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Wonderful insight from the Working Group. I've been thinking about the allusion to the universality of the pain and stigma associated with my personal story. This got me thinking that when something is universal, there is a greater possibility for having empathy for the other person. One would think that the universality of pain and stigma would
create a universal consciousness of mutual understanding and feeling for the trials that others face. Pain affects people differently, however. As Professor Grobstein points out, I may be more comfortable with mood variations having greater amplitudes than are others. Therefore, I may react less disfavorably to my own art work. I am more desensitized to my own artwork because I live with the features of the impairments that give rise to the art images. For anyone feeling uncomfortable with my artwork--thank you, for you are feeling my pain. You feel something that someone else may not be able to feel or not be able of tolerating. Perhaps that's why some people aren't very empathic--it is just too painful. In my case, people can turn away from my artwork. But what makes me feel badly is when people turn away from me.. I'm sure this too is a universal experience from which we could all share and learn.
DF