Stereographs

The Art of Pathography - Introduction

Abstract
The artists’ creation of a ‘true self-portrait’ is bound up in meanings of self-hood and individuation; by means of his/her practice becoming a method of developing the artists’ need for self-discovery. Through this self-exploration, the artefact becomes an attempt to reveal something of the artist, a therapeutic tool perhaps, by which the photograph is used as a form of depth psychology. Representations of ‘self’ have an established history in art and more recently in photography - which is where my interest lies - where lens based artists have referenced their own psychological make-up revealing their own personal pathography.

Over a two-year study, photographic self-portraits are produced in conjunction with their ongoing interpretation by two psychotherapists. Just as in phototherapy - as the artefact helps the client bring things to mind that are otherwise repressed – a therapeutic relationship develops and in addition to the language as response, an interpretation of the artwork is made. Within this collaborative relationship, just as the psychotherapist therapist feels into the client’s internal world through identification and a process of shared subjectivity, this practice-based thesis sets out to document this intersubjective experience between artist and reader, as a form of pathography.

A mixed methodology of autoethnography and thematic analysis is undertaken of the language of response – language generated from the viewing of purely visual data – to examine and record patterns or themes within this information that is relevant to the research question. The project seeks to make comparisons between the themes that come about from the analysis of the written data, documenting this intersubjective environment in terms of the artist’s intent and also the readers’ projections. Through this form of removed analysis - the interpretation of the photograph and not the artist - can a new internal world of the artist be revealed? Is there a particular reading that could be universalised or is this unique to me? Or is the analysis a series of projections, a more of an understanding of the readers?

The concerns of this thesis are with the ways in which the production of these photographs and their reception can be incorporated into an art practice and a new self-portrait is revealed.

Keywords: Photography, Self-Portrait, Autoethnography, Thematic Analysis, Psychoanalysis, Projection, Intersubjectivity, Phototherapy, Thematic Apperception Test, Pathography.

Definitions

Pathography
A psychoanalytic approach to the realm of art that depends on detailed knowledge of an artist’s personal life history.

Thematic Apperception Test
A form of projective test designed to reveal a person's social drives or needs by their interpretation of a series of pictures of emotionally ambiguous situations.

Autoethnography
A form of autobiography and ethnography. A form of self-narrative that places the self within a social context.

Thematic Analysis
Examines and records patterns (or "themes") within data.

Apperception
A mental process by which a person makes sense of an idea by assimilating it to the body of ideas he or she already possesses.

Projection
The presentation of an image on a surface or the unconscious transfer of one's own desires or emotions to another person.

Reflexive
A method or theory in the social sciences that takes account of itself or of the effect of the personality or presence of the researcher, on what is being investigated.

Intersubjectivity
A concept in modern schools of psychotherapy, where it has found application to the theory of the interrelations between analyst and analysand.

Depth Psychology
An approach to psychology that explains personality in terms of unconscious processes

Introduction to Thesis

The interest of this artist is an enquiry into the photographic self-portrait as self-disclosure and of a therapeutic understanding; in the realm of artistic communication, can the practice of photography, specifically self-portrait photographs, offer any understanding of the artist. The research question asked is;

Can the exploration of the artists’ use of the photographic self-portrait, documented in a systematic way, be used as a form of therapeutic insight?

To answer this question, a series of twenty-four images produced over a period of two years are presented to two readers from the ‘Guild of Psychotherapists’ (known as ‘The Guild’), for feedback. This method parallels perhaps, the forming of a strong friendship and letters exchanged in Vienna between Wilhelm Fliess and Sigmund Freud between 1887-1904 (Masson, J.M. 1985 Ed.), where having attended several conferences with Sigmund Freud in 1887, Fliess came to play an important part in the development of what was to become psychoanalysis. As my collaborators are to this project, it is through this ‘distance analysis’ (Freud 1925), in combination with this developing relationship – that arguably synthesised the beginnings of psychoanalysis - will also parallel the method of data collection of this thesis; that of the experience of not knowing my readers initially, but through the narrative of the relationship, in addition to extensive correspondence in the form of the readers responses to the photographs, a method of insight is achieved.

The therapeutic relationship is fundamental to this enquiry. The experience of this relationship, of how it evolves and the documentation of this affiliation develops. This is the thrust of the method, as it is also compared with other therapeutic uses of the photograph and artists’ use of photography as a form of depth psychology. This examination will reflect upon the question of how someone who doesn’t know me can bring about awareness and can this awareness be universally acknowledged?

Chapter One will look at the individually defining the parts of this research question, synthesising the literature review, drawing upon theory in areas such as other artists’ use of photography, the role of photography as a therapeutic tool and the self-portrait as conduit of communication in this context. All through the lens of psychoanalytic theory that is relevant to such an understanding and methodology of such an investigation.

Within art history, the artists’ self-portrait has offered us an insight into the pathology of the artist, bound up in meanings of selfhood and individuation (Milner., M. 1950). It is within the realm of photography where my interest lies and I shall present the work of artists’ that reveal, through their images, aspects of their personality. The artists I research have been involved in this process, consciously or unconsciously, as they are engaged in a process of self-discovery and within their process reveal parts of themselves. Drawing parallels with my practice, I will discuss the collaborative nature, photo diary as confessional, the mirroring aspects of the work and how all this might paint a picture of the artist.

Photographic self-portraiture has an established history, where artists have referenced their own psychological make-up, used as a form of ‘depth psychology’. Larry Sultan (Pictures from Home 1992), Gillian Wearing (Album 2003), Cindy Sherman (Cindy Sherman, 2012), Francesca Woodman (Space, Providence Rhode Island, 1976), Claude Cahun (Disavowals, 1930), Jo Spence, (1986, 95, 97) and Nan Goldin (The Ballard of Sexual Dependency, 1986) are all lens-based artists who use photography that might be read psychodynamically; used as a way of accessing a sense of ‘self’ through their self-portraiture and study of their family dynamics or interpersonal relations. This thesis, in combination with photographic self-portraits, is concerned in the reading and documenting of art as a means of communication. The therapeutic use of photography, is concerned with how the outcome of this project can impact on, or advance new knowledge in, the area of photography alongside language in an intersubjective environment; that self-portraiture can be used as a therapeutic tool. I will discuss my practice and its impact on its access to self-identity and interaction with the external world alongside that of theses eight practitioners, how they have used this by means of self-expression in their work as a way of seeing deeper within themselves as a means of this communication. The process of practice, whether the performative nature itself or as making of the artefact also offers us the artists attempt to show internal worlds – consciously or unconsciously – through this self-exploration.

I will discuss the current state of the therapeutic use of the photograph. Alongside phototherapy (see also Photo Therapy) techniques, where the observer engages with photographs, as a tool of discovery. I shall define the use of the photograph in phototherapy and the therapeutic use of the photograph This first chapter looks at the existing uses of photography therapeutically, specifically through the use of the portrait of self. Loewenthal (Phototherapy and Therapeutic Photography in a Digital Age, 2013) differentiates between phototherapy, the use of photographs in therapy to initiate change and therapeutic photography, described as self-initiated photography-based activities where photographs are used as a means of therapeutic exploration, this will establish a mechanism as to how this feeds into my practice and the approach I have made to the research question. I will draw upon in more detail other contributors in this field in more detail, including that of Spence (1995, 1998, 2005), Berman (1993), Weiser (1999) and how this theoretically underpins my research, as I attempt to place my thesis within this practice of photography as a therapeutic tool and as means of this communication.

Finally, in chapter one I shall discuss concepts relevant within psychoanalytic theory. The nature of this investigation offers an opportunity to revue the reflexive nature of this thesis and the role of the ‘reader’. This is discussed alongside the notion of the project being a projective test, that the data received is that of projections of the readers. Intersubjectivity (Stern., D. 2004) and projection (Kernberg., O. 1986, Ogden., T. 1986) these being the main theoreticians discussed and how this might impact on the research outcome. The projective test, or Thematic Apperception Test specifically (TAT) (Murray., H. Morgan., C. 1930) uses as a way of gaining insight into the psychopathology of the patient by a series of illustrations. These tests are usually presented in a therapeutic environment, interpretations that become assessments are written up as the tests progress, revealing unconscious motivations and defences on the part of the projector. Further understandings of these stories are made by the reintroduction of the patient to their narratives by the interpreter. The series of images being delivered to ‘The Guild’ over this two-year period offer an opportunity for two readers to project their desires and affective meaning on to photographic self-portraits, creating in the form of language a shared understanding of their meaning.

Chapter Two discusses methodology. The Sage Dictionary of Social Research Methods (2011 Ed.) describes autoethnography as ‘A form of self-narrative that places the self within a social context’ (Jupp., V. 2006, Ed.2011: 15) and also describes autoethnographies distinctive features as combining autobiography - or as this thesis proposes photobiography - with ethnography - defined as the domain of anthropologists’ personal engagement with the person being studied and within a particular setting - a form of self-reflection and writing of personal experience which connects to a wider social, cultural understanding in the case of this thesis the therapeutic and artistic community.

The chosen method of research is a mixed method, that of autoethnography and a thematic analysis (as part of a Narrative Analysis Jupp, V., 2011 :189). The choice of using a mixed method approach will be discussed, as opposed to other research methods, such as a Case study, or Pragmatics. Art visually communicates ideas through language, ideas that cannot be communicated by language in spoken or written form however, Visual Methods as described by Jupp (2011 :320), as an example, does not on its own capture the nuances of the therapeutic element of the storytelling aspect of this project.

Using Autoethnography as a research question considers the validity of the following:

(1) Substantive contribution; does the piece contribute to our understanding of social life? (2) Aesthetic merit; does this piece succeed aesthetically? Is the text artistically shaped, satisfyingly complex, and not boring? (3) Reflexivity; how did the author come to write this text? How has the author’s subjectivity been both a producer and a product of this text? (4) Impactfullness; does this affect me emotionally and/or intellectually? Does it generate new questions or move me to action? (5) Expresses a reality; does this text embody a fleshed out sense of lived experience?

To create the data to endeavour to cover the proposed points mentioned above, the thematic analysis will synthesis the data (that of the images and the text) into a more meaningful data set.

The process of thematic data analysis, phases are: (1) Familiarisation with data; (2) generating initial codes; (3) searching for themes among codes; (4) reviewing themes; (5) refining and naming themes and finally; (6) producing the report.

I will discuss the challenge of the gathering of empirical knowledge and ways of which one presents quantitive information from qualitative, often highly subjective data. ‘Pathographies of a psychoanalytical nature, although often persuasive clinically, none the less have troubled those concerned with the rigours of methodology’ (Bellack 1986:179). Much resistance is given to the use of the visual in social research, effectively because of its subjectivity, ‘using visual methods is clearly beneficial to social researchers’ (Jupp., V. 2006 :321). Maréchal (2010), also notes the early criticism of autobiographical methods in anthropology was about “their validity on grounds of being unrepresentative and lacking objectivity” (p. 45).

Lepper (2009) suggests that any additional research obtained in this area of interaction can be seen as a useful addition to this discussion, of its overall coherence and its contemporary use in today's therapeutic engagements; this practice offers an additional viewpoint. This process has relevance in the study of psychoanalytical theory, in that it offers another important view, to be taken alongside other methods, it shows an important alternative view into the ideas of both intersubjectivity and its relationship to art practice.

Leopold Bellak’s ‘The T.A.T., C.A.T. and S.A.T. in Clinical Use’, contains a chapter entitled, The Application of Thematic Analysis to Literary products, (1986 :179) where the use of the artists’ product as primary source of data and through which inferences about the personality of the artist’s, in this case creative writers, can be made. ‘Their product – in terms of choice of content and with regard to expressive and cognitive style, aside from its susceptibility to study by content analysis in the sense of counting the frequency of words, noun-verb ratio, etc – remains uniquely theirs and therefore lends itself in principle to an analysis of their personality’ (1986:180).

However, Chang (2008) cautions autoethnographers of the pitfalls that they should avoid in doing autoethnography: (1) Excessive focus on self in isolation from others; (2) overemphasis on narration rather than analysis and cultural interpretation; (3) exclusive reliance on personal memory and recalling as a data source; (4) negligence of ethical standards regarding others in self-narratives; and (5) inappropriate application of the label autoethnography. (p. 54).

The method, described in chapter three documents a project of a two-year process of self-discovery, using self-portraits and collaborating with readers of a psychoanalytic background it provides an interpretive and descriptive themes that can be tabulated with a diagnostic level of insight about the author. The lens-based artist often doesn’t have words, but by presenting pictures now has a lexicon of descriptive language and creates a language, through the lens of psychoanalytical theory. The analysis of these words and the photographs can be used as this form of depth psychology. This discipline including the collaborative nature of it, can be seen as an attempt interviewing one's own self. The collaborative nature of the research method includes the generating of writing of a specific cultural understanding. The approach chosen, that of a mixed methodology and the collaborative nature, frees the artist from the traditional methods of writing up data, it promotes the narrative in a more poetic form, includes the display of artefacts, as photographs, which includes the elements of performance.

The method chapter will be structured in two parts. Part one, is the process of production and that of the readings, the relationship experienced by the author of this interaction over this two year period and its development. I researched help from practicing psychotherapist’s as collaborators in this research who where psychodynamically trained, interested in an artistic collaboration - sharing my lexicon of language for psychodynamic theory as a form of depth psychology - and who were interested in offering an insight into the symbolic nature of photographs. This part will be the experience of the artist throughout the process. It will describe the reasoning behind the research question and the chosen method of data collection. It reflects again on the reflexive nature of the project and of the development of technique, influence on the relationship with the readers and ongoing outcome.

The data collection stage, which consists of: (1) The initial process of image production; (2) the documentation of art and therapy as collaborative project; (3) the analytical reports produced by the readers; (4) the artists response to the readings and how future work feeds into the narrative; (5) The artists response and remaking the Work, finally; (6) Creating the final visual data.

Part Two. The Thematic Analysis begins as soon as the responses are made from Image One and is part of the integration into and re-making of the work, this will be described throughout stage one of the method. Thematic analysis, as part of the Narrative Analysis described by in Sage (Jupp 2011 :188) is the most common form of analysis in qualitative research. It examines and records patterns (or ‘themes’) within data, relevant to a specific research question. Again, account has to be taken of the reflexive nature of this project, and given that qualitative work is inherently an interpretive research, the biases, values, and judgments of the researchers need to be explicitly acknowledged and taken into account in data presentation.

Data results and analysis will be chapter four and conclusions to this research project, chapter five.

The project seeks to make comparisons between themes that come about from the analysis of the written data - from the viewing of purely visual data – themes that indicate an understanding of the photograph, the pathography of the artist and themes that may highlight purely the projections of the reader. Through this analysis of photographs, can insight in the combined intersubjective world of artist and reader; be incorporated in a systematic way.

Has the exploration of the artists’ use of the photographic self-portrait while being documented in a systematic way, be useful as a form of therapy?

This research will seek to demonstrate that it is possible to document the dynamic process of a collaborative creative exercise, from a turn-by-turn process of development of ideas, enriching the ideas of psychoanalytical theory and clinical practice into the realm of image making; using photographic self-portarits as a means to offer an understanding of the role of intersubjectivity in the art process and the artists’ pathography through this process.


References

Allen-Collinson, J., & Hockey, J. (2001). Runners' Tales: Autoethnography, injury and narrative. Auto/Biography IX (1 & 2), 95-106

Bellack, L., (1986). The T.A.T., C.A.T. and S.A.T. in Clinical Use. Allyn and Bacon: USA

Berman. L., (1993) Beyond the Smile: The Therapeutic Use of the Photograph
Routledge: London

Bochner, A. P., & Ellis, C. (2006). Communication as Autoethnography. In G. Shepherd, J. St. John, & T. Striphas (Eds.), Communication as Perspectives on Theory (pp. 110-122). Thousand Oaks, Sage: CA

Bright, S., (2010). Auto Focus - The Self-Portrait in Contemporary Photography. Thames and Hudson: London

Cahun. C. (2007) Mundy. J., (Introduction), De Muth. S., (Translator). Disavowals. Tate Publishing: London

Doloriert. D., & Sambrook, S. (2011). Accommodating an Autoethnographic PhD: The Tale of the Thesis, the Viva Voce, and the Traditional Business School. Journal of Contemporary Ethnography 40 (5), 582-615

Downie. L., (Ed), Cahun. C., & Moore. M., (2006) Don't Kiss Me. Aperture: London

Ellingson, L. L., & Ellis, C. (2008). Autoethnography as Constructionist Project

Ellis, C. (2004). The Ethnographic I: A Methodological Novel About Autoethnography

Freud, S. (1959). The Question of Lay Analysis. The Standard Edition of the Complete Psychological Works of Sigmund Freud, Volume XX (1925-1926): An Autobiographical Study, Inhibitions, Symptoms and Anxiety, The Question of Lay Analysis and Other Works. 1959. 177-258

Goldin. N., & Heiferman. M., (2012) Nan Goldin: The Ballad of Sexual Dependency. Aperture: London

Herrmann. D., Krystof. D., & Schwenk. B. (2012). Gillian Wearing. Ridinghouse: London

Jupp, V. (2006, Ed 2011). The Sage Dictionary of Social Research Methods. Sage Publications: London

Keller. C., & Blessing. J. (2011) Francesca Woodman. Art Publishers: London

Lapadat, J. C. (2009). Writing our way into Shared Understanding: Collaborative Autobiographical Writing in the Qualitative Methods Class. Qualitative Inquiry, 15, 955-979.

Loewenthal. D., (2013) Phototherapy and Therapeutic Photography in a Digital Age
Routledge: London

Marechal, G., & Linstead, S. (2010). Metropoems: Poetic Method and Ethnographic Experience. Qualitative Inquiry vol 16 issue 1 pp 66-77

Norman, K., Denzin, Yvonna, S. Ed. (1994). The Sage Handbook of Qualitative Research. Lincoln: CA

Ogden, T. H., (1977). Projective Identification and Psychotherapeutic Technique. Jason Aronson: Lanham, MD

Ogden, T. (2005). This Art of Psychoanalysis: Dreaming Undreamt Dreams and Interrupted Cries. Routledge: NY

Respini. E., Burton. J. (2012). Cindy Sherman. Museum of Modern Art: NY

Segal, H., (1981). The Work of Hanna Segal: A Kleinian Approach to Clinical practice. Jason Aronson: New York, NY

Spence. J., (2005). Beyond the Perfect Image. Photography, Subjectivity, Antagonism by Spence, Jo, Ribalta and Jorge. Museu d'Art Contemporani de Barcelona

Spence. J., (1995) Cultural Sniping: The Art of Transgression. Routledge: London

Sultan. L., (1992). Pictures from Home. Harry N. Abrams, Inc.: USA

Weiser. J., (1999) Phototherapy Techniques: Exploring the Secrets of Personal Snapshots and Family Albums. Photo Therapy Center: Canada

Uncertain States 2012 PhotoMonth Espacio Gallery

Wordle

Wordle.net

Wordle is a website for generating 'word clouds' from text. This representation gives greater prominence to words that appear more frequently in the source text.

I have pre-prepared the text, deleting certain commen words, connective words, common verbs, the definite article, also punctuation and singularised the plurals of words.

These are:- a, is, of, and, in, to, this, it, be, that, there, was, an.

This 'Wordle' represents the text produced by the readers up to 'Session X'

‘Session VIII’

‘Session VIII’

Ibid. Session -VIII, Eb –VIII (2), Eb –V (12), Eb –III (34).

Nothing is certain or clear or straightforward.

This is a person, but we don’t know how to relate to them and don’t know

 how to expect them to relate to us. There is something of interdependence between

 the two –

Perhaps neither would exist without the other.

"Post Session - VII -Eb -VII"

Nothing is certain or clear or straightforward.      Eb

"Post Session - VII -Eb -VII"

"Session VII"

"Post Session - 5 -Db -5"

‘Session V’

I didn’t see what was obviously lacking – a face.

How can someone not manage –seemingly struggle but not manage – to see their face in the mirror?

Ibid. Session -V, Db –V, Eb -IV, Db -III

"Post Session - 5 -Db -5"

"Session -5"

Mum, Dad and I

This is how I see myself now, at this moment, expressed as a self-portrait; my internal world seen in my reflection. 

This is how the readers see this image of myself, expressed as words from the maternal and paternal; an integration of their own projections.

Both photographer and reader anticipate the next encounter and show more of ourselves; the photographer integrates the language of these metaphorical parents, into the final narrative and present them as a collaborative account of intersubjective experience; an Alternative Family Album. Spencer Rowell

'In active intersubjective engagement, both parties orient themselves to the next turn, interpreting the intentions of the other and anticipating the upcoming next turn in crafting there response. This dynamic interactional process relies on commonly shared implicit 'procedures', learned in early interactions with caregivers'.

 The Pragmatics of Therapeutic Interaction: An Empirical Study. Georgia Lepper 2009

I will be referring to the above paper, as it has been a useful focus on the methods used to incorporate the language of assessment into individual pieces and the project as a whole. Her study uses pragmatics^[1] to discuss the way selected verbatim dialogue between therapist and client can be used to negotiate the meaning of a specific symptom and create understanding. It is a report on how the therapeutic process can be 'observed and studied as an interactional achievement, grounded in general and well studied procedures through which meaning is intersubjectively developed and shared' ( Lepper 2009). I will explain how this process can be used to incorporate into art practice.

My project looks to demonstrate and document the experience of the combined intersubjective world of artist and reader, a collaborative interaction and how this process can be incorporated in a systematic way, influencing the final production of work; the study of the artist /psychotherapist interaction and its development described in psychodynamic terms^[2], looking at projections in the relationship between them and their relationship in the final presentation.

This short essay will aid a provisional chapter layout for my thesis, enabling me to focus on  aspects of research and formulate a way of setting out the information currently synthesised and perhaps more importantly, how the text, and its description, can be assimilated into the ongoing art practice and how it is structured into the written work.

Introduction.

'There is a sense of crisis in the relationship between clinical practice and psychoanalytical theory', states Lepper, in her paper. Mainly around the area of empirical knowledge and ways of providing quantitive information from qualitative, often highly subjective data. She suggests that any additional research obtained in this area of interaction can be seen as a useful addition to this discussion, of its overall coherence and its contemporary use in today's therapeutic engagements; this practice offers an additional viewpoint. This process has relevance in the study of Psychoanalytical theory in that it offers another important view, to be taken alongside other methods, it shows an important alternative view into the ideas of intersubjectivity and art appreciation.

'The convergence of evidence from several data sources [which] will prove the best support for theories of mind proposed by psychoanalysis' Jimenez, 2006.

The client analyst interaction is littered with metaphor of language and of the image and it is in the discussion of this shared world of intersubjectivity where change and understanding occurs. This interaction requires playing creatively. In this space, through this exchange of dialogue, a representation of the clients internal world emerges and by the use of these definitions and of language, a shared experience becomes apparent. The images presented, data collected as interpretations and how it is integrated into the art practice represents this intersubjective world.

It is in this exchange, in psychotherapy and true of my project, that individual encounters bare meaning but also that past sessions inform the next; it is in this joint expectation that a shared narrative begins to develop. The therapists skill is to stay informed by their past engagements, without focusing on specific information, to hold a general picture in mind that is eventually honed into an image that will, when reflected back to the client, be of some use to them. Drawing parallels with my art practice, the images are seen as individual engagements, but only come together as final 'picture' or narrative in the final exhibition, where the adapted images are developed and displayed, in order, to reveal the picture of the artist as a whole. As with therapy, the personality develops into a sense of realness in conjunction with the therapist, a development of the listeners subjectivity and that of the artist developed alongside each other; a joint narrative of experience.

As with Leppers paper, of gaining an understanding using the process of pragmatics, where understanding is overlaid on to the examination of verbal exchanges on a turn-by-turn basis, this study endeavours to contribute to the mechanisms of the artist /analyst relationship processes in a similar way. The artist and reader both, as they attempt an understanding through turn-by-turn interpretations, of spoken language and its integration back into image production.

Twelve images will be selected from the twenty four produced over the period of this project. Chosen on the basis of a recurrence of themes, consensus of opinions between readers or parallel ideas of engagement, the re-making of these images will represent this combined narrative. Their interpretations will be written up in detail, images reworked through the assimilation of the readers interpretations and presented as a joint narrative.

Background to research

There is much debate around the interactional nature which form much of  the foundations of psychodynamic work with patients. The ideas of transference, countertransference, projection, introjection and projective identification - which can be described as simply intuition, empathy, general interpersonal communications or simply gestures - the intersubjective domain of social interaction. How we take in information and put out our version of events makes up the majority of what we do as adults and this interaction can be traced back to our earliest relationships, from our earliest dyadic interrelations.

This is the intersubjective matrix of the therapeutic environment and at the heart of artistic interaction. This research offers an opportunity to document the intersubjectivity through images and language, referencing the changes throughout this process and responses to the final artwork, the shared narrative.

'Language is not simply a package in which communications are wrapped, but the medium in which experience is bought to light in the process of being spoken or written' Ogden 1999 p. 201

The 'experience' is bought to light through the production of these individual images, however, the language of the interpretation is an expression of the readers' engagement and it would be simplistic to suggest it was simply a verbalisation of the meaning of the images presented. The relationship between this language and the artists intent is verbalised via the transference and also through the process of projection; this sits at the heart of psychodynamic debate and also a means of how the artist has made manifest his or her latent content to the viewer. This research, takes as its stating point that the original artwork is an action toward such awareness and the process of integration of interpretations the dialogue that instigates change. This is described by Lowewald (1960), stating that '[the] psychoanalytic process [as] the significant interactions between patient and analyst which ultimately lead to structural changes in the patients personality' p.16 that 'integrative experiences in analysis are experiences of interaction' (p24)

Method. The Data.

The first step of any research is to systematically sample the data. As mentioned there will be 24 images and transcripts to chose from, however the chose of images will be decided apron in conjunction with another Psychoanalytical reader from four main observations or strategies, to focus on the actual area of intersubjectivity that is the main focus of the production and theoretical basis of this thesis.

The focus will be on twelve or these pieces of work and their interpretations. They will be chosen to illustrate the process of the intersubjective process resulting in the production of the final exhibition and the written thesis that underwrites it. The twelve images will be chosen by how easy it feels to integration the interpretations into the work, how adaptive this secondary process is, more specifically they will have:-

1.  Shared theory of interpretations of understanding made by maternal and paternal readers, a consensus of opinion between readers.

2.   Artists intent experience portrayed by one or both readers.

3.   Recurring themes, psychopathology or specific defences highlighted.

The documentation of this process is to illustrate what is being communicated, how these are communicated and interpreted how they are interpreted into the creative process and they are linked. Also, any combined or repeated projections will be isolated and described as auto biographical nuances of the readers and form an important part of the study.

Data analysis. Discussion: Implications for the Psychoanalytical interpretation in Art Practice and Research

'Psychoanalysis, like any other field, requires careful descriptive work.' (Kaechele et al., 2006 p. 811 Secondary reference)

The research set out to explore and document the change of narrative, viewed in a collaborative nature, of the interaction between art process and it's interpretation; self reflection is met with language and responded to by creative production. Using methods to explore and support the empirical dialogue between and psychodynamic relationship between artist and viewer, mirroring the turn-by-turn encounter in the therapeutic interaction, it focuses on the intersubjective. In this therapeutic conversation artist and reader as speakers in engagement and anticipation, employ strategies to achieve there own, projection, defence, autobiographical needs; also veiled are the strategies with which the readers struggle (notes on additional communications) throughout this process of this shared environment.

Psychoanalysis, as with art presentation is not a simple dyadic experience, it is also a intersubjective shared social process, I have chosen to integrate elements of this shared experience into the making of the work. It highlights the internal world of the artist as the artist offers up revealed defences and also the internal world of the reader projected upon the work.

This research will demonstrate that it is possible to observe and document the dynamic process of a collaborative art exercise, from a turn-by-turn process of development of ideas, enriching the ideas of Psychoanalytical theory and clinical practice in the realm of image making; using images as a means to offer an understanding of the role of intersubjectivity in the art process. As the title suggests, an inference to parenting is made, as a mutually constructed process by which the reader interprets the intention and an ongoing dialogue ensues, allowing my practise to gain, as with Freud's reference to dreams, another 'Royal road to the unconscious' (Freud 1899)

Spencer Rowell 2012

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^[1] The term pragmatics refers to the field of study which spans philosophy, psychology and linguistics. 'the science of language as it is used by real live people, for their own purposes and within their limitations...' (Mey, 1993, p. 9)

^[2] The language of psychodynamic psychotherapy, is used as a descriptive mechanism of communication as paralleling the client /psychotherapist relationship.

A New Projective Test

In this essay I shall describe the research in the context of it being a development of the Projective Test - that the written assessment are but projections of the reader. I will argue that the photographs produced in conjunction with their analytical reports, along with the remaking of the final artefact (which often includes an integration of the text) becomes a new narrative, that of a combination of the projections of the reader and their re-introjection by the artist.

The starting point of this project was originally acknowledged as an attempt to reveal an internal world of the artist. Through production of self-portrait photographs, in combination with their interpretation or analysis, a way of accessing, the revealing of and documenting aspects of the artists unconscious pre-verbal past - also, how these images and text based interpretations by trained psychotherapists, might influence future productions of images and through the  documentation of this process, create a new narrative; in doing so revealing new knowledge.

However, through the collaborative nature of the research, this process of analysis has become as much about what is projected on to the images by their analysis, as much as achieving a level of understanding of the internal world of the artist made from the reading of the photographs. The project has not only begun to reveal aspects of an understanding of the readers' internal world, but the combined phantasy of a how knowledge and understanding reveals itself through a shared reality; a combination of the viewer and the author and how these interpretations entwine themselves with the artist's visual world.

For the reader, the frustrating experience of writing about the photographs and not getting anything back^[1] creates a paradox. In this relationship we need to ask, what are the interpreters possibly  writing about? Is it the photographs and what they represent, the readers notion of the photographer and what he might be saying, his unconscious communication; or is it perhaps simply their fantasies - something the images emote from their past? It is possibly more accurate to suggest that it is a documentation of all these things, emerging from a position somewhere between the two. Winnicott used the term The Potential Space^[2] to describe this process of intersubjectivity. How does their expression fits into this mêlée of affective meaning? The interpreters are undoubtably writing about what I am trying to say, there is a genuine attempt, on my part to give meaning and 'realness' of expression,  to communicate aspects of my past through the images. However for the readers, not getting anything back requires that they must surmise, risk, guess even, what the image represents. They do this through the process of projection and introjection of their fantasies within this Potential Space, using the image as a mirror. Through the writing of the text, a description of this shared experience is revealed. In this realm of intersubjectivity, all three participants, the artist and both readers, share the same language of psychoanalytical theory and practice, share a familiar journey of clinical practice in their training and influences.^[3] In psychodynamic terms, the responses are familiar, accurately highlighting some elements of the artists pathology. I will be looking at the concept of the shared creative experience, the potential space, the intersubjectivity of shared experience, in a future essay.

Am I transferring my feelings on to the reader and in turn the reader is documenting through projection and introjection their desires, needs and frustrations reflected back from the image. What is reflecting back, in the psychodynamic realm, is an interchange between these two things. Through creative play and this process of projection and introjection, important aspects of the relationship are revealed.

For the purpose of this essay, I will discuss from the position of the artworks being a specific type of projective test and in doing so, a way of accessing aspects of the readers' projections. I will research further the notion of intersubjectivity within this project and with this knowledge, in conjunction with a review of the artist intent and documentation of the remaking of pieces produce the final conclusions.

The projective test is a concept used in psychology. The test uses visual modality of the patient, along with interpretive responses from the psychologist, as a way of gaining insight into the psychopathology of the patient. In it, the subject is asked to respond to images, which are described as 'vague material', visual, non-specific, ambiguous images that would induce a narrative from the patient, these responses can then be interpreted. These tests are usually presented in a therapeutic environment, interpretations are written up as the test progressed. Through their stories and from these interpretations, along with other aspects of the subjects personality, patients are assessed. These assessments reveal unconscious motivations and defences on the part of the projector. Further understanding of these stories are made by the reintroduction of the patient to their narratives by the interpreter.

The Rorschach Inkblot Test

Probably the most famous of such tests is the Rorschach Test, otherwise known as the 'Inkblot Test', where near symmetrical shapes, produced by folding a sheet of paper containing wet ink, in half and presented to the patient in sequence are used. Developed by the Swiss psychiatrist Hermann Rorschach in 1921, the test developed into 10 specific inkblots. The resulting shapes, printed on to card, are shown to the subject in order and responses made by the patient noted verbatim. Describing the ambiguous nature of the designs offers an insight into the subjects personality, characteristics and emotional functioning. In the 60's the test was widely used, usually in a therapeutic setting, often with the subject sitting with his/ her back to the interpreter in a relaxed yet controlled atmosphere. Responses to the cards where seen as a form of free association and these initial responses are documented. There is an opportunity to re-engage by re-presenting the cards, offering an opportunity to discuss what they originally saw and explain why. This is known as the enquiry stage.

The results are used to gauge motivations, response tendencies, cognitive operations, affectivity, personal and interpersonal perceptions. The series of cards offering an opportunity to observe clustering process, highlighting defence mechanisms and recurring affects. The external stimuli in the enquiry stage will induce needs, base motives and conflicts.

The Thematic Apperception Test 

The Thematic Apperception Test (TAT) was developed in the 30's by Henry A. Murray and Christiana D. Morgan at the Harvard University. Less ambiguous in nature, situations, in the form of illustrations, could be interpreted by the reader in relation to past experiences and current motivations, this is seen as a more psychodynamic approach than the Inkblot Test. The illustrations devised for this test derived from magazine photographs of the day, it was noted that the decision to use illustrative versions of photographs, as more simplified illustrations, provided more deviant stories, that where more negative. Patients where able to associate with content that comprised people and places, they would tell a story more easily and in doing so, their defences would be lowered and needs and motivations would be highlighted. Because the cards where provocative, yet ambiguous being asked to comment on the outcome of the description of each individual card was an important way of creating a unique narrative from the pictures. The main questions at the outset of the test are stated as,

     What has led up to the event shown

     What is happening at the moment

     What the characters are feeling and thinking

     What the outcome of the story was

Again clinical understanding was made of the responses; of the clients projections and although there are scoring systems in place, as with the Inkblot, these are rarely used. Clinical interpretations would be made of the narrative and these used in conjunction with other observations.

The TAT projection test, along with the Inkblot are still used quite extensively in areas of dream interpretation and although not seen as scientifically important provides and creates another extended use of projective evaluation, developed and mainly carried out in a therapeutic environment as a way of learning and getting qualitative data about a patient  in the form of unconscious motivations that revolved around relationships in the world of the patient; these ambiguous scenes initiating creative play and in doing so accessing creative thoughts and emotions. As interpretations can clearly vary from one examination to the next, the scoring of such tests have always been highly subjective and have always been seen as problematic to extract quantitive data from such encounters. Empirical viability and validity of TAT and Inkblot test was not accepted as reliable in isolation, however used in conjunction with other therapeutic contact this form of projective testing can offer viable and reliable information. The interpretations would indicate meaning based clinical judgement rather than an understanding from presumptions about meaning; which would be the case of a more objective test.

These tests are popular in the field of psychology as a way of beginning of an understanding of a client, although they show no supportive evidence in a scientific realm, the lack of any scientific evidence is why these reports offer a "projective paradox". Although difficult to quantify, as with much qualities data, these tests are seen as having  access to unconscious motivations within the subject otherwise hidden from conscious awareness. Both the Rorschach Inkblot and the Murray TAT projective tests would be therefore seen as 'free responsive tests' as opposed to 'objective tests' (A multiple choice questionnaire for instance). It is augured that the test has produced evidence of clarity around dependency, studies on hostility and anxiety, also providing a valuable resource in communication with schizophrenics and seen as a valuable vehicle in the communication between client and therapist offering a route to insightfulness, empathy and sensitivity to the therapeutic process.

Conclusion

The moving from indiscernible shapes, as with the Inkblot Test, to illustrations that are less ambiguous with the TAT (that uses the language of humanity that of the human form in context of his/her environment) to this project, shows an extension of projective testing to a specific art led process. The importance is the ambiguity of the stimuli that enables the data to emerge and how this is integrated into the overall pathology of the artist integrating with the interpretations.

Session X

This project offers a new projective technique, an extension of the Inkblot and TAT tests. By maintaining a relatively narrow focus^[4] on chose of readers, of their theoretical understanding, their use of language and interpretations made through the lens of psychoanalytical theory, a shared understanding of latent content is made. When these images are presented for analysis, they are in a relatively raw, unfinished form, using free association, the primary process, as spontaneously as possible and by incorporating as many elements of the primary processes as possible (see future essay). Having been assessed, I will re-make the work for final presentation. This will represent a purely secondary process of integration of the artwork and the text into the final piece. This final piece will represent an accurate image of the artists intent, in collaboration with the readers phantasies of my intent, a shared reality.

Spencer Rowell 2012

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^[1] I have noted the concept of the blank screen and how this frustration can reveal itself in a previous essay; the notion of the unconscious communication between a living, feeling and present (although perhaps silent psychotherapist), in the presence of a client, is very different form of encounter as an unresponsive blank screen photograph. How in the case of the artwork not giving anything back, projections of the interpreter are probably the main source of feedback.

^[2] Winnicott described this space of creative play between mother and child and indeed client and analyst as the Potential Space. An area of shared intersubjectivity where individuals can play together; in this shared space new knowledge and understanding an emerge.

^[3] The work is described through a shared language of the British Independent School of thought and language; for instance the references to theory are definable through a shared interest in the interpretations and they present aspects of the artists internal world, insight into the artists psychopathology.

^[4] The self-portraits are presented in a certain frame (the term used literally and in the therapeutic sense), produced by an artist in training that parallels that of the readers, the text is offered in the language of the British Independent school of psychoanalytical theory, creating a focus to the research project and in some way of enabling an understanding of the projections and how they are integration of the readers input.