Shame and the Making of Art

A Depth Psychological Perspective

Deborah Cluff

• Publisher: Taylor & Francis
• Year: 2017
• eBook ISBN: 9781351600538
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Psychology
• Subtopic: Mental Health in Psychology
• Index: Psychology

Shame remains at the core of much psychological distress and can eventuate as physical symptoms, yet experiential approaches to healing shame are sparse. Links between shame and art making have been felt, intuited, and examined, but have not been sufficiently documented by depth psychologists. Shame and the Making of Art addresses this lacuna by surveying depth psychological conceptions of shame, art, and the role of creativity in healing, contemporary and historical shame ideologies, as well asrecent psychobiological studies on shame.

Drawing on research conducted with participants in three different countries, the book includes candid discussions of shame experiences. These experiences are accompanied by Cluff's heuristic inquiry into shame with an interpretative phenomenological analysis that focuses on how participants negotiate the relationship between shame and the making of art. Cluff's movement through archetypal dimensions, especially Dionysian, is developed and discussed throughout the book. The results of the research are further explicated in terms of comparative studies, wherein the psychological processes and impacts observed by other researchers and effects on self-conscious maladaptive emotions are described.

Shame and the Making of Art should be essential reading for academics, researchers, and postgraduate students engaged in the study of psychology and the arts. It will be of particular interest to psychologists, Jungian psychotherapists, psychiatrists, social workers, creativity researchers, and anyone interested in understanding the dynamics of this shame and self-expression.

Chapter 1

Research approach

The research approach is based in the following philosophical postulates, which are in accordance with those of Pacifica Graduate Institute at large: it acknowledges the reality of the unconscious, it recognizes the complexity, fluidity, and ambiguity of psychic phenomenon, and respects many ways of knowing (Coppin & Nelson, 2005). As such, this research comprises a qualitative inquiry as opposed to an empirical study. As a field, depth psychology does not limit unconscious phenomena to the personal realm but expands its reaches to include all phenomena throughout human experience—ongoing as well as in the past; giving us the concepts of the personal unconscious and the collective unconscious (Jung, 1954/1969a, p. 166). Not only does depth psychology accept the hypothesis of the collective unconscious, but it also asserts that the objective psyche has autonomy; that is to say, phenomena may originate in the unconscious and occur beyond the control of the person experiencing it. Per Jung’s analytical psychology, autonomous complexes are thought to be at the core of the creative process and thereby art (van den Berk, 2012, p. 31). Archetypal psychologist James Hillman contributes his own perspective to Jung’s concept of the autonomy of the psyche. Reading Hillman (2000) and listening to his lectures his loyalty to the images could be felt; he expressed when he implored, “sticking to the image,” as a means to avoid wrongful interpretation (p. 173). To respect that postulate, the researcher limits psychological and artistic interpretations of the creative products included in this dissertation. Rather, this study focuses on the process of creating assemblage art; specifically, it details the process of choosing, or being chosen by, the objects; the assembling of pieces; the inner dialogue that occurs between the artist and her/himself; as well as dialogue between the art and the artist. This study examines assemblage art as collaboration between the found objects that comprise the assemblage pieces and the artist with the intention of personifying the artwork and its components. Per Hillman, “Personifying is a way of being in the world and experiencing the world as a psychological field” (p. 13). Regarding the utility of personification in this study, “Personifying helps place subjective experiences ‘out there’; thereby we can devise protections against them and relations with them” (p. 31). It is a manner of fleshing out one’s inner contents “Because our psychic stuff is images, image-making is a via regia, a royal road to soul-making” (p. 23). Though not overt, this study implements the alchemical-hermeneutic approach that was developed by depth psychologist Robert Romanyshyn (2007) in that it is “research with soul in mind,” which is “a process of re-turning to and remembering what has already made its claim upon the researcher through his or her complex relations to the topic” (p. xi); it is “about finding what has been lost, forgotten, neglected, marginalized, or otherwise left behind” (p. xi). These concepts are particularly befitting when conducting a study of assemblage art, which is typically composed using found objects—objects that have been discarded by one party and recovered by another.

Research methodology

These presuppositions asserted in the above description of the research approach require the use of a qualitative research method that is oriented toward subjectivity and takes seriously a range of psychic phenomena (Smith, 2008). This study’s methodology draws from multiple methods of inquiry so as to engender the dialectal relationships between the researcher, the participants, and the artwork. Because this study presupposes that the creative process and its art products (i.e., the assemblage pieces) relate to psychic material, it necessitates an approach and, thereby, a methodology that considers such research data as valid. Using both heuristic and IPA methods provides the opportunity to explore the topic with greater depth and breadth. The modern development of phenomenology is attributed largely to German philosopher Edmund Husserl (1859–1938) and French existentialist Maurice Merleau-Ponty (1908–1961). Husserl is said to be the founder of phenomenology, the study of a thing in itself, which comprises methods of describing phenomena as they appear, as well as to apprehend understanding and knowledge through intuition or inner evidence. Merleau-Ponty, who was heavily influenced by Husserl, challenged the dualistic Cartesian model that predominates Western thinking through the concepts of the lived body and nonduality, arguing that our philosophical tradition too frequently conceives of the body as an object whose purpose is to carry out tasks for the transcendent mind. Both Husserl (1950/1969) and Merleau-Ponty (1945/1962) asserted that total objectivity is impossible because an observing field is created wherein, the researcher encounters reciprocity of perception, an exchange between the body and environment, and the limitation of perspective. Phenomenological research asks that the researcher describe, as accurately as possible, the lived experience, or phenomenon, of the research participants (Kvale & Brinkman, 2009). “A phenomenological study … is one that focuses on descriptions of what people experience and how it is that they experience what they experience” (Patton, 1990, p. 71). More specifically, IPA is an approach to psychological qualitative research that focuses on the subjective experiences of a particular person (or group), in a particular context, attempting to makes sense of an identified phenomenon. The phenomenal subject matter generally holds personal significance for the researcher and the participant(s). IPA can be distinguished from other qualitative, phenomenological research methods because of its combination of psychological, interpretative, and idiographic components.

As a way into the work, the research subject usually engages the researcher before the study methods and the participants are selected (Romanyshyn, 2007). In this case, the research design was derived directly from my life; therefore, my experience and imagination figure prominently in all aspects of this study. To make this involvement and influence explicit, a heuristic study, as formulated by psychologist Clark Moustakas (1990) is the primary source of data. Moustakas’ method was selected because, although its basis is autobiographical, it acknowledges that questions that matter personally usually have important social significance as well. This idea is in keeping with a concept of interplay between multiple layers of meaning, between the personal and the collective, the conscious and the unconscious. Using a heuristic method to examine the creative process allows the researcher to act as both creator of art pieces, witness to such psychic activity, and investigator into possible meanings. The validation portion of the heuristic study, the IPA, examined how participants negotiate the relationship between shame and artistic expression in a guided assemblage art workshop. This workshop occurred over the course of three consecutive days in a private art studio.

Workshop pedagogy

The pedagogical approach used in the study workshop is based on Julie Garlen Maudlin’s 2006 work Teaching Bodies: Curriculum and Corporeality, which defines the concept of “embodied curriculum.” Embodied curriculum accounts for the transactional relationships between the educator’s body, the learner’s body, and the space wherein they work. Embodied curriculum “sees” the body and brings it fully into the learning process, which is comprised of the following three elements: disclosure, dialogue, and discomfort (Maudlin, 2006, p. 122). She borrows from Bronwen Levy’s 2000 work Pedagogy: Incomplete, Unrequited when she writes:

embodied curriculum draws us into intimacy with the sensual, unruly, unpredictable, desirous body; it is a curriculum that recognizes the connections between materiality and the psychic world, between social and cultural conditions and circumstances, between desires and pleasures, as well as disappointments.

Since shame is experienced most unmistakably in the body, due to identifiable psychophysiological responses and postures, the assemblage workshop was designed with these tenets in mind.

Gathering participant data

Research data was collected via pre- and post-workshop questionnaires designed to ascertain the participants’ shame experiences related to art making before the workshop and during the process workshop. The purpose of the pre-workshop questionnaire was to establish baseline conditions, to stir the memories and imaginations of the participants, and prepare them for the type of information sought for in the study. These prewritten questions were also posed to form a basis for discovering patterns and correlations between respondents. These questions were intended to guide rather than dictate the ensuing research process. The post-workshop questionnaire was intended to record any changes in their relationship to shame and art making. The participants were given an opportunity to add any additional information or reflections not specifically asked for on the post-workshop questionnaire. Data was also collected through observation and photographing the art making process, the pieces in progress, as well as the final artworks during the workshop. To reiterate, the intent was not to analyze or critique the works but to enrich the content and contextualize the research conclusions. Therefore, images and detailed descriptions of the artwork created by the participants are not included herein.

Gathering heuristic data

This data was gathered by first hand account of the dialectical relationship between shame and creative self-expression. The data includes autobiographical and anecdotal information that is germane to the study of this subject, experiments with expression and shame triggers during the research development process, and the discovery of assemblage art as a means to come into contact with shame. This account generally follows Moustakas’ (1990, pp. 27–37) phases of heuristic inquiry, which are as follows: initial engagement, immersion, incubation, illumination, explication, creative synthesis, and validation. The validation portion consists of the participant study.

Data analysis

Research in depth psychology may be inclusive of the sciences, philosophy, literature, the arts, and the humanities if that information helps to support, explicate or corroborate a study’s conclusions. Art-based data provides evidence for this study; notwithstanding, due to the inherent subjectivity of art-based data, it is not intended to demonstrate empirical fact. Qualitative data was used exclusively in this study because it allowed me to demonstrate the highly subjective material that this study explores. As discussed previously, analysis of the art-based data is largely limited to participants’ reports of creating assemblage pieces as opposed to interpretations. Discussions of the assemblage pieces are incorporated, as appropriate, to support assertions and findings. The psychological aspects of this study are viewed primarily from the depth and archetypal perspectives postulated by Carl Jung, James Hillman and other post-Jungian psychologists.

The methodology chosen for this study is appropriate to thematic analysis as material that emerges during the workshop process is focused on how the participants perceive shame experiences related to creating artwork in the presence of others. The responses provided in the questionnaires is the fundamental data used for IPA portion of the study. In addition to gleaning understanding of each participant’s idiosyncratic experiences, the responses were also reviewed to identify any prevalent themes that occurred with in the group.

Ethical considerations

The utmost reverence to both the letter and the spirit of ethical codes is imperative throughout the process and final published product of this research. All of the selected potential participants received a brief summary of the topic, preparation questions, and an explanation of the proposed study process before committing to participate. Participants received, reviewed, and signed informed consent forms before the workshop. The participants were informed both verbally and in writing that participation is voluntary and there would be no remuneration. Additionally, they were assured that their confidentiality would be protected. The participants were informed that they were not required to disclose any information and, at any time until the dissertation was complete, could retract any or all contributions. The participants were informed as to the extent that confidentiality would be provided and that all efforts would be made to reduce or eliminate harm, both psychological and physical. Every effort to comply with the American Psychological Association (APA) standards for conducting research with human participants was made. The research had the potential to be psycho-activating, actuating unconscious material in unexpected ways; so sensitivity to emotional distress was requisite. As examined in detail in the literature review, exposure plays a strong role in shame. The participants were assured that in the event of distress (e.g., intolerable shame) they could terminate the workshop process at any point. As a depth psychologist and wounded researcher, intent on researching with soul in mind, one is ethically bound to be aware of and accept responsibility for the shadow that is inevitably cast upon the work (Romanyshyn, 2007).

Chapter 2

Defining shame and its impacts

“One’s knowledge of shame is often limited to the trace it leaves” (M. Lewis, 1992, p. 34). Helen Block Lewis, one of the first psychoanalysts to write about shame, encapsulates shame’s legacy of evading a ubiquitous definition. The absence of a robust examination of shame in the depth psychological literature combined with a lack of unanimity in the mental health field overall yields a too narrow and insubstantial understanding of the subject. There are various speculations about the origins and causes of shame: whether it is rooted in the family system or if it has a biological basis has not been definitively determined, but the link between shame and negative impacts on the self hold up across diverse populations and a range of measurement methods. To portray the complexity of shame and establish a context for phenomenon of shame, this chapter presents various definitions of shame, a brief history of attitudes and beliefs about shame, psychological theories of shame, and contemporary shame research. As evidenced by the publication of several books on the topic, shame has experience a surge of interest in 1990s. Jungian Mario Jacoby (1991) wrote that “shame prepares the ground for severe pathologies of every kind, from completely asocial to destructively addictive behaviors” (p. 51). In 1992, psychologist and affect theory pioneer Silvan Tompkins wrote that “scientific psychology and the mental health field” had failed to articulate the shame experience (Kaufman, 1992, p. ix). Dr. Vicki Underland-Rosow (1995), a social worker and human systems expert, also weighed in on shame during the 1990s, a decade that saw an invigorated interest in the subject. To place shame in a more-than-personal context, she identified shame-promoting systems including Christianity, education, politics, economics, and the helping professions (pp. 95–110). In the past couple of decades, shame has made a comeback and numerous psychological publications have come out offering new ideas and some reiterating and updating older shame schemas. Contemporary psychological, psychosocial, and psychobiological studies confirm what many have long observed: “shame is a pathogenic force” (Broucek, 1991, p. 4). Shame is positively correlated to myriad psychological symptoms, including: depression, anxiety, eating disorders, personality disorders, suicidal behavior, self-injury, and substance abuse (Leary & Tangney, 2010). In addition to adverse psychological impacts, chronic shame can have detrimental physiological effects. In his book on trauma, psychiatrist Bessel van der Kolk (2014) reports that neuroscience continues to identify correlations between brain activity and psychological phenomena: shame can be observed in brain scans (p. 102). It is apparent that furthering our understanding of shame and how to come into healing contact with it matters gravely to human well-being.

Shame is both a noun and a verb. Etymologically, when traced to its Indo-European root, (s)kam, it means to hide or cover. Several sources cite the following attributions with slight variations: the noun is derived from Old English sc(e)amu: a feeling of guilt or disgrace; German cognates scams or scham; and Old Norse sk mm. The verb is derivative of the noun from Old English sc(e)amian; Middle English schamen, shamien: to be ashamed. The Greek language made a distinction between aiskhyne: the negative shame of dishonor; and aidos: the positive shame of modesty. In Western Judeo-Christian culture, shame can be traced back to Genesis: the first book in the Old Testament. The biblical view is that Adam and Eve lived naked and free of self-consciousness until Eve was seduced by the snake (i.e., Satan) and ate the fruit that God warned was forbidden. Upon tasting the fruit, Adam and Eve both recognized their nudity as sinful, intrinsically connecting shame with both the body and wrongdoing (Blakemore & Jennett, 2008). Professor of Philosophy Robert Metcalf (2006) writes that philosophers as early as the Christian theologian Augustine (354–430) have looked to Genesis to ascertain shame’s origin and moral significance. Metcalf surmises that Augustine’s focus on a conflict between the spirit (or will) and the unwilling flesh constituted his definition of shame: “… Augustine thinks that shame originated in our progenitors’ consciousness of their disobedient genitals”; it is “unwilled arousal” that induces shame (2006, pp. 3–4). However, cultural antecedents can be found in ancient Greece where shame was also linked to the body; in Homer’s tales, shame was related to nakedness and sexuality. Blakemore and Jennett (2008) tied shame to physical vulnerability based on a reading of Homer’s Odyssey, citing shame as the “dread of being seen naked or making love, or witness love-making.” They also indicate that this may relate to fear of being seen unfavorably, or other than one wants to be seen, in the eyes of others—mortal or divine. In the heroic culture of ancient Greece, Blakemore and Jennett conjecture that shame may be affiliated with appearing primitive, undignified, and lacking in the valued virtues of the time. There was a prevailing belief that crudeness would place humans closer to animal than divinity in the eyes of the gods. It is evident that shame has been located within the lower realms on a vertical axis of cultural values (i.e., spirit over matter, divine over animal).

Shame and gender

According to clinical psychologist Gershen Kaufman (1992), differential patterning of gender socialization results in feminine and masculine gender scripts that govern identity, stratify, and shape interpersonal relations. These gender scripts become ideologies that “embody values and injunctions by evaluating what is good and what is bad.” Affect theorist Silvan Tomkins writes that they “embody sanctions, positive ones for the fulfillment of central values and negative ones for their violation” (1987a, p. 170). To summarize the predominant scripted roles for women and for men in American culture: women should express the effects of distress, fear, enjoyment, and shame; they should search for identity through relationships; and should be popular and conform (Kaufman, 1992, p. 206). Generally, women have a higher incidence of shame and often focus their shame on their physical appearance (Brown, 2012). Men should express the effects of excitement, anger, dis-smell, disgust, and contempt; they should express the need for power and differentiation; they should compete, succeed, be independent, and be self-sufficient (Kaufman, 1992, p. 209). Jungian Anita Greene presupposes that, due to our expectations of men in a patriarchal culture, they tend to demonstrate contempt as a defense against shame (Greene, 2015). This obfuscates the presence of shame and its important in the emotional lives of men who demonstrate this defensive structure. In 2011, Mary Ayers wrote Masculine Shame: From Succubus to the Eternal Feminine, on...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Title Page
• Copyright page
• Table of Contents
• List of figures
• Introduction
• 1 Research approach
• 2 Defining shame and its impacts
• 3 The art of assemblage
• 4 Approaching shame
• 5 Shame and self-expression: a heuristic study
• 6 Interpretive phenomenological analysis
• 7 Conclusions
• References
• Index