Color and Emotion, Art in the Rorschach: A Commentary on Piotrowski’s (2023) The Color Red and the Assessment Process
Carl B. Gacono1
Rorschach emphasized the importance of color in his earliest discussions (Rorschach, 1942). Its crucial role for understanding one’s inner life was made clear by its inclusion in the experience balance (EB), and the many nuanced interpretations attributed to its various manifestations. While the construct validity between color and emotion has been empirically established, there are less frequent discussions of its face or logical validity. Art, color theory and modern painting provide a deeper understanding of the convergence between color and emotion. Dr. Piotrowski’s discussion of the color red highlights the importance of color in general and red in particular. Red is a lightning rod for strong affect including both aggressive and libidinal drive. The Rorschach excels at offering a blueprint for the manner in which a patient tolerates, manages, and even struggles with affect. Due to its vibrancy and association with both libidinal and aggressive drive, the color red, in particular, provides an essential marker for the idiographic and nomothetic study of the nuances of emotion and their expression. At times, the patient’s reaction to red on the Rorschach will indicate the perceptual-cognitive distortions suggested by Piotrowski.
Commentary:
Rorschach emphasized the importance of color in his earliest discussions (Rorschach, 1942). Its centrality to understanding one’s emotional life was made clear by its inclusion (FC, CF, C) in the experience balance (EB, Erlebnistypus; key to the extratensive style [Exner, 2003]), and the many nuanced interpretations attributed to its various manifestations (e.g., color naming [CN], color projection [CP]).
While the relationship between color and emotion has been empirically established (Construct Validity, Exner, 2003), there have been less frequent discussions of its face or logical validity. Is it a stretch to associate a fuzzy bear (FT, TF, T; texture) with affectional relatedness, a reflection with self-absorption (Fr, rF), a Vista (V, VF, V) with negatively tinged introspection, or “two ants attacking a submarine” as an indication of a lapse in reality testing? In a similar vein, who would fail to see the convergence of emotion and color in an angry person “seeing red”, or, at times, any of us feeling “blue”. Being “green” with envy would likely be a less welcomed emotional state.
Borrowing from art, color theory and modern painting a deeper understanding of the convergence between color and emotion is obtained (Gacono, 2017, 2018, 2019). The links between the two are inseparable. It is not a coincidence that Hermann Rorschach was both an artist and researcher, and that, the Holtzman Inkblots are paintings without compare2. The master artist, Cezanne, known for his intuitions concerning life and art, opined, “A work of art that does not begin in emotion is not art;” a sentiment likely shared by Rorschach and Holtzman.
From the Impressionists forward (Fauvists [in Paris], German expressionists, abstract expressionist [New York school]) the focus of modern art replaced formal composition with the linking of internal experience (emotion, images, fantasy) with the artistic product. The painting process, an affective rather than cognitive one, involved the transfer of internally channeled experience to the canvas. The only goal was to create harmony (balance), a painting that “worked.” Color (CF, C), rather than form, became central to expressing emotion. Vibrancy was obtained through the juxta-positioning of complementary colors (in lay terms opposites; also warm with cool colors). Placing a primary color (blue, red, yellow) in proximity to a combination of the other two creates a harmonious yin/yang. For example, blue (cool or cold) pops when placed next to orange (a combination of red and yellow; hot or warm). As I previously noted, “In order to paint harmony one must be able to see music.”
This creative process mirrors those operating in our inner worlds. One’s ability to experience joy is dependent upon the ability to tolerate painful affect, to process loss, to mourn and grieve. Constricting or avoiding one emotion dampens the others. Emotional balance or maturity is only obtained through tolerance for the range of emotions (Gacono, 2018, 2019). This balance allows for a vibrancy to one’s emotional state. Life and art are inseparable. The underlying personality functioning revealed through the Rorschach is subject to these principles.
Through an analysis of the chromatic, achromatic, and shading response (and other Comprehensive System [CS] affective cluster variables) the Rorschacher intuits much about an individual’s emotional life. Rorschach patterns provide a canvass for understanding and viewing one’s capacity for affect, how it is managed, and the stimuli for disruptions or regressions in general, and cognitive functioning in particular. The original CS structural summary allowed for comparing X+% with F+%, thereby, providing a rapid indication of an individual’s perceptual accuracy with (X+%) and without emotion (F+%); a simple, yet beautiful thing. Queries during testing feedback such as “I wonder if you tend to make better decisions when emotions are not involved?” “Perhaps you are at your best when things are simple, and you can focus on one thing at a time? (Lambda), provided another measure of Rorschach validity.
Dr. Piotrowski’s (2023) discussion of the color red highlights the importance of color in general and red in particular. Red is a lightning rod for strong affect including both aggressive and libidinal drive. CF and C are associated with impulsivity, explosiveness, aggression, and indulgence. Equally important and ubiquitous during Valentine’s Day celebrations is its association with passion and love. How many of us have ever heard a response to Card III like, “Two people they must be in love. (?) Because of the red heart in the middle.”
How red is used reveals much about how a patient manages strong affect. Inhibitions in many neurotic and higher levels of functioning patients may lead to disruptions in cognitive functioning (accompanied by lapses in form quality) as well as painful internalizations in the form of guilt or even shame. Their therapeutic task is to identify, tolerate, and express (assertion). In characterological and psychotic individuals (CF and Pure C types), where acting out is ubiquitous, the Rorschach may point toward the need to identify, master, or control.
How a person reacts to red, provides a template for how they deny, avoid, or minimize strong affect. Is there a delayed response (color shock) to cards with red? Does the patient assimilate the color location but avoid using color in forming the percept? Do they offer, “A pretty flower” to a red area but, even when prompted, fail to articulate using it in forming the object? Do verbalizations suggest a preoccupation with or difficulties processing color? “I didn’t know what to do with the red. Do I have to include it? I guess it really wasn’t important anyway?” A low affective ratio (Afr) in combination with an FC:CF+C of 1:6 and poor form for color suggests that the patient avoids emotions because they lack the maturity to manage them. Certainly, the color red and its associations with strong emotion becomes a focal point for assessing a variety of defensive operations (Lerner, 1991; Rosso, Gacono, Camoirano, & Smith, in preparation; Smith & Gacono, 2022).
After understanding the patient’s characteristic mode for processing affect, like reflections or texture responses (Gacono & Meloy, 1994), there is much to be gained by examining individual responses. Is red dominated by form (FC), well-articulated, and accompanied by good form with an absence of cognitive slippage or affective disruption? Or is it more fluid (CF & C) with minus form or absent form (C), with concurrent cognitive (FAB, INC) or emotional (MOR) dysfunction? Is there the pathognomonic presence of CN or CP in the protocol? The examiner always interprets, ala Schafer (1954), these nuanced expressions (especially reactions to red) within scoring sequence. Consistent with Dr. Piotrowski’s hypothesis (2023), potential disruptions, such as minus form or cognitive slippage, on or following Cards II or III reveal the presence of impulse and the failure of defensive operations.
As suggested by Dr. Piotrowski’s (2023) commentary, the Rorschach excels in offering a blueprint for the manner in which a patient tolerates and manages affect. Red in particular, due to its vibrancy and association with both libidinal and aggressive drive, provides a marker for the idiographic and nomothetic study of the emotional nuances and their expression. Is the color red warmly embraced, or too hot to handle?
References:
Exner, J. (2003). The Rorschach: A Comprehensive System: Volume 1: Basic foundations and principles of interpretation (4th ed.).
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Gacono, C. & Meloy, R. (1994). The Rorschach assessment of aggressive and psychopathic personalities. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Publishers.
Gacono, C. (2017). When a painting speaks to you Part I: Reflections on Jonas Gerard’s Christine. Jonas Gerard fine art, Art Blog. Gacono, C. (2018). When a painting speaks to you Part II: What makes a painting work. Jonas Gerard fine art, Art Blog.
Gacono, C. (2019). Life and art in search of the illusive inner self. Jonas Gerard fine art. Art Blog. Lerner, P. (1991). Psychoanalytic theory and the Rorschach. Hillsdale: NJ: The Analytic Press.
Piotrowski C. (2023). Color Red and the assessment process: Implications for the Rorschach. Journal of Projective Psychology & Mental Health, 30(1), 11-17.
Rorschach, H. Psychodiagnostics. New York: Grune & Stratton. (Original work published 1921).
Rosso, A. M., Gacono, C.B., Camoirano, A., & Smith, J. M. (manuscript in preparation). Inter-rater reliability and construct validity of the Rorschach Defense Scales.
Schafer, R. (1954). Psychoanalytic interpretation in Rorschach testing: Theory and application. New York: Grune & Stratton.
Smith, J. & Gacono, C. (2022). Revisiting the Coding of Defenses. The Rorschach: A Comprehensive System-Revised: Supplemental Scales Handbook. Rorschach Workshops.