The method of Conscious Creative Embodied Aesthetic Experience®: from a bio-psycho-social perspective

Abstract

Abstract in inglese: Important contributions to the definition of aesthetics and creativity seize the contemporary paradigm shift, which highlights the inescapable embodied dimension of human intelligence and creativity, drawing inspiration and also important prompts to redefine notions, concepts and theories from it. In order to develop an ethical and aesthetic sensibility, in which body consciousness plays a fundamental role, it seemed essential to start from the epistemological aspects, and then to dwell on "how" it happens and "what" emerges from the relation between art and science. This relation, thanks to the interaction with an artistic product, allowed the collision of two worlds: the one of the artist and the one of the artistic user. From the observation of the quality of this connection, it emerges a poetic and poietic connotation of new links and, therefore, new sensations that are added to the mental construction of the world; this allows us to open to new possibilities to express the creativity of the human mind and to overcome any form of stereotype, judgment and prejudice, to which we are increasingly exposed. Starting from the Archetypes and the latest research in the field of neuroaesthetics, we aim to use in the discipline of psychosomatics and as a pedagogical approach to art a bio-psycho-social method called "Conscious Creative Embodied Aesthetic Experience"®. From a Gestalt perspective, this methodological hypothesis helps understand the mechanisms and processes that underlie the transitions between the individual and the environment, allowing a healthy development of the creative self. This methodological proposal blends bodily techniques with imaginative ones through guided visualization and gestural interpretation of a work of art, to enable the initiation of psycho-body empowerment and the creative management of one's emotional world. The aforementioned method, with its now decade-long testing, has already been used as a Medical Humanities intervention in the Local Health Authority, Rehabilitation Centers, and University Courses. In this pilot study, the effectiveness of the method was monitored by participatory observations led by psychologists, who collected participants' personal post-laboratory experiences; in addition, a self-assessment questionnaire about the quality of nonverbal communication was used: the Diade Rev.3. In order to support the co-creation of the relational experience during the workshops, the personal perceptions of each participant were collected and then archived in an e-book. The goal was to develop a pathway of bodily reappropriation and imitative decoding of the artwork in order to activate the empathic experience through the exploration of the motor aspect, life skills, creativity, coping skills and the improvement of relational skills. Thanks to this experience, it was possible to become aware of deep aspects of one's psychological and existential reality and to initiate a process of solving conflicts and sharing their meaning in order to make culture out of them.