St Edward's Academic Review 2025

ST EDWARD’S, OXFORD

To summarize, the higher education choices dyslexics make are informed by three forces – avoidance of more “academic” subjects, a societal expectation of increased creative ability, and the positive feedback which comes through practice of creative skills which leads to creative success. This shows the significant impact that the environment dyslexics grow up in has on their choices and pathways in life – the effects of nurture. After considering the evidence put forward by contemporary artists and art students (Bacon & Bennett, 2013), it is interesting to explore the relationship between dyslexia and artistic creativity by looking at some of the world’s most innovative artists. There are, unsurprisingly, some well known artists who were dyslexic, for example Andy Warhol, Auguste Rodin, and Pablo Picasso (Alexander-Passe, 2013). It has been hypothesized that Picasso’s dyslexia may have provided him with an alternate way of viewing the world, opening the door for him to create Cubism, an art form where the subject is visualised simultaneously from many different perspectives (Artlyst, 2011). This aligns with the data from El Hmimmdi (2022), where the eyes of dyslexic individuals were shown to move differently to non-dyslexics, suggesting that dyslexics view the world around them in a different way to non-dyslexics. Picasso was the first artist to profoundly abstract objects and portraits, incorporating multiple perspectives, exaggerating, and enhancing the shapes which he viewed in the world around him – especially evident in his works Violin and Grapes and Weeping Woman . Leonardo da Vinci, who it is hypothesized was a dyslexic artist, is often regarded as the single most creative and inventive artist. A true polymath, he displayed creative genius in painting, engineering, and architecture. He is renowned for having invented the parachute, the first helicopter, and the first tank among many other visionary creations. The evidence for his dyslexia relates to the fact that analysis of his self-portraits demonstrates that he had a strabismus (a visual abnormality that results in 2D rather than 3D vision), which can help with the observation of 3D objects and their translation into a work of art. There is evidence that he was a terrible speller, and many of his written works show him flipping letters and writing entire paragraphs in mirror form (Tyler, 2018) – known symptoms of dyslexia. It is The dyslexic influence on artistic genius

other students, or family members, affected their choice of subject at degree level. The quotes from students within the research group are very revealing about how their choices were shaped by their own strengths and by their outside influences. For example, one student in the study, expressed the negative influence of teachers at school: ‘Rather than seeing me struggling, I think they saw it as me not engaging… I think the teachers thought I was lazy.’ This negative attitude towards young dyslexic pupils lowers self-esteem and motivation which drives doubt and a lack of confidence and ultimately becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy with pupils expecting to fail and being deterred from studying more “academic” subjects. However, positive influence from family may encourage studying artistic subjects. For example, another student said that ‘I was always doing something creative […]. My dad thought it was great and always said I should go to art college.’ The view that society has of dyslexics may also be a factor that pushes people away from “academic” subjects. One interviewee said ‘They expect you to be arty, no one expects you to be able to do other things’, and another said, ‘It’s just the trap you fall into’. However, students also felt that their dyslexia might, in fact, have been a real strength in their artistic pursuits. In the article, one student is quoted as saying, ‘It gives me a never-ending flow of ideas […] you’ve got more choice of ideas’ and ‘I’m always thinking out of the box’. These statements illustrate the powerful connection between dyslexia and artistic creativity from the perspective of art students who deal with the many impacts of dyslexia. These first-hand testimonies suggest that one of the reasons for dyslexics following a creative pathway in life might be the negative attitudes directed towards dyslexic students and the challenging experiences that they have at an early age in more “academic” subjects. Given that backdrop, it is unsurprising that many students would want to avoid the societal stigma that their dyslexia gives them, such as being thought of as stupid and lazy, and instead choose to study a creative subject like art where they are given positive feedback and praised for their work, making their learning experience more enjoyable. This positive feedback loop will result in more practice and eventual honing of their skill, making them more talented in that area and being successful (Eide & Eide, 2012).

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