Facilitating role of traumatic experiences in art

Abstract

Traumatic experiences can not only have unfavourable consequences, they can also contribute, with a kind of creative twist, to the development of the person affected by the trauma. The artistic responses to traumas can be examined on the basis of the different types of trauma. This study reports on an investigation focusing on six types of trauma: emotional deprivation/neglect; near-death experience; becoming the victim of violence; war; accident/sickness and emotional frustration. Examples taken from the history of art indicate that works of art can draw attention to the traumatic experiences of the artists with frequently repeated motifs and portrayal techniques (sun, mother image, objects referring to the person lost, motifs of violence or symbols of violence, artistic manifestations of an exaggerated self-image, surreal visions, dry irony, substituting other objects for the beloved person), or a sudden change of style and subject that can express a heightened interest in human suffering (Lovis Corinth). An emphasis placed on self-portrayal can indicate the artist's increased self-examination, in cases of sickness, or continuous monitoring of the state of mind (Frida Kahlo, Otto Dix, Lovis Corinth, Edvard Munch). In some cases artistic activity can help to work through the trauma (Hans Bellmer, Oskar Kokoschka, Max Ernst, René Magritte), in other cases it is not able to prevent the development of psychological/psychiatric consequences of the trauma (Artemisia Gentileschi, Edvard Munch, Lajos Gulácsy). Traumas can be the sources of motivation and provide themes for works of art; and, although not in all cases, artistic creativity can contribute to effectively working through traumatic experiences. Orv Hetil. 2017; 158(17): 668-677.