본문 바로가기
  • Home

Psychoanalytic Redefinition of ‘Surrealism Object’ - Primarily Focus on Alberto Giacometti’s Early Works in 1930’s -

안소연 1

1홍익대학교

Accredited

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this study is to redefine ‘Surrealism object’ based on psychoanalysis, primarily focusing on Alberto Giacometti’s(1901-1966) works in 1930’s. The reasons that Giacometti’s early works were in the spotlight were that several art theorists such as Hal Foster, Rosalind Krauss, Mignon Nixon and etc redefined surrealism art from modern point of view based on Giacometti’s ‘Surrealism object.’ Hence, while redefining the artistic recognition of ‘Surrealism object’ in which Giacometti played a main role, this study attempted to understand how it related to modern art. This thesis aimed to primarily redefine the fundamental concepts which surrealism implicated based on the framework of psychoanalysis by analyzing comparatively the surrealism of Georges Bataille which represented ‘desublimation’ in the contrast with surrealism movement around Andre Breton. Furthermore, surrealistic theological categories which Foster and Krauss redefined based on Sigmund Freud’s and Jacques Lacan’s psychoanalysis were to be examined in this thesis. Based on the modern redefinition of such surrealism, the concrete analysis on ‘surrealism object’ around Giacometti was conducted and it is meaningful that ‘surrealism object’ was deeply connected with modern art based on the framework of psychoanalysis. Giacometti was infatuated with surrealistic works based on ‘subconsciousness’ and ‘fantasy’ which did not sculpture real objects - the fantasy of castration and the fantasy of intrauterine existence in Freud’s the primal fantasy-, participating in a surrealistic group for a short period of time: from 1930 to 1935. It was concreted as the identity of sex that he showed, and the desire, suppression, loss, recover, and the instinct of life and death which existed inside from The Spoon Woman produced in 1926 to the end of surrealistic work of The Invisible Object in 1934. The surrealistic subject seen on Giacometti’s sculpture was based on his trauma fantasy equivalent to Freud’s ‘basic fantasy. As several articles written by him in surrealistic publications such as <Minotaure> during his time as a surrealist could prove the facts, the fantasy of his childhood related to mother’s body represented double consciousness; destructive aggressiveness on women’s bodies and women’s body as the subject of the desire. Such fantasy of his childhood seems to be deeply related to Oedipus complex on the Freud’s point of view. As his double attitudes towards women were reflected in his works, Giacometti’s Oedipus complex was not a common three-cornered relation: father, mother and himself, Giacometti, but it seemed to be twisted two relations: himself and double mothers. As such relations with objects can be redefined by Melanie Klein’s part-object concept, Mignon Nixon understood the image of ‘part-object’ observed in Giacometti’s ‘surrealism object’ in comparison with Louise Bourgeois. As ‘part-object’ has been explained by Gilles Deleuze, Felix Guattari, and Krauss, it is notifiable that everyone suggested Giacometti’s <Suspended Ball> as an example. It is meaningful that this study attempted to explore psychoanalysis, focusing on ‘surrealism object’ represented in Giacometti’s early works. Since surrealists led by Breton are based on Freud’s theory, they hoped that their surrealism were considered as simple love and liberation movements, remaining in the categories of automatism which emphasized liberal aspects of subconsciousness. However, new interpreters of surrealism who belonged to Breton’s group around Paris after 1920’s expressed the uncanny about trauma experiences rather than romantic love and pointed out the death impulse close to suppression rather than subconscious liberation. In addition, it showed how ‘surrealism object’ are connected with modern art through Klein’s theory which revealed issues Freud’sand Lacan’s psychoanalysis had failed to notice. Therefore, as it is the redefinition of surrealism excluded in modern art history, it provides sufficient evidences to achieve an honor in art history that surrealistic art can be an important reference point in postmodernism. Hal Foster redefined surrealism based on the concept of Freud’s “Uncanny”, and Rosalind Krauss redefined by the concept of Bataille’s “l’informe(formless)” and Lacan’s theory. As Mignon Nixon conducted a comparative analysis between surrealism and modern art by Klein’s model, such discussions suggest the possibility that surrealism object can be interpreted by various psychoanalysis theories and it is suggestive it can be continuously linked with modern art as a reference point.

Citation status

* References for papers published after 2023 are currently being built.