Re-assembling the self: Embodying shame through assemblage art.

摘要

Links between shame and art making have been felt, intuited, and examined but have not been sufficiently documented in depth psychological studies. This research explores the relationship between creating assemblage art and shame; effectively asking: can assemblage art help to re-assemble the self? The study surveys depth psychological conceptions of shame, art, and the role of creativity in healing; contemporary and historical shame ideologies, and recent psychobiological studies on shame; as well as assemblage art history and processes. This conceptual framework is attended by the researcher's heuristic inquiry into shame and assemblage art making concluding with an interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA). The IPA focuses on how participants negotiate the relationship between shame and art making in a workshop setting. Research data was primarily collected through pre- and post-workshop questionnaires designed to determine the participants' prior shame experiences related to art making. The population consisted of eight participants: five females and three males between the ages of approximately 30 and 55. The participant study confirmed that for most of the participants shame is triggered when engaging with unfamiliar physical and psychic material in the art making process; however, despite negative self-evaluation, creating in a communal space was an overall positive experience. As demonstrated by the participant responses, it could be argued that healing did occur to a greater or lesser extent on a subjective per participant basis. Keywords: shame, depth psychology, assemblage art, creativity, embodiment.