less on product

21. Practical Implications of Rewards • In discussing rewards Kramer says: “It is wise to resort to them mainly as an incentive for performing unpleasant duties or dull routine tasks, but to refrain from using them where it can be reasonably expected that the work itself will be gratifying.”

22. Questions to Stimulate Discussion • Using the information we have provided you, compare and contrast the two introductory activities. • Do you have any suggestion on how to better reconcile art education and art therapy?