Art Therapy Article

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The Argus (Melbourne, Vic. : 1848-1954), Saturday 2 November 1946, page 10, 11

National Library of Australia http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article22383620

Art Therapy Can Help

The SickA Few Pencil Strokes, a Touch of ColourOn a Canvas, These Have Brought a NewInterest to Those Fighting Back to Health

By CHARLES HAMBLETT

ART THERAPIST FIXES PRINT IN FRAME. PATIENTS LIKE CHANGES.


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OIL PAINTING BY DOCTOR-PATIENT, WHO BEGAN AS RAW NOVICE.


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"WORK" RECEIVED PRAISE IN INTER-SANATORIUM COMPETITION.

N ARTIST LAY ILL in

M\ hospital. Day after day..he gazed at a pot offlowering cyclamen, sent tohim by a former pupil. Hewas too weak to move, but his

resolve to make a drawing ofthe single dark purple flowerwas the first unconscious steptowards art therapy, a way ofhealing through art. Todaythe artist, Adrian Hill, con-

fesses that he has become ob-

sessed with this subject. He

hopes to see art therapy estab-lished in hospitals and sana-toria throughout reatBritain.

Art therapy is a matter of in-teresting a patient in the prob-lems and pleasures of art, not

only to alleviate the dullnessof a long illness, but to fostera lasting appreciation for artwhen the patient is restoredto health. Adrian Hill's ideais a simple one. He likes totell you that 90 years ago Flor-ence Nightingale was gropingtowards some idea of art

therapy. In 1860 she wrote: "Theeffect in sickness of beautiful

Objects . . . and especially ofbrilliancy of colours, is hardlyat all appreciated . . . varietyof form and brilliancy of colourin the objects presented topatients is an actual means torecovery." She even recom-mended showing engravings topatients. But conservative

patients. But conservativemedical opinion disapproved .of

anything so unorthodox.Illnesses which require long

term convalescence, in particu-lar tuberculosis, are frequentlyaccompanied by feelings ofmorbidity. This is understand-able, since human nature in-

evitably* revolts against pro-longed inactivity.

A DRIAN HILL decided to be"

guile his illness with drawingand pa nting. His first attemptto paint the cyclamen did notmaterialise, but several monthslater, when he had been re-moved to a sanatorium, hebegan to draw whatever objectscame to hand - books,

flowers,fruit, sweets, newspapers, bis-cuits, and ink bottles,, all pro-vided material for His brushand pencil. Time passedswiftly, and the entrance of histea tray, once an importantevent of the day, became anunwelcome interruption. Theprofessional artist had returnedto his craft, while the bored

patient was rapidly becominga back number.

Nothing perhaps would havecome of it if Adrian Hill hadnot decided that, since art hadhelped him to regain hishealth, why not apply this toothers? He tackled the prob-lem with the thoroughness of


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with the thoroughness ofa true missionary. He sin-cerely believes that a naturalfeeling for art lies in all of us,only waiting for the right softof encouragement to be fullydeveloped. As an "out-patient" he returned to thesanatorium, and when occupa-tional therapy was introducedthere, he was invited to giveinstruction in drawing andpainting to patients to whomother crafts made no appeal.

np HE SUPERINTENDENT of*? the King Edward VII Sana-

torium, Midhurst, Sussex, wasthe first doctor to give hisblessing to the scheme. Thechief advantage to art therapyis the length of convalescence. .Few cases are discharged underthree months, many stay muchlonger, so a really comprehen-sive course of study can be un-dertaken. Out of a "floating

population" of 120 patients, atleast 20% are attracted by the

scheme. Adrian Hill visitsthem twice a week, devotingone day to bed patients, theother to lectures fpr ambulant,or "up" patients.

When "canvassing" forpatients, Adrian Hill stressesthat art therapy is not like thedull classes of the schoolroom."When books bore," he says,"when games begin to grate,

drawing and painting come asa boon and a blessing. Theyengross you completely. Theart germ, when once it be-comes firmly planted in themind and heart, is far moredifficult to dislodge thananother germ with which youare all more familiar. Indeedthe former can enor-

the former germ can help enor-

mously in banishing the latterbug." (The patients' interestquickens.) "And this is not

quack medicine," he continues."It is not a stunt. It is just

common sense. We are all

best employed when we are at-

tempting to create some-thing."

After some experience withpatients at. Midhurst, AdrianHill began to plan on a wider

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tcale. He publicised art ther-

apy inarticles, in letters to the

'

press, and in a book, Art Versus

Illness. The British Red Cross

Society helped him, a picturelibrary was formed to visit in-

stitutions at monthly intervalsto change pictures in the

wards. Teams "of speakersand instructors were sent out.

Adrian Hill believes that cer-

tain forms of fanaticism are

healthy, if only for breaking

new ground and cutting away

dead wood, and forcing a ver-dict. As he walks along thecorridors of the sanatorium,visiting "bedders," his livelyconversation overflows with

ideas. A doctor friend at Mid-

hurst is also an artist, but this

does not satisfy Mr. Hill. "All

doctors should have art train-

ing," he declares. "It makes

them more sympathetic."

Patients, who began withprotests that they knewnothing about art, that mod-

ern art was silly, and, in anycase, they could not use paintsno matter how long they tried,

now write that their lives arefuller; and, although it is com-

mon for patients to lose inter-est in painting when their


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health increases, others dis-

cover a talent which survives

a return to everyday exis-tence.

More than one patient whobegan with the plea: "But I

can't draw!" is now studyingat an art school, while others

have discovered a hobby whichwill give them pleasure alltheir lives. They look at paint-ings with a new interest; oncountry walks they see naturein a different way.

JN THE SURGICAL WARD,1

where patients await opera-tions, pictures are

hungin

special frames. The -frames cantake any prints on standardsize mounts, and prints arechanged weekly.

Patients react according to thestate of health. A wea:, patientfrequently objects to glaringgreens and yellows of a VanGogh, and takes kindly to thesubdued lighting of a Monet.As health increases

thepatient's interest in the Van

Gogh may return, a^ d his own. "intings will renee, the vivid

(olours of impressionistic work.The weather similarly affects apatient's style, dull days pro'lucing monotonous greys,bright days flamboyant greensand reds.

Adrian Hill, the idealist, whois

a practicalman,

visualisesfar-reaching changes when artcentres will adopt neighbour-ing hospitals, and every hospi-tal will have a regular arttherapist in attendance. Paint''igs, he hopes, will be changedat regular intervals like thebed linen. Art in illness, aswell as in health, will combineto

to bring the pleasures of paint-ing and art appreciation to anew public.


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DOCTOR, HIMSELF KEEN PAINTER, OFFERS ADVICE TO PATIENT AT KING EDWARD VII SANATORIUM.


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ADRIAN HILL, W J0 INTRODUCED ARI THERAPY TO SANATORIA, CHATS IN OF*-:F- M,..

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