Freud's Aesthetics: Matriarchy, Sublimation and the Surreal

Sigmund Freud is only occasionally referenced as a theorist of art. Given his general theory however, its applicability can easily extend to art, and this was a significant part of his own writing. Aesthetics for Freud is a form of wish fulfilment. It is a way to deal with the struggle of the transition from the pleasure to the Reality Principle. This conversion lies at the root of much personal and social pathology. Art, in one respect, is a defence mechanism. Ludwig Marcuse (1958) makes the argument that the essence of Freud's aesthetics is the creation of an alternative world. Put simply, the stress of reality is such that it demands a means of release; a way to relax the tension. In many ways, the most socially constructive means of this is through the creation of a new, different world. Marcuse remarks that “The artist's place is, however, a realm between what Freud called 'wish-denying reality' and the 'wish-fulfilling world of fantasy' in other words, between the bitterness of daily existence and the even more bitter realm of delusion (Marcuse, 1958, 5-6). Like most other social phenomena in Freud, art is another product of the sublimation of libidinal desires. The issue is the transition between the pleasure Principle and its unfortunate requirement that it becomes real, that is, to become congruent with social life, warts and all. This sublimation can serve to expose neuroses so as to make their treatment easier. It can serve to provide the needed energy for the daily life of society, or the Reality Principle. It can serve to provide a “cushion” to the harsh aspects of Reality and provide a more or less harmless relief of these anxieties. This paper will explicate Freud's aesthetic theory through three specific works: the first, well known to Freud, the ancient Egyptian status, the Head of Osiris. The work of Leonardo DaVinci was so significant to Freud that he dedicated an entire book to his work, with the Mona Lisa used to understand how the “killing of the father” ritual takes the form of later neurosis. Finally, the postmodern Surrealist movement will also be connected to an aspect of Freudian dream theory. In this regard, the often ignored painting by Salvatore Dali, The Elephants (1945) will be used to explicate the idea of wish fulfilment and social dreaming as another mode of smoothing out neuroses. In all of these, it will become clear that art serves as a social “cushion.” it is what makes the Id's bowing to the Superego tolerable. At the same time, it also permits a means by which the anxiety and pain of social injustice can be projected, manifest and worked out. Ultimately, this paper seeks to make a brief contribution to how art, in Freud's mind, can serve as a healthy means to smooth over the inevitable absurdity of the Reality Principle.