Freud

As we talked about Freud in class the other day, we discussed Freud’s theory that art is either a substitution or continuation of childhood play of fantasies and tall tales and great imaginations and we do this subconsciously. This turned into the idea that our conscious mind and self is just a very small part of what makes up us. It is like an iceberg, the very small part that shows above the water is our conscious and awake mind and the rest of the iceberg and self is our subconscious. This got me thinking of the relation between this childhood play and the making or creation of our subconscious. Many experts say that our core personality of morals, beliefs, cultural perceptions that shape our daily lives and lives in general are formed at a very young age. This, I believe, is also the creation of our subconscious. At this young age, we are living and creating worlds of fantasy and fantastical imaginings and with these imaginations and beautiful, unbounded minds we are also creating our core personalities and subconscious that in many ways guides us for most of our lives.  From this we create art. When we create art, at least I think, we tap into our subconscious and our deepest desires, wants, secrets, memories, scars, fantasies, and imaginings to put it on paper and express these deep hearts of ours. We are not creating from the very basic conscious mind; we create from our complex subconscious and consequently our childhood. Not only is the art a continuation on or substitution for our play as kids, but it is an active part in creating our subconscious mind and creating our artistic spring.

Do you think all art is subconsciously stemming or do you think some art can simply be superficial and basic?