the exquisite corpse
THE EXQUISITE CORPSE:
AN EXPERIMENT IN BIPOLAR RAPID CYCLING
BY
JACK M. FREEDMAN **ART THERAPY WITH GROUPS** NCAT 3102A** PROF. DINA SCHAPIRO**
“EVERYTHING TENDS TO MAKE US BELIEVE THAT THERE EXISTS A CERTAIN POINT OF THE MIND AT WHICH LIFE AND DEATH, THE REAL AND THE IMAGINED, PAST AND FUTURE, THE COMMUNICABLE AND THE INCOMMUNICABLE, HIGH AND LOW, CEASE TO BE PERCEIVED AS CONTRADICTIONS.”
ANDRÉ BRETON “MANIFESTE DU SURRÉALISME”
The Exquisite Corpse was a parlor game played during the Surrealist Movement in France in the early 1920s. The rules were simple. One person would write a sentence or draw part of a picture and then others would collaborate... with a twist. The paper would be folded after an artist or writer made a contribution. Only the previous writing or drawing would be visible to the next person. This game would continue in a chain until the entire paper was covered. In my spare time, I would play this game with fellow poets at parties. No matter the outcome, we were always surprised as to how cohesive the poem would become only by seeing portions of the writing at a time. In the directive, Maria, Carla, and I put our heads together as to how to make this work in a group therapy setting. We came up with the following experiential exercise.
The artistic format of The Exquisite Corpse remained, but with some extra variables. In this instance, everybody was given a sheet of paper. Participants were separated in groups of three and worked for six rounds using pencils, charcoal, and crayons. In each of these rounds, a group member picked an emotion from a paper bag. After looking at their selection, they had to draw something based on that particular emotion. To make matters even more interesting, the participants only had five minutes to complete each drawing. To make matters more aggravating, they were given a warning when only one minute remained. After an interval ended, the format remained the same with the paper being folded. Each group member passed their papers to the person next to them. As every new round began, there was also a new emotion selected. After roughly half an hour of this exercise, the groups were instructed to unfold the papers in front of them and color/shade the drawings. During this time, the groups discussed which emotions they had chosen at the start of each round. After the creative process ended, Maria and I led a discussion about the exercise. Carla had to drop the class, but she was just as much as a driving force in this project, so her contributions bear mentioning. After some students expressed their feelings about the project, I explained that the directive was meant to simulate a state of rapid cycling experienced by a person with bipolar disorder. Given the shear randomness of the words selected, it was impossible to know whether an emotion chosen would be positive or negative. Just as there was a choice of emotions on the slips of paper, there were significant variations in the drawings. The reactions were mixed, but many people experienced the frustration and the strain behind the limited amount of time, the paper shifting, the folding, and the new emotion that
they needed to embody in the next drawing. Some exceptions included those who may have missed part of the briefing of this exercise. Other rare exceptions included the random choice of only positive or negative emotions. However, if a person walked into a room feeling positive and only picked negative emotions from the bag, that would produce a strain. Another topic explored was the group dynamic among people experiencing a bipolar mixed state. With three people in different emotional states working in close quarters, this added an extra challenge. If one person was assigned a positive emotion such as ecstasy and two others received negative emotions such as rage and disappointment, it proved to be taxing for all parties involved. Admittedly, this was a byproduct of the directive that I did not anticipate, but ultimately it worked toward the intended success. Maria and I took a lot of time figuring out what worked in this experiment. We were able to think on our feet and knew how to make everything in this directive work so that a maximum level of chaos was created. I proctored the time, Maria walked around assigning emotions for the next round, and we both provided art supplies. We also split the duties of leading the discussion at the end of the class. One suggestion that was offered by the professor was to make two separate bags of emotions (one positive and one negative.) Another suggestion was to further limit the amount of time participants were given, so as to increase the stress level of the participants. However, both the professor and the participants deemed this exercise effective. Students made the connection when the hidden motive was revealed. They further understood the anxiety that a person in a mixed bipolar state can encounter.
In conclusion, Maria and I worked well together. We shared ideas and discussed the different emotions that we wanted to offer as options. In hindsight, the suggestions given by the professor were helpful. In the future, these variables might be included. I also feel that there were certain emotions that were unclear. One word, “evolving”, created some confusion for some of the students. Overall, this was a challenging exercise for all parties involved.
AN EXPERIMENT IN BIPOLAR RAPID CYCLING
BY
JACK M. FREEDMAN **ART THERAPY WITH GROUPS** NCAT 3102A** PROF. DINA SCHAPIRO**
“EVERYTHING TENDS TO MAKE US BELIEVE THAT THERE EXISTS A CERTAIN POINT OF THE MIND AT WHICH LIFE AND DEATH, THE REAL AND THE IMAGINED, PAST AND FUTURE, THE COMMUNICABLE AND THE INCOMMUNICABLE, HIGH AND LOW, CEASE TO BE PERCEIVED AS CONTRADICTIONS.”
ANDRÉ BRETON “MANIFESTE DU SURRÉALISME”
The Exquisite Corpse was a parlor game played during the Surrealist Movement in France in the early 1920s. The rules were simple. One person would write a sentence or draw part of a picture and then others would collaborate... with a twist. The paper would be folded after an artist or writer made a contribution. Only the previous writing or drawing would be visible to the next person. This game would continue in a chain until the entire paper was covered. In my spare time, I would play this game with fellow poets at parties. No matter the outcome, we were always surprised as to how cohesive the poem would become only by seeing portions of the writing at a time. In the directive, Maria, Carla, and I put our heads together as to how to make this work in a group therapy setting. We came up with the following experiential exercise.
The artistic format of The Exquisite Corpse remained, but with some extra variables. In this instance, everybody was given a sheet of paper. Participants were separated in groups of three and worked for six rounds using pencils, charcoal, and crayons. In each of these rounds, a group member picked an emotion from a paper bag. After looking at their selection, they had to draw something based on that particular emotion. To make matters even more interesting, the participants only had five minutes to complete each drawing. To make matters more aggravating, they were given a warning when only one minute remained. After an interval ended, the format remained the same with the paper being folded. Each group member passed their papers to the person next to them. As every new round began, there was also a new emotion selected. After roughly half an hour of this exercise, the groups were instructed to unfold the papers in front of them and color/shade the drawings. During this time, the groups discussed which emotions they had chosen at the start of each round. After the creative process ended, Maria and I led a discussion about the exercise. Carla had to drop the class, but she was just as much as a driving force in this project, so her contributions bear mentioning. After some students expressed their feelings about the project, I explained that the directive was meant to simulate a state of rapid cycling experienced by a person with bipolar disorder. Given the shear randomness of the words selected, it was impossible to know whether an emotion chosen would be positive or negative. Just as there was a choice of emotions on the slips of paper, there were significant variations in the drawings. The reactions were mixed, but many people experienced the frustration and the strain behind the limited amount of time, the paper shifting, the folding, and the new emotion that
they needed to embody in the next drawing. Some exceptions included those who may have missed part of the briefing of this exercise. Other rare exceptions included the random choice of only positive or negative emotions. However, if a person walked into a room feeling positive and only picked negative emotions from the bag, that would produce a strain. Another topic explored was the group dynamic among people experiencing a bipolar mixed state. With three people in different emotional states working in close quarters, this added an extra challenge. If one person was assigned a positive emotion such as ecstasy and two others received negative emotions such as rage and disappointment, it proved to be taxing for all parties involved. Admittedly, this was a byproduct of the directive that I did not anticipate, but ultimately it worked toward the intended success. Maria and I took a lot of time figuring out what worked in this experiment. We were able to think on our feet and knew how to make everything in this directive work so that a maximum level of chaos was created. I proctored the time, Maria walked around assigning emotions for the next round, and we both provided art supplies. We also split the duties of leading the discussion at the end of the class. One suggestion that was offered by the professor was to make two separate bags of emotions (one positive and one negative.) Another suggestion was to further limit the amount of time participants were given, so as to increase the stress level of the participants. However, both the professor and the participants deemed this exercise effective. Students made the connection when the hidden motive was revealed. They further understood the anxiety that a person in a mixed bipolar state can encounter.
In conclusion, Maria and I worked well together. We shared ideas and discussed the different emotions that we wanted to offer as options. In hindsight, the suggestions given by the professor were helpful. In the future, these variables might be included. I also feel that there were certain emotions that were unclear. One word, “evolving”, created some confusion for some of the students. Overall, this was a challenging exercise for all parties involved.
