Art as Language: Access to Emotions and Cognitive Skills Through Drawings. - book review

Adolescence, Winter, 2001

SILVER, Rawley

Art as Language: Access to Emotions and Cognitive Skills Through Drawings. Philadelphia: Brunner-Routledge, 2000. 250pp. $34.95 (h).

In Art as Language, art therapist Rawley Silver demonstrates the use of the visual medium as a linguistic parallel to verbal or written communication. The author recognizes that language expands and facilitates thought, but she effectively illustrates the existence of high-level thinking in its absence. Throughout the book, she demonstrates the usefulness of drawing as an expressional tool for patients who are unable or unwilling to express themselves through the conventional use of language. Art as Language merges a user-friendly format and the unique assessment and treatment practices long associated with the author. The book begins with an explanation of the author's approach to assessment, the "Silver Drawing Test of Cognition and Adjustment." Through the use of case studies and more than one hundred fifty illustrations of patient artwork, the author summarizes the findings of cognitive development and art therapy practices. Reviews of qualitative and quantitative studies follow the introduction. By revie wing studies of children, adolescents, and adults suffering from various impairments and injuries, the author clearly demonstrates the broad applicability of stimulus drawing assessments.