Monday 27 May 2013
Sunday 26 May 2013
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
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
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
Friday 30 November 2012
Thursday 15 November 2012
Saturday 27 October 2012
Saturday 20 October 2012
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'
Sunday 7 October 2012
‘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
Perhaps
neither would exist without the other.
Saturday 29 September 2012
"Post Session - VII -Eb -VII"
Nothing is certain or clear or straightforward. Eb
 |
| "Post Session - VII -Eb -VII" |
 |
| "Session VII" |
Friday 28 September 2012
"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" |
Sunday 23 September 2012
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)