Lecture One - Psychoanalysis.

Simon Jones
simon.jones@leeds-art.ac.uk

Intro

• the development of psyche from birth
• the development of the unconscious
• the development of gender identity
• understanding the complexities of human subjectivity
• not only a form of therapy can be applied to other things an over arching theory of subjectivity
• a way of categorising and understanding desire, motivation, dreams
• we are not entirely in control of what we do

Sigmund Freud

• conceived the idea in the late 1890's
• treated hysteria patients using psychoanalysis by guiding them to accept repressed thoughts
• he analysed his and his mothers dreams in terms with their hidden associations with 'wish-fulfillment'
• observed infants and their relationships with their parents

Dynamic Unconscious

• created through infancy to protect our conscious selves from events, ideas and thoughts that are not acceptable
• continues to affect our conscious selves in some way
• the unconscious is chaotic and without order and language
• makes itself present through ticks, slips and symptoms (accidentally saying something)

Stages of Development

• our development is full of contradictory thoughts and ideas
• an attempt to make sense of both biological/instinctual and logical/thinking
• we create associations and assumptions, often incorrectly
• the developing child goes through stages: oral, anal and phallic

Psycho-sexual Identity

• oedipus complex - 'to want' vs. 'to be wanted', confusing feelings, sexual/love, misunderstanding of ideas and emotions
• development of both masculine and feminine identities in relation to the penis/phallus
• castration complex - to boy fears castration while the girl accepts she already has
• penis envy - the girl begins to realise she doesn't have a penis. Not as a sexual organ but as a way of relating to the father figure
• both create negative feelings, powerlessness and missing something
• the child must overcome these issues in order to become a 'normal' member of society

The Uncanny

• relates to the visual world
• something that is simultaneously unnatural yet familiar
• when the barrier between fantasy and reality break down
• analogies between the psychology and aesthetics

Freudian Models

• id, ego and super ego
• id - instinctual, fulfilling needs as biological beings
• ego - memories, thoughts, individual personality of ourselves
• super ego - slightly outside of ourselves,  represents the parts of ourselves in relation to others (social order/language) placed upon us by society
• unconscious, preconscious and conscious
• unconscious - selfish ideas
• preconscious - memories, natural thoughts
• conscious - opinions and thoughts

Jacques Lacan

• 1960's 70's presented his own brand of psychoanalysis
• he reconceptualised Freud's findings through the theoretical model of structural linguistics
• he said the development of the psyche is entwined within the structures of language
• brings back psychoanalysis a 'return to Freud'

The Mirror Stage

• the childs recognition of itself in reflection (reflection in object/other people) 
• signifies a split or alienation
• rivalry - while the child may recognise its own image it is still limited in movement and dexterity
• resulting in a formation of ego which aids a reconciliation of body and image
• captation - the process by which the child is at once absorbed and repelled by the image of itself

Lacanian Unconscious

• 'the unconscious is structured like a language'
• the unconscious in the discourse of the Other
• highlighting the ways in which meaning is encoded within linguistic signs
• unconscious details are encoded in various ways as they slip into consciousness

Symptom

• a word is used to represent something else which possess similar characteristics
• symptoms are translated elements of unconscious material adopting a metaphor style coding

Lacanian Phallus

• not a biological organ but a symbol of power attained through it association.
• lack - the potential/actual lack
• masculinity/femininity are not biological definitions but symbolic positions
• provides a 'speaking position in culture'

The 'orders' of reality

• the real - that which cannot by symbolised, where our most basic sleeves exist
• the imaginary - the order which exists before symbols, where the ego is born and continues to develop
• the symbolic - exists outside of ourselves

Pschoanalysis and Art Criticism/theory

• subjectivity - what it is to be human, motivations, desires, the unconscious. To help us understand why things are as they are. to helps us understand the designers motivation
• model-based theory - models provide a tool for categorising or breaking down individual and groups of design work

Edward Bernays

• 'the godfather of PR'
• applied knowledge of psychoanalysis, unconscious desire to advertising and PR campaigns
• revolutionised advertising by applying manipulation techniques
• promoting lifestyle rather than the product

Conclusion

• psychoanalysis provides us with the definition of the unconscious
• a definition of subjectivity outside of logic and rationality
• a tool to help understand motivations of art works
• a tool to help understand how art and design affects us