Psychoanalysis and art: Dialogues in the creative process

Abstract

In the hundred years since Sigmund Freud published his paper on Leonardo da Vinci, psychoanalysis and art theory have been developing along parallel trajectories. Where once psychoanalysis focused on the motivational conflicts of the creative artist and art history focused on the artist’s product, both fields have today converged on the study of creativity as a process. On March 19, 2011, the Postgraduate Psychoanalytic Society and Institute hosted the conference, “Psychoanalysis, art and creativity: Dialogues on the creative process”. The speakers were Harold Blum, M.D., Rosalind Krauss, Ph.D., and Joseph Lichtenberg, M.D. Their three presentations are included in this volume. The Introductory Remarks put these papers into historical context and trace their common ground while challenging the boundaries of both disciplines.

Keywords:

• psychoanalysis
• art
• creativity
• dialogue

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Eva D. Papiasvili

Eva D. Papiasvili, PhD, is executive director and dean, and a training and supervising analyst, for the Institute of Postgraduate Psychoanalytic Society. She is also clinical faculty and supervisor in the Doctoral program in clinical psychology, Teachers College, Columbia University, USA. She is in private practice in New York City

Linda A. Mayers

Linda A. Mayers, PhD, is director of training, and a training and supervising analyst, for the Institute of the Postgraduate Psychoanalytic Society, as well as holding the post of adjunct associate professor at La Guardia Community College, New York, USA. She is in private practice in New York City