The Power of Art and Play
In 2023, my masters dissertation discussed the power of art and play, and spaces for both of those things in well-being and their use in healing. Recently, I've been reflecting on my relationship with art, art history, academia and my current place in my career. In this, I've reviewed my dissertation and am trying to think about the concepts I talked about in it more, trying to keep the concepts that I believe in my core in the forefront of my mind and my personal art practice.
As I read through it, I am struck by one sentence I wrote that reflected on how using art as a tool for play made me personally feel after visiting Meow Wolf in Santa Fe, NM several years back. In my dissertation, I stated "engaging in art freely and without bounds left me excited and curious again." And I think this idea rings true to this day - both when I'm making and when I'm exploring a new media or project for fun rather than for anything specific. Being playful in my art making allows me to keep the fun, excitement, and joy alive in my making. And isn't that a big reason a lot of us are makers anyway?
Alas, I digress. The point of this post is not simply to reflect on how important art as a form of play is in my making personally, but also to share with you some of the things I discussed in my dissertation that emphasize the connection and importance of both art, play and art as a form of play. In this I will explore this concept by examining the healing and wellness benefits of each individually and together via art therapy studies, ideas of what constitutes play, and by taking a look at the Process Art Movement of the mid 20th century.
Let me share with you a few bullet points about Art and Play.
Play is essential for healthy development - both in community building and self-development. Starting in childhood, play is used to help improve cognitive, physical, social and emotional well-being by learning different skills for study, work, relationships and more. Play is used to build skills such as confidence, self esteem, curiosity, interaction and social skills, independence and coping skills, learning how to work through emotions and express yourself and more. By playing we learn about ourselves and how to interact with one another, exploring conflict and resolutions through imagined societies in games, which in turn build connection and community. (2)
Much of the art world can be classified as play. Play encourages curiosity and knowledge seeking through engagement. Art making, being a very tactile experience, can be utilized as a tool to encourage play to explore, encourage and maintain a state of curiosity, seek knowledge and learning through exploration and amusement. In doing so, it serves as a vital source of continued development.
As we get older, often life's responsibilities overshadow the innate need for continued self and societal development, which can be gained through play and art as a tool for play. However, what we gain through play (as stated in the first bullet point) are things that often need consistent reinforcement in order to be maintained, or else they may diminish in time. This is prevalent in psychological studies that show the positive effects the arts have on adults struggling with depression, anxiety and loneliness. There is quantitative data (ie. brain scans) that illustrate the increase in brain activity, activating neural pathways which help to reduce negative emotional experiences.(1)
The Process Art Movement (in Western Cultures in the 1960s/70s) was popular amongst abstract expressionists and avant-garde artists as it allowed them to focus on the journey of making. This movement made the process a prominent aspect of the finished work; arguably the most significant aspect of the pieces was the creation and exploration process. This movement invited viewers to more deeply investigate the importance of the process and the play intrinsically intertwined in that. (3)
The Process Art Movement provides a gateway into topics art therapists may often utilize in their therapeutic practice, focusing on what can be gained along the way as opposed to the final product. By utilizing the making process in therapeutic endeavors, art therapists ask clients to engage with a variety of materials as a means of engaging with and processing their own internal struggles and motivations.
These points are not the full summation of my dissertation (a 58 page paper), but rather a glimpse into it with a focus on some things I want to keep in mind as art remains central to who I am, and as I take myself more seriously in art. I aim to be reminded that art, for me at least, is meant to be playful. It is meant to allow me to explore materials and ideas, to work through physical and mental issues, and to push boundaries. Both art and play are tools for a continuous exploration of myself, and to help me evaluate how I see the world and my place and relationships within it.
I write this as both a reminder to myself and to you, my readers, to be playful. Be playful in general, but most especially in your artistic endeavors. Not everything is meant to be serious, and much growth and well-being can be found in the un-serious.
Sources:
Bolwerk, Lang, Dörfler, Maihöfner, “How Art Changes Your Brain: Differential Effects of Visual Art Production and Cognitive Art Evaluation on Functional Brain Connectivity.”
“How Play Helps Children’s Development.” NI Direct, November 10, 2022. https://www.nidirect.gov.uk/articles/how-play-helps-childrens-development.
Angie Kordic, “Understanding the Origin and Legacy of Process Art,” Widewalls, August 17, 2016, https://www.widewalls.ch/magazine/process-art-artists-history.
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