Surrealism was an art movement in the 20th century that explored the creativity of the unconscious mind. The concept of the unconscious was first developed by Sigmund Freud. Sigmund Frued is very well known psychologist for the creation of psychoanalysis. Although I may not believe that sex is the bases of all psychological problems,like Frued, I find his concept of the ego interesting. Frued brings about the topic of the superego, ego, and the Id.
Eventhough many may find psychoanalysis as the potential cause of surrealism because of the idea of the unconscious, I believe surrealism matches better with Analyctic Psychology. Created by one of Frued’s pupils, I think this concept better fits surrealism. It still deals with the unconscious but has a broader perspective on it which includes the spiritual. Analytic psychology’s creator, Carl Jung, mentions the idea of archetypes. Archetype are images/symbols that move from the collective unconscious to the personal unconscious. According to Jung the collective unconscious is repressed information the whole population shares as a collective group groups. one example of an archetype can be the serpent. It has appreared in various cultures around the world with holding different meaning. A well known image is the ouroboros. While psychoanalysis may be base of the idea of the unconscious, I feel like Analyctic psychology gives artist a broader idea of choices when it comes to surrealism. What do you think?
Freud is credited with the original surrealist doctrine because of his concepts of the “id, ego, and super ego” as well as they way that he analyzed dreams. Essentially, all of his dream analysis boiled down to everything symbolizing sex, which is what most surrealism is about. Probably 85-90% of surrealist artists are referencing sex, and if they aren’t, they are referencing dreams- which in Freud’s book is basically the same thing.