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Creativity and liberation: A study of women writers and artists
Abstract
The dissertation proposes a new model of the artist in society--the artist-educator. This model is explored by investigating the lives and work of ten women artists and writers, who are accomplished and innovative creators as well as facilitators of the creativity of others, especially individuals and groups considered marginal by our society. These artists represent a new model of the artist-educator because of (1) how they view the creative process, (2) their social/political vision, (3) their approaches to teaching, and (4) the force of their impact on others. First, they view the creative process as one which calls for boundary breaking; i.e., taking down distinctions between one's art and one's life, between the uses and functions of various art media, between themselves and other artists, between artists and their audiences. These artists have a social vision: they see themselves as part of a larger whole, a diverse society, and at the same time, they see themselves as artists somewhere near the edge of their particular artistic or literary worlds, not in the mainstream. They also see themselves as change agents who use their art as a means of transformation. In their teaching and facilitating work they are committed to cultural diversity and intend to call forth the voices of those not previously heard from. They tend to believe that everyone is creative, and to assume that one's creativity is linked to one's wholeness and development as a person. They facilitate creativity in women in prison, people in nursing homes, persons with AIDS, the old, the homeless, drug and alcohol abusing teenagers, mentally retarded adults, and others. As artists and educators equally, they represent a new paradigm for who the artist in society might be, and they require that we broaden out the definition of creativity beyond a mysterious process which only a few genuises and artists possess. The artist is to be among us, because we are all capable of creating, all able to speak in the voices of our diverse cultural groups.
Subject Area
Art education|Womens studies|Educational psychology
Recommended Citation
Powell, Mary Clare, "Creativity and liberation: A study of women writers and artists" (1992). Doctoral Dissertations Available from Proquest. AAI9219484.
https://scholarworks.umass.edu/dissertations/AAI9219484