Unusual art therapy: to the museum for insight

One of the common misconceptions about art therapy is that it only works if you draw and create yourself. However, you can feel the changes in your emotional state, find a resource not only by creating paintings or sculptures, but also by contemplating them, art therapists say. Art, creativity can influence our psyche in any of its manifestations – both with active (as psychologists say, “expressive”), and with passive (“receptive”, perceiving) participation.

And the usual trip to the museum can be used both for work in psychotherapy, and for introspection and obtaining a resource. We go to the theater, empathize with the heroes of the movie. But we rarely think about what strings this or that exhibit of a museum or exhibition touches in us. But when looking at a masterpiece of a painter, one can experience a catharsis, similar to what we experience when reading an exciting book or at a play!

The unconscious will tell

As in any psychotherapy, in “healing by museums” it is important to formulate a request. “In this case, the request is addressed to one’s creative energy, to one’s contemplator,” explains art therapist Polina Postelgina. – It is worth asking yourself: why am I going to the museum now, what do I want to see, what feelings to experience? And when choosing an exposure, build on this. But even if we ourselves do not really understand what we want to get as an output, we can trust our intuition and go wherever our eyes look. Even wandering into a random exhibition, you can find insight.

Polina Postelgina shares this personal experience: “I lived in St. Petersburg for two years, and my uncle and I often went to museums. Shortly before my wedding, we went to the Hermitage. We passed hall after hall, and suddenly something seemed to stop me in front of the frescoes about the myth of Psyche and Eros.

The story of their difficult love impressed me so much that I began to reason why. And I realized that I did not want to admit to myself my doubts about whether I had chosen the right man. Wouldn’t he turn out to be a monster by the light of the lamp, as Psyche feared, who could not see her beloved in the darkness? For me, it was a question of trust in a partner. I pulled unconscious fears out, and I felt better.”

In therapy with museums, the same principle applies as in metaphorical maps: we see in them a reflection of our state, and our gaze grabs something from a set of images that is relevant only for us and only now. So it is in the paintings: today we will stop near one, and in six months we will be surprised why it interested us. Works of art become a mirror of our condition. And in order to look into it, special conditions are needed.

special space

The museum itself is an unusual space in which the passage of time seems to change. “When I am overwhelmed with problems, many tasks accumulate, and I still don’t know how to solve them, I go to some museum,” says 43-year-old Elena. – I can walk for hours, as if in a trance, along the corridors and halls.

Time slows down, and all external affairs seem to be covered with a film, fade into the background. I look at canvases that are several hundred years old, and my problems seem to be some kind of grain of sand. As a rule, the decision comes by itself, pops up out of nowhere.

The atmosphere of the museum is filled with a special energy, plunging into it, we change our state, join that which goes beyond the ordinary. “Already in ancient times, our ancestors left household items at temples so that they could be preserved and passed on, maintaining the link between generations and transmitting valuable experience,” explains Polina Postelgina. And today we enter into a conversation with representatives of other eras, getting acquainted with their creations.

We forget about everyday troubles, go beyond the rules by which we are accustomed to live. Here we meet with another world, where universal human and cultural themes are raised. We come into contact with the collective expression of feelings, time-tested. After all, each exhibit is selected and preserved for a reason – it carries a timeless, eternal value. The museum environment itself proclaims manifestos of the collective unconscious that hurt, awaken, and resonate with us.

It happens that the plot of the picture does not concern us directly, but for some reason we begin to breathe faster, tears well up in our eyes, or we cannot hold back an exclamation of delight. You can ask yourself questions: what excited me so? How does this relate to current events in my life? Or with the past? How do the characters in the picture interact with each other? How can this help me?

We become part of this space. Great common centuries-old experience that we can accept and use. On the one hand, we learn something new for ourselves. On the other hand, about yourself.

And sometimes we can get real support there. “There are special museums, ethnic ones,” says Polina Postelgina. — Visiting them is a way to get in touch with the roots, with your ancestors, their culture and traditions and find answers to pressing questions in your life. This can serve as a support for those, for example, who live far from their homeland or have recently learned about their family and want to get to know the national history and better understand themselves, their characteristics. Then they are no longer alone in a strange city or country.”

Contraindications in art

Each of us has shadow sides that are difficult for us to accept and realize: the desire to destroy ourselves or others, fear or sadness. There are also exhibitions that can hardly be classified as beautiful: these are exhibitions dedicated to torture inside concentration camps and prisons, or museums associated with war periods.

Despite all the horrors, there are usually a lot of visitors there. Why? “Probably, once in such a place, we meet our Shadow in ourselves,” explains Polina Postelgina. “This is an opportunity to recognize that cruelty was and is in this world, and to give it a place without whitewashing history and without idealizing humanity.

And someone will see the consequences of cruelty, and this will awaken compassion, and visiting the museum will become an inoculation against their own aggression. The point of working with the Shadow is not just to let it out, but to shed light on it, explore and integrate it. Museums like this, as well as movies and books on similar subjects, are a safe way to interact with these parts of the human psyche.

People who go to such museums have big hearts and strong souls.” They are not afraid to turn to themselves and their fears, they think about universal problems, about death as a part of life.

But if you do not feel ready for such bold cult trips and meeting with the theme of death, you should protect yourself and find something resourceful. In general, when visiting museums, it is advisable to listen to yourself and create the most environmentally friendly atmosphere.

“Even a picture of Aivazovsky in someone will awaken the energy of the elements, and in someone who is afraid of water, it will stir up discomfort and fear,” warns Polina Postelgina. – If you are not advanced in self-analysis or psychotherapy and you experience negative feelings in one or another exhibit, pass by, look for another one that causes an unambiguously positive reaction. After all, the ultimate goal of visiting a museum is to harmonize your condition.”

In the same work, we and others see different things. In addition, others can show us a new angle. Therefore, it is useful to discuss your impressions with someone: perhaps one more opinion will complement our aftertaste. On the other hand, some go to the museum to meet with themselves – they do not need extra talk. So it’s good to ask yourself if I want to go with someone – and if so, choose the company carefully.