A Study On Freud's Unconscious Aesthetics

The concept of the unconscious was not only central to Freud's account of the mind, but also served as the bridge from psychoanalysis to aesthetics. In this sense, Freud's aesthetics is indeed the theory of the unconscious aesthetics. Based on the concept of the unconscious, Freud's aesthetics emphasized the unconscious aspect in the creation of arts and the influence of the unconscious on aesthetics.This concept of the unconscious evolved in three stages. Initially, by focusing on studies of hysteria disorder and analysis of dreams, it was determined that the unconscious existed universally in human mind. Next, through the discovery of resistance encountered in clinical practice, the concept of repression was suggested, including the repressed unconscious, repressed sexual fantasies and sex drive. Last, the compulsive repetition was discovered, and the earlier theory of sexual drive alone was revised to include life instincts and death instincts. The contents of the unconscious were further expanded to include not only the repression and repressed instincts, but also the unconscious super-ego.The thoughts of the Oedipus complex is the core of Freud's unconscious theory. Freud's reflections on Oedipus complex may be divided into two phases. Initially, Oedipus complex was connected to the psychological development of children. Later the Oedipus complex was modified to address gender differences.The unconscious phenomenon during artistic creation is diverse. First of all, it is part of the inspiration. Inspiration kicks in when repression is released, where repression comes from self-inspection by super-ego, as well as self-defense by ego against relaxation. Releasing of repression is not indulgence, but is more similar to the arrival of festivals. It is also distinguished from everyday repressed state, and is presented in the aesthetic attitude. Dreams are manifest of inspiration. Secondly, the unconscious may define the scope of objects in artistic creation, based on creators' unconscious desire, Oedipus complex and past trauma, which is demonstrated respectively in daydream style novels, dramas Oedipus the King and Hamlet, novel Karamazov by Dostoevsky. Finally, the unconscious may also influence the artistic expression, not just the unconscious of authors, but also the unconscious of audience. In addition, the unconscious fantasy embodies way of art. Among them, the unconscious of the creator can be found in Leonardo da Vinci's Smile. The unconscious of the audiences can be found in stage shows that the extent of abnormal character metamorphosis must be within the limits of psychologically identification by the audience. And dreams as direct presentation of the unconscious can be found in avant-garde and surrealist paintings. Best examples are Apparition of Face and Fruit Dish and Eternal Time by Salvador.The influence of the unconscious on aesthetics is also very diverse. This influence may come from the recognition of audiences in their aesthetics unconscious, and may also come from the understanding after the psychoanalysis of the details of aesthetic objects. Among them, the aesthetic experience born out of the unconscious identification can be found in Richard ? by Shakespeare. Through the monologue of Duke of Gloucester, later Richard ?, audiences learned that he was born with a malformation and ugly face. His pain activated some inner parts that he did not accept himself. Audiences identify with Gloucester's feeling that he was treated unfairly by destiny, and therefore had the right to do unfair things. Because of this identification, the frivolous exterior of Richard ? is no longer distained by audiences, and even becomes understandable. Aesthetics born out of the analysis of the unconscious behind details can be found in Freud's analysis of Michelangelo's Moses. Freud studied two details of the statue of Moses, namely the right hand posture and the position of the two stone tablets. Freud believed that the hand position came from the remains of a movement that had already taken place, not from the inception of a new motion. What happened was that Moses, agitated by the spectacle of his people cheering around pagan deities, initially desired to spring up acting out of his anger, but restrained and remained seated and still. Moses portrayed by Michelangelo did not match Moses in the Old Testament, in fact quite a contrast. It was this unconventional Moses that, due to his devotion to the cause, struggled with his inner feelings and achieved victory. Such struggle and victory is the highest spiritual realm people can reach. The artist chose modified Moses as part of the design of tyrant Julius ?'s tomb, which may be considered as criticism of the tyrant and criticism of himself. Through criticism, the artist let his humanity transcend. Audience can truly appreciate the art behind the statue only after the understanding of all these background.The unconscious mind may have influence on aesthetics for the reason that, it is during the grief process post trauma, aesthetics are formed. Trauma and grief are part of life. They are no doubt painful and could make people feel helpless and deeply ashamed. They leave a permanent imprint on the body and soul and should have become memories that people may never forget. However, because the pain from the trauma goes beyond people's usual defense capabilities, they become unbearable and thus become the unconscious. The trauma unconscious may take various forms. Common ones are:people collapsing near the arrival of success, unordinary people and peculiar sexual behavior. Among them, depicted very wellin A Doll's House by Henrik Ibsen, Nora presented three themes of trauma:how a victim became a victimizer; how unconscious guilt prevents a person to achieve her own happiness; how a trauma victim had compulsive repetition in life, repeatedly put herself in similar traumatic situations. Healing of trauma needs the completion of mourning, but the trauma itself will not only prevent mourning from completion, but also complicate mourning itself. Unfinished mourning often reveals itself in the form of depression or mania, although neither depression nor mania is mourning. Only mourning can free trauma victims from the curse of the trauma, so they can start a new life. Mourning is to give a name to the nameless wound, to make pain speakable pain, and more importantly to give meaning to the pain. With the new meaning, a new life arrives. Along the way from trauma to the grief, aesthetics are formed.Oedipus complex in the end is related to how the mankind transcends itself. However, according to Freud, there is only repetition, and Oedipus complex is a predicament that people can understand but not go beyond. In his view, all the winners of Oedipus conflicts are bound to be tragic figures. However, to transcend the Oedipus conflict is not to become the winners of the conflict, but to love, not only to love the person you love, and also to love what she or he loves. In love, not only the receiver of love becomes subconscious self, but also the giver of love completes self. Love is inseparable from life. Life is thus full of love. When love enters and fills life, life itself becomes art, and living experience becomes an aesthetic experience. In this sense, new kind of civilization comes to life, out of love, rather than out of repression.Based on basic impulses, repression, and sublimation, Freud constructed his own theory about the nature of art and aesthetics. As important parts of civilization, art and aesthetics are inseparably associated with the unconscious, and at the meantime transcend the instincts and the unconscious.