Outsider Art and Art Therapy

Download or read book Outsider Art and Art Therapy written by Rachel Cohen and published by Jessica Kingsley Publishers. This book was released on 2017-05-18 with total page 208 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Outsider art, traditionally the work of psychiatric patients, offenders and minority groups, and art therapy have shared histories of art created in psychiatric care. As the two fields grow, this book reveals the current issues faced by both disciplines and traces their shared histories to help them build clearer and more coherent identities. More often than not, the history of art therapy has been tied to psychological and psychiatric roots, which has led to problems in defining the field and forced boundaries between what is considered 'art' and what is considered 'art therapy'. Similarly, the name and identity of outsider art is constantly debated. By viewing art therapy and outsider art through their shared histories, this book helps to alleviate the challenges and issues of definition faced by the fields today.