Exile, identity, and artistic creation: an arts based phenomenological study with immigrant women: a dissertation

2007·15.1 MB·English

by  Heller, Vera

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EXILE, IDENTITY, AND ARTISTIC CREATION
A DISSERTATION
Submitted by
VERA HELLER
In partial fulfillment ofthe requirements for the degree of
Doctor ofPhilosophy in Expressive Therapies
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LESLEY UNIVERSITY
GRADUATE SCHOOL OF ARTS & SOCIAL SCIENCES
May 21
2007
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DISSERTATION ABSTRACT
Vera Heller
May 21, 2007
Exile, Identity, and Artistic Creation:
An Arts Based Phenomenological Study with Immigrant Women
This arts based phenomenological study with immigrant women explores the
migratory and creative processes from the perspective ofthe Hero's archetype, viewed by
Jung as a template for individuation. Its objective is to gain further insight into the
contribution ofart therapy to healing the fragmentation ofidentity inherent in the transition
between two - often radically different - cultures. A feminine variation on the Hero's
myth, the tale ofInnana, the Goddess ofthe upper world who descended into the
underworld to meet her shadowy sister, is evoked in relation to the participants' journey.
The process ofre-constructing identity through thejoint approaches of narrative
story-telling and image-making are examined. The participants' chronological and
"imaginal" narratives are organized into six case studies, which uncover the contribution of
the aesthetic experience and creative process to healing, defined as the achievement ofa
sense ofself-cohesion and growth, or as the union ofopposites in the psyche.
The emerging finding ofthis research concerns the role ofcollage-painting in
facilitating the integration oftwo or more cultures into a new, hybrid identity. By
assembling fragments of images through collage, and then by creating linkages between
them through painting, the participants are brought to integrate disparate life experiences
into a new whole, thus achieving a higher level ofcoherence within their life-stories, and
therefore, in their psyches.

Ill
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I have many thanks to offer, for many people participated in the process ofwriting
this dissertation. First ofall, I wish to thank the members ofmy doctoral committee - my
senior advisor Dr. Julia Byers, Ethne Gray and Dr. Susan Spaniol - who provided me not
only with sage advice, but also with their encouragement during the moments I needed it
the most. Through their humanism, wit, extensive commentaries and editing suggestions,
they contributed to enriching both my thinking, and the content ofmy dissertation. I also
wish to thank Caroline Heller, Vivian Speiser, Philip Speiser and Mariagnese Cattaneo
from Lesley University, and Deidre Meintel, from the Antropology Department at the
Universite de Montreal, for having inspired me through the courses and seminars they
offered, which eventually led me to developing this specific project. Thanks also to
Michele Forinash, Gilda Resmini-Walsh, Sandy Tulipano, Marie Gannon, Jane Bess and
Fabrizia Chiampa, for having helped me to undergo the various stages that led to the
completion ofthis process. Thanks to all the immigrant women who participated in this
research project; through their dedication to the process, theirunique images and
reflections, they enriched my perspectives on both the migratory and creativejourneys.
Thanks to the Canadian Research Funds (FCAR: Fonds Canadiens pour la
Recherche), for having provided the additional financial assistance that permitted me to
complete my project.
I wish to warmly thank my friend and colleague, Gony Halevi, and her husband,
Shmuel Halevi, for having opened their home, hearts, and thoughts to me; without their
welcoming presence, my commuting to Cambridge would have never been the same.
Thanks to Hadass Harel for her companionship, and our exchanges about our doctoral
projects, to Susy Veroff, for having so thoroughly read my last draft and having provided
me with helpful commentaries from an artistic perspective, and Anne Van Den Boschelle,
without whom the art therapy workshop at the CLSC Park Extension would have been
hard to organize, and complete. Other people took part in myjourney at different moments
in time, providing me with emotional support, concrete help and participation, and
insightful comments: Claudia Bernal, Martin Duckworth, Eveline Heller, Louise
Dessertine, Boualem Zidi, Francoise Gagnon, the administration and social workers of
CLSC Park Extension, Eleanor Duckworth, Danuta Berger, Paul Wise, Hafedh Mili, Amel
Delaggi, and Eve Shapiro.
It is difficult to express in words the importance ofmy husband Luis'contributions;
his listening capacity, his intellectual and emotional support, his patience and his love
rendered possible the completion ofthis project. I'm deeply grateful for his presence in my
life.
This dissertation is dedicated to my husband, Luis Alberto Lopez Herrera, who
emigrated from Peru to Quebec, Canada; my father, Ernest Heller, who, quite late in his
life emigrated from Romania to Israel; and my mother, Steliana Diana Firanescu, who
stayed in her native Romania, only to witness its profound transformation as a result ofthe
failure ofthe "iron curtain" that used to isolate the Eastern European countries from the
rest ofthe world. Their uniquejourneys inspired me and gave me the courage to undertake
mine.