Dadaism, Surrealism and the Unconscious (original) (raw)

Surrealism between psychological investigation and artistic commitment

Wisdom, Armenian Journal of Philosophy Vol. 14 No. 1 (2020): 1-2020., 2020

Deciphering the mysteries of the unconscious was one of the central aims of Surrealists who, in order to achieve this goal, experimented with the most different techniques. The unconscious, displaying the contents that then can be painted, turned to be both a way to embark on inner exploration and a source of creativity. My paper firstly sheds light onto this marriage of art and psychology which, in Surrealism, harmoniously blended generating a fascinating and fruitful combination between creation and self-creation - art as a tool of self-knowledge and even inner evolution is one of the main consequences. Lastly, this study examines the surrealist scene today, considering how and why, through the decades, the painters’ aims changed and why we should or shouldn’t still call them “Surrealists”.

Modern and Postmodern Expressions of the Self: Freudian Psychoanalysis of Art

The International Journal of Indian Psychology, 2021

Sigmund Freud's method of psychoanalysis has not only been fundamental for the discipline of psychology, but also for analysing works of art. Freud, beginning with his oft-cited psychobiography of Leonardo da Vinci, introduced the concept of studying an artist and its praxis from a psychic space; a concept that was revolutionary for its society that up until then experienced artworks through a romantic lens. The creation of a work of art was no longer simply the product of an intuitive 'genius,' but also the culmination of psychological factors like suppressed wishes and instinctual desires, familial relationships, childhood experiences, and dream sequences and fantasies, among others. Not only has such psychoanalysis inspired the Surrealist art movement, but also helped scholars in studying works of art, and their artists. In this paper, using Freudian principles, I psychoanalyse eight works of art produced in and beyond the ambit of Surrealism. With such an exercise, my aim here is to examine the creation of the self-portrait (and by extension, the image of an artist's self) as a site of multiplicities. It is a site that is the product of an unconscious that is being constantly shaped, right from the artist's childhood. For every artist, I have provided a small vignette that explains their oeuvre, its influences and aims, and how we can study the subtextual elements of their influential unconscious. With my examination, we can witness the projection of the self in a postmodern world where such sites are by their very nature, deconstructed, transient, and multiple.

Some Deviations of Form: A Little Essay on Psychoanalysis, Art and Aesthetics

This work intends to investigate the use of psychoanalytical theory within the aesthetic and critical contemporary art field. To this purpose, it focuses on two philosophers who have become significant in our time: the art critic Hal Foster and the art historian Georges Didi-Huberman. This study aims to show how far the concepts generated in psychoanalytic praxis allowed interpretations that disrupt the traditional aesthetics field. This type of analysis is possible once we abandon the paradigm of "applied psychoanalysis", which is still current in non-clinical setting. Finally, the proposal wants to argue that the category of the amorphous may clarify certain aesthetic experiences that range from the modernity of art through postmodernity.

Freud and Artistic Creation

2024

This work explores the intricate relation between psychoanalysis and artistic creation, focusing on the concept of fantasy and its role in expressing desires and plumbing the depths of the unconscious. Drawing upon Freud's insights on fantasy, dreams, sublimation, and free association, we analyze how art draws sustenance from psychic energy and the artist's lived experiences, allowing them to give form to their inner reality. We examine the perspectives of Freud, Estrada, Breton, and Kokoras, emphasizing the significance of introspection and free association as methods to access the unconscious and unleash creative energy. Furthermore, we connect the psychic automatism of the Surrealists with the chains of sonic and conceptual associations present in the music of Kokoras and Wishart. We conclude that psychoanalysis, beyond merely explaining artistic ability, offers valuable tools for understanding the mental operations involved in creation. It provides a framework for developing a method of artistic production based on introspection, free association, and the fluid interplay between primary and secondary thought processes.

The space in-between : psychoanalysis and the imaginary realm of art

2006

This investigation uses an object relations psychoanalytic framework to explore ways that art embodies both social and personal meaning. The relationship between the non-verbal experience of art and the pre-verbal realm of infancy is explored and linked to bodily, perceptual and inner forms of non-discursive knowledge which are of value for the subject. The study investigates how this inner experience is related through art to language and representation as aspects of external experience. The study argues that these two dimensions, the inner/bodily and the outer/linguistic, are held together in the art object which, as metaphor, is a conjoined structure that embodies the maternal and paternal realms in paradoxical and dynamic interplay. The art object, which elicits imaginary and phantasied responses from the viewer, serves both the self (through presentational symbols) and social needs (through representational symbols), thus allowing the creation and communication of new meanings. My research project has been made possible due to the generous encouragement of a number of people. I would like to thank Professor Keith Dietrich for his commitment to the MA (Visual Studies) programme and for his empathetic support of his students. I am indebted to my supervisor Marthie Kaden for her timely, intelligent and thoughtful guidance. I would also like to thank my co-supervisor Vivian van der Merwe for his perceptive insights into my painting process. Romaine Hill has edited this thesis with great wisdom and generosity, for which I offer my gratitude. I wish to thank Cathy Comfort Skead for the photographic documentation of my visual work. I acknowledge Mary Anne Cullinan, who introduced me to the work of Jessica Benjamin and Christopher Bollas and the 'intersubjective turn' in psychoanalytic theory as well Fine Art and psychology postgraduate Anya Subotzky, with whom I was able to clarify my understanding of psychoanalytic and contemporary art concepts through ongoing conversation. I am grateful to Beauty Makhasi and Elisabeth Adams for their help in caring for my children. I would like to acknowledge the profound inspiration that James and Imogen have given me as I have struggled with being both a 'good enough mother' and with writing 'the dreaded masters'. Finally, this journey would not have been in any way possible without the unstintingly generous and unconditional support of my husband Brett.