The Process of Artistic Creation as a Source of Wellbeing: The Case Studies of Kusama Yayoi and of the NPO Tokyo Soteria Art Circle’s Artists

This research aims to verify the therapeutic effectiveness of the creative process of visual art in today’s Japan. The analysis will focus on two case studies: the artistic activities of Kusama Yayoi and of the NPO Tokyo Soteria Art Circle’s clients. For both the protagonists of the case studies, artistic creativity seems to be the only way to define their own identity, and to reduce or eliminate their psychic distress, aggravated by the Japanese sociocultural pressures. In reference to the case of the famous Japanese artist Kusama Yayoi (b. 1929), her creative experience, that she (also poetically) has described as a guarantor of her own survival, is analysed. Furthermore, the voices of the critics about some Kusama’s artworks, that have made her style unique and recognizable all over the world, are taken into consideration. Even without having (yet) reached Kusama's level of fame, also most of the clients of the NPO Tokyo Soteria’s atelier have managed to replace their social stigma of “psychiatric patients” with the appreciable definition of “outsider artists.” To highlight this aspect, reference is made to their verbal testimonies, obtained through a personal interview mediated by the head of the atelier, and to some of their artistic creations, already internationally exhibited. Looking at the case studies, it becomes clear how the creative process of visual art can be a useful tool in the pursuit of wellbeing, especially for those who suffer from mental disorders that hinder their everyday life in today’s Japanese sociocultural canons.