Caitlyn Patton

Through my research, I aim to discover the effects of using art as therapy in the face of death and the afterlife. With the hope of understanding why so many artists in the past and present depict death and the afterlife in their works, I want to prove that these subjects will continue to be present in the art world for the infinite future, not only because of their constant presence and relevance but also because of their therapeutic effects for so many people. Focusing on well-known artists such as Gustav Klimt and Vincent Van Gogh as precursors to lesser-known artists like Setsuko Mitsuhashi, I will be discussing the artists’ lives, deaths, and specific artworks that constitute the embodiment of art therapy and emotional release. The knowledge that death is inevitable affects all of us at one point in our lives, and we are consumed by death anxiety (especially in the time of COVID). Using ideas from existential reflections, death acceptance is a healthier mode of coping with end of life, and one can be assisted through this concept by putting their emotions and worries into a creative outlet. As artists have done for centuries, their expressions documenting death proves to be an emotional release for the anxiety and grief over the potential loss of not only ourselves, but our loved ones too. Using various theories such as the Terror Management Theory, I hope to understand the very real benefits of channeling death anxiety, fear, and grief into art as artists have adapted methods of the past on behalf of generations to come.