Art and Psychoanalysis by Laurie Schneider Adams

Schneider Adams, L. (1994) Art and Psychoanalysis. New York: HarperCollins Publishers Inc.

I picked several books out of the library before Easter but this is the one that seems to have aided my research more than the others especially in relation to use of unconscious techniques like dream journalling.

The book is steeped in Freudian analysis and doesn't mention much of Jung. This was a bit of a disappointment but as Jung studied under Freud I cannot discount his work no matter how I feel about it personally. One of the issues that I have with Freud is that much of his theory has a male bias and neglects the female perspective. As the subject of my own analysis I have to look at theory that (if gender related) pertains to my own gender. This book covers a lot of ground looking at the Oedipus Complex but this theory was initially based on the relationship that a male child has with his parents, Jung's Electra complex comes a bit closer to the female perspective. I find that a lot of Freudian theory glosses over the female perspective as if being male himself stopped him being able to empathise with the opposite sex.

Once I had got over my fear of Freud and all his talk of penis-envy I started to enjoy sections of this book and found it to be quite helpful. I took Suzie's advice and didn't try to read the whole book. I have issues with reading so sometimes that can make it hard to carry out my research. I read the introduction and got a better idea of which sections would be the most beneficial to my research.

The following is the list of contents with the relevant sections highlighted:

• 1 Beginnings
• 2 Freud's Leonardo: The Controversy
• 3 The Psychological Impact of Imagery
• 4 Art and the Oedipus Complex
• 5 Dreams, Delusions and Art
• 6 Michelangelo's Moses and Other Michelangelo Problems
• 7 The Transitional Object and Its Implications for Creativity and Symbolism
• 8 Some Psychological Aspects of the Mother-Child Relationship in Western Art
• 9 Psychoanalytic Readings of Primal-Scene Iconography
• 10 Biography, Autobiography, and Psychology
• 11 Psychobiography: Caravaggio, Artemisia, Brancusi
• 12 Aesthetics on Trial: Whistler vs. Ruskin

I found that another trick that enabled me to extract as much information as possible from the book was to find the right place to read it. I have found that waiting rooms are an excellent place to read as nobody will disturb you and they are usually comfortable with a good source of light. It's very important to me that there are no disturbances when I am trying to read so waiting rooms are perfect. It has been suggested to me that I should just read in the library but my aversion to library's and an desire to be unconventional means that the library is not ideal. I attended a lecture last week and despite the dim lighting I found that I could also concentrate better on reading in there. Of course I wasn't listening to the lecture but I found it easier to block out one person talking than to block out loads of people talking and moving, as the audience were quiet and sat still it eliminated a lot of noise and movement from my surroundings.

The Psychological Impact of Imagery

Boundary Loss: Ego and Image

"When such twentieth-century styles as Abstract expressionism and Minimalism appeared, viewers' responses by and large suggested that their ego boundaries were even more threatened than they were by illusionism. Rather than evoking a sense of the uncanny, however, nonobjective art aroused anger. The artist's skill was denied rather than admired. Such responses had previously appeared in the nineteenth-century view of Impressionism as technically inferior to the clear edges and precise textures of Neoclassical painting"

As animation is an area that is commonly associated with 'cartoons' and character it can be hard to break away from that. As I have chosen something more abstract and that has taken me down some fairly heavy theoretical avenues I have encountered some opposition to my current line of enquiry. Some of my peers have expressed concern that I might 'go too deep' and lose what it is that people can identify with. This is something that I am concerned about as I don't really want to alienate a large section of my viewers but I cannot help but be drawn in this direction.

I have had a few years of teaching others and helping them find inspiration for their own work and this has changed the way in which I work. I included very little theory in my BA work and had problems applying the theory in my dissertation, opting to ramble about my own point of view instead of considering the opinion of experts. Teaching has given me a different perspective and fostered an appreciation of the thoughts of others.

"Psychologically, it would seem, those who respond negatively to nonobjective imagery do so because there is no recognisable figure or object with which to identify. "

Although the author was specifically discussing static work similar rules can be applied to moving image, although if sound is present this changes somewhat. Animations like Normal McLaren's Begone Dull Care (1949) use abstract imagery alongside music to create something that the viewer is compelled to watch:





Watching something like this is not that dissimilar to watching the work of a good choreographer. People do seem compelled to watch image and sound that have been synchronised even if the images are non-figurative. An example of this in popular culture is the itunes visualiser:



The visualiser is not that far removed from the lighting used in nightclubs to enhance the emotional impact of the music. This gives the viewer/listener a all encompassing experience, using lights and music to forge an atmosphere that encourages movement. Many different genres of music utilize visual devices for live performances and this is a developing industry which has it's beginnings in the 'Disco' era with lights, mirror-balls and smoke machines. More recent developments include music video, laser light shows the advent of the VJ.

Many VJ's now use a more figurative approach by using film footage and animated characters, not unlike an impromptu music video. This could be influenced by the same psychology that affects enjoyment of abstract imagery. In a way this isn't as important when the visuals are intended for use in a live music venue as the people viewers are more like participants as they are often there to dance and socialise as well as to observe the visuals and listen to the music.

When sound and image are used together the effect on the viewer can have more impact than a static image alone. This is something that wasn't covered Art and Psychoanalysis as it focussed on classic examples. I seem to be caught between abstract painting, music and moving image and it's very hard to find theory that fits in with my current work. I have found that it's helpful to strip it down to the essentials of psychology.