VISUAL ART OF THE MENTALLY RETARDED: SIX ARTISTS FROM CREATIVE GROWTH
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Authors
Hutchinson-Heasley , Kirsten
Issue Date
1982
Type
Capstone
Language
en
Keywords
Alternative Title
Abstract
Very little research has been done on the creativity of the mentally retarded because until recently this population was largely invisible, some persons having been in state institutions and others having been hidden at home. While this lack of research has at times proved frustrating, it also offers several different approaches in dealing with the mentally retarded and their art. For my main sources, I have used psychologists Rudolph Arnheim, Viktor Lowenfeld, and Rollo May, who have written extensively on the development of creativity of children and adults; art educators and philosophers John Dewey and Herbert Read, who believed that art should be an integral part of education; case studies of students at Creative Growth; slides that I have taken over the past five years, as well as additional slides taken by student interns for the Creative Growth Slide Collection; interviews with the staff' at Creative Growth; and conversations with several individuals who were instrumental in the development of community services for the mentally retarded in California.