Page 113 - ART FORM AND MENTAL HEALTH - Ingrid Pénzes

Suggestion of space
Space can be suggested by several techniques, such as overlap, shadow, line perspective, atmospheric perspective, and foreground and background. The suggestion of depth is created. The opposite refers to a “flat” artwork without any suggestion of space.
SURFACE QUALITY Texture
Texture refers to the tactile surface of the artwork. This does not depend on the used paper or canvas but can depend on the art material used and the way it is applied.
According to our panel, these formal elements may be used to systematically describe the “form” of a visual art product. Whether these can also be used to reliably analyze the art products of adult clients is not yet clear. Therefore, a second study was conducted.
STUDY 2: OPERATIONALIZATION AND INTER-RATER RELIABILITY
In this study, we investigate whether it is possible to construct reliable formal elements in the art products of adult clients in art therapy. The formal elements that emerged from study 1 will be operationalized and tested for inter-rater reliability.
Method
The formal elements that emerged in study 1 were operationalized in three test rounds. This was peer debriefed by two teachers at the art therapy program at Zuyd University of Applied Sciences. Each round was evaluated with the raters and researcher. In the first round, two trained raters independently analyzed 31 art products made by nine adult clients in one mental health setting. The operationalization of the formal elements was adjusted based on the evaluations and tested in a second round where two new trained raters independently rated 60 art products from 25 clients in six mental health settings. Their ratings were tested for inter-rater reliability (see Figure 2) and evaluated. The operationalization of some of the formal
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