Therapeutic aspects in contemporary art

Abstract

This work is an attempt to define art practice and the possible therapeutic aspects it contains. After asking the question: is the role of art to have a therapeutic effect, I divided this notion into two types: therapeutic for recipients and for the artist. By looking at examples of works by three contemporary artists, I tried to scrutinize all the aspects connected to therapy in these pieces. At the end, after an analysis of the chosen pieces, I suggest that there is equal strength of the therapeutic effect for both sides and its importance in the context of reception is an aspect worth considering when thinking about contemporary art and its function.