Salvador Dali's Paranoiac-Critical Method

Right now, I am at the Library of Congress reading through a book titled Beyond Pleasure by Margaret Iverson. The book has given me a great deal of insight into the ways that Surrealists affected post-Freudian psychoanalysts. Although the majority of this information is unrelated to my topic, I have still found some valuable information.

For one, both Andre Breton and painter Salvador Dali had close personal relationships with psychoanalysts in the 1930s. Freud radically affected Surrealist art, and, in turn, various Surrealists influenced psychoanalysis. According to Iverson,

The 1930s were particularly fertile years for exchanges between the Surrealists and the then newly qualified psychiatrist [Jacques Lacan].

The book then goes into the ways that Jacques Lacan and Salvador Dali worked together and influenced each other, with Lacan's Four Fundamental Concepts of Psychoanalysis at the center of the discussion. Now, my research does not focus on ways that Surrealists affected psychoanalysis, but, instead, the other way around. Luckily for me, chapter 3 of the book (titled "Paranoia") discusses a book by Dali that is extremely relevant to my research: The Tragic Myth of the Angelus of Millet. Dali's book discusses "an apparently banal rural scene showing a peasant couple pausing in a field for evening prayer" (page 40 of Beyond Pleasure). The painting, of course, is Jean-Francois Millet's The Angelus. The first thing that caught my attention was Iverson's description of the work in a section called "Paranoid Criticism" on page 42, chapter 3:

The rigorous exposition of the argument in Dali's Tragic Myth, the clarity of its prose, and its scholastic division into three sections and subsections mimes, I think, Freud's literary mastery. In particular, frequent reference is made, in both style and content, to The Interpretation of Dreams. Dali freely uses the language of dream interpretation, including such terms as "latent content," "condensation," and "displacement."

Iverson's discussion of the work is exactly what I hoped to find in my research: a confirmation of the theory that Freud did in fact affect Surrealist art. In this case, Iverson demonstrates that even Surrealist art-criticism was influenced by Freud. After researching further into Dali's book and reading some excerpts, I can say that I agree with Iverson's opinion. Furthermore, Dali's interpretation of the painting is intriguing: he argues that instead of praying with the angelus, the peasant couple is actually mourning the loss of a child and experiencing sexual frustration.

As I wrote in a previous post about one of David Gascoyne's poems, various Surrealist art-works seem to have been written with the intention of being interpreted from a psychoanalytic viewpoint. Now, it also becomes clear that Surrealists themselves interpreted works of art from a psychoanalytic perspective, just as Freud did when he interpreted Oedipus Rex and formulated his idea of the Oedipus Complex. In fact, Dali had a name for this type of art criticism, which doubled as a Surrealist technique when creating art as well: the paranoiac-critical method (mentioned on page 40 of Beyond Pleasure), which encouraged both the artist and the critic to see various ideas and objects in a single image.

Goodbye Phoenix, Hello Washington!

I am finally in Washington DC, staying in Georgetown with an extremely generous family whose child attends BASIS Washington.

Tomorrow, I plan on visiting the Library of Congress and attaining my Reader Identification Card which will allow me to use the Library's research areas. Furthermore, I hope to get some valuable research done. I plan on taking a look at a book called Beyond Pleasure: Freud, Lacan, Barthes by Margaret Iverson which discusses the influence of psychoanalysis on Surrealist aesthetics as well as the personal relationships between various psychoanalysts and Surrealist artists. If I have time, I would also like to read through Freud and the Humanities by Peregrine Horden which analyzes, as the title suggests, the ways in which psychoanalysis has affected the arts and humanities. As the weeks go by, I will surely continue my research with the aid of many more books.

Later on in the week, I also plan on visiting the National Gallery of Art where admission is always free. Specifically, I intend to observe and analyze Rene Magritte's "The Blank Signature." For details on my analysis methodology, take a look at my Senior Project Proposal; however, keep in mind that this methodology will be used in the context of discovering a connection between the specific work of art and Freud's theories.

In the next few days, I will probably experience my first day interning at Burton Marinkovich Fine Art. I have already spoken with Ms. Marinkovich about the internship and will begin working at the institute very soon.

The next several weeks will be very busy for me, so I hope everything goes well! Please wish me luck and comment below if you feel the urge. :)

Freud's Theories on Sexuality and Their Influences on Surrealist Poetry

Today, I will continue my analysis of David Gascoyne's poem "And the Seventh Dream is the Dream of Isis" in terms of Freudian theory. Specifically, I will discuss how Freud's theories of sexuality (and especially the sexuality of children) influenced the poem.

Most of us have heard at least a glimmer of Freud's unconventional and sometimes disturbing theories, from the Oedipus Complex to the sexuality of infants. Moving on from The Interpretation of Dreams, I will begin to take reference from another one of Freud's major works, Three Essays on the Theory of Sexuality (sometimes referred to as The Three Contributions to Sexual Theory), specifically the second essay, "The Infantile Sexuality," which focuses on the sexuality of infants and children. Simply to point out the fact that Freud did in fact believe in the existence of sexuality in children, I will use a quote from the essay mentioned above, in a section entitled Partial Impulses:

 Small children, whose attention has once been directed to their own genitals—usually by masturbation—are wont to progress in this direction without outside interference, and to develop a vivid interest in the genitals of their playmates.

Now, how does this play into Gascoyne's poem? Did this portion of Freud's theories really have any impact on Surrealist art? In Part III of "The Seventh Dream," the narrator vividly states that

the trunks of trees burst open to release streams of milklittle girls stick photographs of genitals to the windows of their homesprayerbooks in churches open themselves at the death serviceand virgins cover their parents' beds with tealeaves

Of course this excerpt almost self-evidently demonstrates a Freudian influence. Both Freud's thoughts and Gascoyne's poem elaborate on a small child's fascination with the genitals. But Freud's influences on the poem go beyond the obvious: it appears that Gascoyne may have even written the poem in a way that would have been easily analyzed from a psychoanalytic perspective. After all, trunks of trees releasing milk would have almost certainly been analyzed by Freud as a sexual symbol, with milk representing the nourishment of one's mother (let us not forget the Oedipus Complex). In fact, the tree releasing milk is more of a dream-symbol than an example of the literary technique known as "imagery." Furthermore, the poem's title even implies that everything in the poem is the recollection of a dream.

This is a Surrealist painting that also includes references to Freudian theories on sexuality

And the poem contains even more disturbing imagery! The following lines are found in Part II of the poem.

she was standing at the window clothed only in a ribbonshe was burning the eyes of snails in a candleshe was eating the excrement of dogs and horses

Again, the first line is a reference to sexuality, but what on earth was Gascoyne thinking when he wrote the final lines of this excerpt? To help explain, let us use another quote from Freud's work, this time from the first essay, entitled "The Sexual Aberrations" in a section titled The Sexually Immature and Animals as Sex Objects. Freud references

sexual relations with animals—a thing not at all rare among farmers—where the sexual attraction goes beyond the limits of the species.

Furthermore, he describes (again in the second essay, "The Infantile Sexuality") how 

children become voyeurs and are zealous spectators at the voiding of urine and feces of others.

These quotes by Freud may have had an impact on Gascoyne, who seems to combine the sexuality of children with the bestiality sometimes found in adults. For Freud, although these acts were probably rare most of the time, unconscious thoughts about these acts were frequently found in his patients' dreams. Either way, Gascoyne seems to be transferring an example-dream to poetry.

This leads me to my final point. It is obvious that Freud influenced Gascoyne's poem in more ways than one; however, these influences do not occur only in the details of the poem, but also in the composition of it (and many other Surrealist poems) as well. Instead of using traditional composition (ie, writing it in terms so that a literary critic can analyze it with regards to literary techniques), Gascoyne uses a radical new mindset to compose the poem (and I am not referring to automatic writing, even if that may have played into its composition). Instead of writing the poem with literary critics in mind, he writes the poem with psychoanalysts in mind. Gascoyne did not focus on accomplishing literary techniques so much as he focused on composing a flurry of free associations. This is one of Freud's principal influences on Surrealist poetry.

And the Seventh Dream is the Dream of Isis

Today I will analyze a Surrealist poem in a Freudian context. I will attempt to discover some Freudian influences on the poem itself, whether those influences be directly from Freud or indirectly from Breton's theories. The poem I have chosen is "And the Seventh Dream is the Dream of Isis" by David Gascoyne.

Throughout the poem there is the obvious presence of juxtaposition, an indirect influence from Freud through Breton's writings. Take, for example, these few lines found towards the end of part 3 of the poem:

large quantities of rats disguised as pigeons
were sold to various customers from neighbouring towns
who were adepts at painting gothic letters on screens
and at tying up parcels with pieces of grass

This excerpt exemplifies the Surrealist conception of juxtaposition perfectly. There is the juxtaposition of the basic shop-exchange with the product of a rat disguised as a pigeon. There is also the juxtaposition of the simple mailing of a letter with the act of tying up the letter with strands of grass. These juxtapositions help us identify Freud's influences on Surrealism in an actual work of art, instead of just the theories of Breton. As Gascoyne put Surrealist theories into practice, he also allowed Freud's influences on the movement to become a reality.

David Gascoyne

But Freud's influences on this poem go beyond the indirect. Using the same excerpt that was quoted above, we can also begin to understand how Freud's study of dreams influenced the poem. According to Freud in chapter 6.A.I. of the Interpretation of Dreams

Starting from an element of a dream, the path of association leads to a number of dream-thoughts; and from a single dream-thought to several elements of a dream.

In this section of his work, Freud describes something that is somewhat obvious to the average dreamer: dreams can flow in a very nonsensical way, but a certain amount of logic can be derived from this nonsense. Let us use the poem as an example of this (and therefore an example of Freud's influence on the poem). The poem moves from the unusual shop-exchange to the peculiar daily life of the customers. Although rats dressed as pigeons is an outrageous image, the poem still flows in a somewhat logical manner: that is, from a customer making a purchase to a customer mailing a letter. This type of rapid succession happens throughout the poem, with equally remarkable details; and although the details are remarkable, just as the details of a dream are, the succession of these unique occurrences follows a logical path, just as Freud describes. In the same way that one dream-thought will inevitably lead to several dream elements, Gascoyne's descriptions inevitably lead to other, somewhat related descriptions.

So far, we have analyzed this poem and discovered that Freud did in fact have some major influences on it. In my following posts, I will attempt to elaborate on this poem and perhaps discover more Freudian influences.

Superficial Associations and Juxtaposition

I have already attempted to draw a parallel between Sigmund Freud's theory of free associations and Andre Breton's theories of Surrealism and automatism. Next, I will try to prove that Freud's "superficial associations" became a major influence on the Surrealist conception of juxtaposition.

To begin, we must understand what Freud meant by superficial associations. According to Freud, superficial associations were all things that connected various free associations (ie, emerging ideas or images with no interrelationship of meaning). Superficial associations can be anything like "assonance, verbal ambiguity, and temporal coincidence" (again from chapter 7.A. of the Interpretation of Dreams). Thus, Freud believed that there were connectors between seemingly contradictory thoughts that followed one after another. He called these connectors superficial associations.

Now, we must also understand Breton's theory of juxtaposition in art. Quoting another poet by the name of Pierre Reverdy, Breton states towards the beginning of his Manifesto that

The image is a pure creation of the mind. It cannot be born from a comparison but from a juxtaposition of two more or less distant realities. The more the relationship between the two juxtaposed realities is distant and true, the stronger the image will be -- the greater its emotional power and poetic reality...

Although Breton used these words in a way radically different from Reverdy's own poetry, this Surrealist conception of juxtaposition is still important to this topic. In essence, Breton decided that the juxtaposition or the visible and intentional contradiction of two images could create a very powerful and unconscious emotional reaction.

"This is not a pipe."

Here is where we draw the parallel between Freud's superficial associations and Breton's juxtapositions: as free associations are to juxtaposed images, superficial associations are to juxtapositions themselves. Allow me to explain. Free associations are not simply ideas, but ideas that flow in succession with no apparent relation to each other; however, there is a secret unconscious relation between them, and that is the superficial association. In the same way, the images that Breton describes cannot stand on their own, but must be juxtaposed with images that are radically different or contradictory; however, there is something that connects these two distant images, and that is the juxtaposition that Breton describes. In both cases, the connection is unconscious (whether the connection be an in-dream superficial association or an artistic juxtaposition). Breton further explains the unconscious aspect of juxtaposition in a section entitled "Against Death":

In my opinion, it is erroneous to claim that "the mind has grasped the relationship" of two realities in the presence of each other. First of all, it has seized nothing consciously.

It also seems necessary to note that Breton implicitly refers to Freud's associations in this very paragraph in order to support his argument. Also, something that specifically caught my attention is a statement made by Freud, which may have influenced Breton's intentional misinterpretation of Pierre Reverdy's beliefs. Freud states

Whenever one psychic element is connected with another by an obnoxious and superficial association, there exists also a correct and more profound connection between the two....

This single statement may have hatched the idea in Breton's head that there are certain truths hidden unconsciously in various juxtapositions.

It seems foolish to deny that Freud affected the Surrealist theory of juxtaposition. From Breton's implicit mention of Freud's "associations" to the Manifesto of Surrealism's synthesis of Reverdy's poetic beliefs and Freud's psychoanalysis, it becomes obvious that Freud had a major influence on the foundational Surrealist theory and technique known as juxtaposition.

Internship at Burton Marinkovich Fine Art

Yesterday, I received a call from my college counselor announcing that I will be able to experience an internship at an art gallery in Washington DC! I leave on February 25th and will be working at Burton Marinkovich Fine Art in Dupont Circle for about 15 hours a week, which does not include time spent on my senior project. As I continue my research, I will be lodging in Georgetown with a very generous family whose child attends BASIS Washington DC.

When I applied for the internship, my future tasks were described accordingly:

"Student volunteers assist with clerical and administrative tasks that support the department's education programs. Typical activities include preparing materials for art projects, data entry, photocopying, collating, filing, and assisting during teacher programs."

Dupont Circle

I will also have access to the Library of Congress (the largest library in the world) and the National Gallery of Art, which will both be extremely useful to my research. I truly cannot describe in words how grateful I am for this amazing opportunity.

Free Associations and Automatism

Since I will not be visiting Washington DC for another few weeks, I believe that it is appropriate to begin my research by visiting local libraries and museums. This week, I have chosen to focus on Surrealist poetry and its adoption of automatic writing.

To begin, automatism (that is, the process of writing, painting, drawing, or speaking automatically without conscious thought) was originally adopted from Sigmund Freud's psychoanalytical techniques; however, Freud referred to these unconscious flows of thought as "free associations." He explains this idea towards the end of chapter 7.A. in his Interpretation of Dreams:

"It has been considered an unmistakable sign of free association...if the emerging ideas (or images) appear to be connected...without inter-relationship of meaning"

For Freud, free associations were flows of thoughts or images that occurred in succession with no apparent connection to one another. The famous psychoanalyst frequently encouraged his patients to speak freely without interruption so that he could interpret their dreams and analyze their respective mental states, a practice that some Surrealist artists would have perhaps named "automatic speaking." In fact, in Chapter 6.E., Freud explicitly states that he is compelled to use a technique which "is based on the dreamer's [free] associations...."


This background now brings me to my point: Freud's theory of free associations drastically influenced Surrealist automatism, one of the most common Surrealist techniques. In a way that sounds eerily similar to Freud's description of free associations, Andre Breton defines Surrealism early on in his Manifesto of Surrealism as

"Surrealism, n. Psychic automatism in its pure state, by which one proposes to express -- verbally, by means of the written word, or in any other manner -- the actual functioning of thought. Dictated by the thought, in the absence of any control exercised by reason, exempt from any aesthetic or moral concern."

Breton defines Surrealism as expression of thought without the control of reason, while Freud states that free associations lack any interrelationship of meaning. With these two definitions taken side-by-side, and also with the knowledge that Breton was a huge fan of Freud, it seems safe to conclude that Surrealism began as a movement that sought to project its members' "free associations" into the realm of art, specifically by means of "psychic automatism." It now becomes obvious that Freud did in fact have a major influence on the techniques of various Surrealist artists, especially those who used automatism in writing or painting.

In my next posts, I will use a Surrealist poem as an example to emphasize my point. I will also attempt to discover a link between the Surrealist idea of "juxtaposition" and Freud's "superficial associations."