Kerrin & Freud

Having studied abnormal psychology in the past, I found Freud for beginners to be a very interesting overview of Freud, his work, his influence and his reception in the world of psychology. It is no secret that plenty of stigma and dogma surround his ideas, and the sexual aspect of his approach has been vamped up to nearly epic proportions. This still holds true today.

When reading text-book excerpts about the Id, Ego and Super-ego, gratuitous mention of penis envy and the Oedipus complex shortly follow. It was interesting to read about the history of Freud's experience and his actual approach to treating his patients... it made me think a little better of him, as I previously had him painted in my mind as a rampant misogynist who was obsessed with oral and anal fixations.

(As an aside- I found it really funny that throughout the entire book- he really looked like Beavis with dark hair and a beard. If anyone else has seen Beavis and Butthead- can you make the same association?)

So... what does Freudian psychology have to do with art? Plenty! The interesting thing about psychology as a whole is that it can be both an internal and an external source of inspiration. One may delve into one's own cavernous psyche and emerge with a cornucopia of internally sourced images... things reflecting hazy images of nightmares, dreamscapes, repressed or overt desires, conflict or harmony.

Similarly, one may delve into the psyche of someone else... or address psychology as a subject/history... or use psychological tactics to entice the viewer. These are all ways in which one may use psychology as an external source.

On a different level, psychology plays an extremely important role in our art whether we mean it to or not. Every piece we create, every step of our process, every inch of the final product is a subtle (or not so subtle) biography. A visual topography of our thoughts, emotions or concerns... hopes, fears or grievances- it's all there for the world to view and interpret.