Topics with potential ---> Oedipus/Electra complex's. Fixations (oral, anal, latency, ect). Internal conflict. Natural instinct vs societal restrictions. Id, Ego, and Super Ego. Libido.
Questions???
> How true are Freud's theories?
> How much can we repress unconscious drives?
> How much do unconscious motives affect our behavior and decisions?
> And in what ways?
Meghan -
ReplyDeleteI'm not sold on this. Your artwork is so rich and multi-dimensional, but this list is not.
I see your work as so much more than Freudian theory. I see the ways humans treat each other in both their grandeur and their repugnance.
When your character reaches into another character's chest to produce the heart, there is less about Freud (though you could read into that I suppose) and more about the loss of innocence, the first love, the first heartache, tainted love, control, dominance, subordination, and so on.
When you illustrate a girl with animals growing in her belly, you aren't talking about pregnancy as a result of Freudian "love," you're talking about nature vs. nurture, man vs. nature, motherhood, care-giving, acceptance, shelter, sanctuary, and so on.
When your characters wear the skin of someone else, you're not talking about some bizarre sex thing, you're talking about being hidden, hiding, taking on different perspectives, rituals, pretend, make-believe, desire, envy, and on and on.
To boil your work down to conscious and unconscious drives cheapens the significance of it. You and your art are wise beyond your years. I truly believe that. I'm not sure if you do.
Freud can (and should) be a topic within your work, because there is fascinating human psychology at work there. Freud can be a wellspring for inspiration. But I'm challenging you to think a bit more broadly. Step back and think of your work from the perspective of someone else. Peel off my skin and wear it on your head. I think you'll find a lot there.
Thanks dude. I always thought a "big idea" would limit my art making, because all the things I make have to fit into some kind of category. So I've never consciously used one before.
ReplyDelete(The Freud thing may be just one of my fleeting current interests and sounded better than any other thought I had at the time)
But there's probably a central theme in my work that's been there all along, I just have to find it.