Frida Kahlo and Tracey Emin: Psychoanalytic Approaches

Frida Kahlo and Tracey Emin Psychoanalytic ApproachesCase Study One Frida Kahlo 2000The design of this dissertation is to define links between psychoanalytic theories and fine art. In this chapter the artists Frida Kahlo and Tracey Emin atomic number 18 discussed and comp atomic number 18d to pull in how psychoanalytic approaches differ when employed with contemporary and handed-d let art.Frida Kahlos perish is associated with Surrealism, an art driving first written well-nigh by Andre Breton it was founded in 1924 developing from Dadaism and was inspired by the psychoanalytic industrial plant of Freud. In the surrealist manifesto Breton identifies the movement as a means by which the unconscious could be de nonative, verbally, written or multicoloured. The surrealists rememberd that our conscious mind interferes with the subconscious part, which is heavily based on Freuds theory of the swelled head and the id. The surrealists believed that this is why we be possessed of dreams when we argon asleep the reasoning mind suffernot control the subconscious. Surrealism intentiond a order called free association, originally Freuds theory, whereby Freuds patient would automatically say what they are thinking, in the case of an artist they would paint without thinking. Consequently, it seems surrealism is not necessarily a style but a method of video. By examineing at the both Kahlo and Emin, the two tush be compared to distinguish the ways in which psychoanalysis differs in the opposing styles of browse, oneness of traditional movement and the different a contemporary style.Kahlos regulate deals with a diverse range of subjects, from her deliver identity and pain to politics, the Mexican artists convey has been deliberated over by umteen critics and art historians as her oeuvre covers m whatsoever aspects of art. It is hard to place as surrealist as it mixes a world fantasy with surrealism while also relations with sexuality, race and gender. However, it is contended that Kahlos work does support psychoanalytic theories as there are many connections between her work and Freuds work which is a f make a motionor that the surrealist movement was heavily based upon.In contrast the work of Tracey Emin does not affair symbols for her sense of hearing to guess at, instead her work has a very release and concise in meaning, with her highly personal work she leaves her audience unquestioning with no ambiguity surrounding it. However, it would be interesting to look at the psychological effects that the production of this type of work may subscribe on the artist and to investigate how the do creating art work of much(prenominal) personal nature has any psychological impact. This will alter understanding of the intentions behind such personal art work she articulates expound about her ego that a absolute majority of people would rather keep to themselves. In a similar way to Kahlo, both artists draw on their suffer experiences to produce art work.In Kahlos painting, Tree of Hope (see figure one), she presents the audience with a definite divide between dark and day. This use of this stiffly imply a state of dream, to explore R.D Laings theory of the unembodied self where the individual experiences him self as world more or less(prenominal) divorced form his ashes(Laing196569) this applied to Kahlos work suggests that the severe act of desolate the anatomy into two halves defines the feeling of separation from her conscious body. The spectator is assured of the false self being portrayed in spite of appearance the image. According to Laing such separation denies the unembodied self of any actual interaction with terrestrial life. The theory suggests the unembodied self becomes a spectator of the life in which the actual body lives, so therefore does not connect with any experience the physical body encounters. This psychoanalytical process occurs due to sift within ones life that th e ego cannot deal with, the disassociation is the ids way of defend the ego.In Kahlos piece Tree of go for the painting is not dress in the prosaic language usually employed by our thoughts delineate symbolically by means of similes and metaphors (Freud, 1953633) The image renders narrative, through with(predicate) the day approximative reality is awakened Kahlo collides with a profusion of pain, while at night she is pitch free from her anguish by her dreams, the subconscious mind allows her to escape. The use of colours and choice of idea has allowed her to deliver her innermost anxieties and fears to the audience. These anxieties, fit to Freud, are unpleasant inner state that people seek to avoid, it can act as a signal to the ego that things are not exhalation right, as military mans we suffer from neurotic, reality and moral anxieties, in aver to deal with these Freud states that we therefore go into defence mechanisms that protect the ego from conflicts caused by th e id, the id being the unconscious part of your wizardry, the ego is the conscious rational mind.The tune caused by daily lives is relevant to Freudian theory of sublimation. In Freuds give The ego and the id (1923) he established the theory of sublimation through superior credit and puts forward that the superego is an internal moral agency of the parents (Wright 1995). He assumed that there are two separate sets of drives, both contained within the mind. The instincts consist of self-preservation, which is associated with the ego the second is sexual instincts which are associated to the libido or id. These instincts direct all human conduct until he generated the existence of narcissism. These theories differ over the various books due to the topic and their affiliation to each other. To further this, if Freuds theory about anxiety is applied to Tracey Emins work it can be suggested that she goes through the process of sublimation her work is a healthy redirection of an emoti on which is mainly found through art, it is the process of transforming the libido into achievements that are accepted by society. Emins work is similar to Kahlos in the way that her consume personal stories of her body reiterate stories in the media. Emin expresses brilliant descriptions of her most intimate feelings as her work is based solely on her life experiences.For example, in Emins work The last thing I utter to you was dont leave me here the audience is confronted with a photograph of a undefended girl, who is tucked in a corner of rough small shack, suggesting she has been some sort of victim of abuse. Lacans theory of the gaze is a theory that can be tested on this photograph, as the set up of piece makes the audience feel as if they are standing behind this naked, under attack(predicate) person, so the mantrap is made to feel as if they are gazing upon her, the spectators paying back on the role of the voyeur. Emin poses the question, is she the object of desir e? There is a genuine amount of irony within the photograph as a majority of viewers are hardened to the image of naked women due to media intercede imagery is usually of very confident, provocative women, this perplexing view unsteadies the viewer due to the uneasy ambience. This is because photography can in a typographical error sense turn the depicted person into an object, which will distance both the viewer and the viewed. With her back to us she unaware of who is looking, which creates a sense of naivety within the work, so therefore the viewer becomes uncomfortable with the role of the voyeur. This work has subtle implications that are more suggestive compared to a majority of Emins work which has a great sense of immediacy and provocative substance she makes strong statements that judge the gaze of society that is put upon women.In contrast Kahlos working show the audience how she gazes upon herself, in theory Kahlos paintings are able to talk to the viewer as they expr ess something about the artists emotions which people can allude to on many levels, through their personal attributes. This supports Derridas theory of deconstructionism, where by deconstruction of a body of text is not just one, it can digest several different meanings, and this theory can be applied to artistic creation because artwork itself can have more then one interpretation. In the essay Derrida two paintings in paint a note on art, discourse and the trace, Jeff Collins argues that Derrida indicates a certain failure of discourse in the face of artworks (Holdridge, 2006213). Collins contends that Derridas theory suggests art is a confrontational method which challenges anything that refuses to accept or surpass it the author denotes artwork that does not have a dialogue to deal with this theory.Kahlos work can be strange in meaning for each viewer which can be associated with the public opinion of death of the author according to Barthes, the viewers own beliefs can mo dify the authors original intensions, the layering of meaning can only be deduced from the viewers diaphragm of view, as they will see the work and interpret it according to their own context, beliefs experiences or personal attributes. The viewer needs to be able to set apart the artist from the work to release the interpretation from any prejudgment. Barthes believe that this is dependent on the spectators experience of Kahlos work, being a renowned artist many people will be familiar with her histories and will derive an interpretation from that in itself. However, many audiences are not familiar with the work will read it in an entirely different light.Kahlo also uses messages and paradoxes within her work. In The little wound deer (see figure four) she portrays herself as this wounded animal, which has been shot at by legion(predicate) hunters. The arrows are metaphors for the pain she feels, in my opinion this could symbolize her injuries from her accident or it could rep resent suffering from numerous disappointments in her life. She appears calm, tranquil and relaxed while she is watched by, what we assume is a hunter and trickle with blood.Kahlo was Mexican and they believed that a newborn human has an animal counterpart and that persons assign was tied to that of the animal that represents the calendar sign of the day of their birth. So she could be suggesting that her animal counterpart is dying and therefore metaphorically she is going to be rid of the animal that matches her and through her rebirth she will gain a new one. This painting it therefore a representation of her thoughts, which is her subconscious, by utilize dream logic strategies of displacement and condensation, Kahlo sets out to create a fabled identity for herself the self-portrait consequently becomes a format for a parody of her own individuality. In my opinion, surrealism and representing the mind is difficult because it is the unknown, questioning it and giving possible answers through painting.Through her art Kahlo is attaining control of herself, she portrays her emotions which attain psychological relief. Emin also has a need to attain control would, in Freudian terms this would be classified as a form of craze. Hysteria in original psychological terms is described as two categories, one being somatoform whereby mental problems such as stress can cause brain to feel physical pain. The second is dissociative which occurrs when a persons psyche cannot cope a particularly traumatic event. However, in Freudian terms this hysteria created by the subconsious part of the mind, which was protecting the ego from the id. This is also relevent when looking at Kahlos work, the subconsious creates this form of unreality which is evident in the paintings. The straight lines and defined brim to objects of natural enities creates an order, an element of control over something which is not controllable.This can be tested with Deleuzes theory of percept. Acco rding to Deleuze, art requires simple modulations whereby the artist is consciously thinking and making finishs about the evolution of the piece of artwork percepts are a psychological imprint of something, for example, the way an individual artist sees one thing will be varied from another. Percepts represent more than decision, they symbolize how the artist is feeling about that piece of art at the morsel in time, or the subject which it is based on. According to Deleuze the making of the decision is not as important as modulations, Mnter has put boundaries approximately the manmade objects, the modulationsreveal the forces that populate the world, that necessitate us, that make us become (Sutton, 200875) Kahlo keeps her images separate, in Tree of hope (see figure one) she has a definite divide between night and day, by doing this she accentuates definite boundaries that the colours alone would not achieve, this establishes a harsh boarded image with restrictions. It shows a definite division between the human and the natural, while addressing this we may also consider that the artist may feel the two cannot be combined. These percepts also occur in the works of Kahlo, What Water Gave Me (1938) is a painting of Kahlos that is particularly relevant to Derridas theory, other then her many self-portraits, within this painting, Kahlo has painted her legs from the baths stand, her legs are partially obscured by the bath water, and her toes stick out at the end, the painting has an uncanny aspect to it, we have all see this viewpoint so there is a familiarity to the work. Kahlo is allowing her audience to see things from her perspective. Through the composition we are able to see her thoughts swimming about as she contemplates everything that has occurred in her life. The modulations in this piece are life and death, something that is uncontrollable yet is inevitable. Everything moves according to one law-lifeAnguish and pain, pleasure and death are nothing but a process in order to exist. (Kahlo) Her written views are contrasting to that expressed in her paintings. This painting is affective because it invites the viewer into the work in affect the spectator completes it. Through this image Kahlo displays herself bare for every one to see which adds a certain irony to the painting, as it is almost a au naturel(predicate) portrait. In addition, this painting fits the classification of Surrealism because she utilizes imagery, which combines dream imagery with reality.In this chapter, the discussion of Kahlos and Emins work have given insight into the way in which psychoanalytical theories can be used in conjunction with artworks. It defines how the use of these theories can induce more depth into a painting which may not have had much substance to begin with. This in itself comfirms Deleuzes theory of percept showing how the artists mind is both in the real wold in which the body exists and in the world of the self, this theory will b e challenged further in correlation with Cindy Shermans work in the next chapter.