Question

describe 3 examples of the influence of Freudian thought on modern art: The Metamorphosis," and "Un Chien Andalou," directed by Buñuel and Dalí. For each example, identify the medium, describe the content, and discuss in detail the form.

Answer 1

Note: This response is in UK English, please paste the response to MS Word and you should be able to spot discrepancies easily. You may elaborate the answer based on personal views or your classwork if necessary.

(Answer) Sigmund Freud divided the human mind into three sections. They are the id, ego and the superego. The id and ego are thoughts that are primitive, feral and instinctual. These are primitive human instincts that are generated from the unconscious and sometimes the sub-conscious mind. Superego is when human thoughts are refined through consciousness. These thoughts are representative of acute thinking, wisdom, intelligence etc. In other words, the human consciousness sieves out primitive mentality and chaotic thought in order to present our thoughts to be more evolved.

Several surrealists read about Freud’s work in his book titled “The Interpretation of Dreams” and incorporated his theories into their art. Surrealism is based on the theory that in the unconscious mind, things are jumbled up and are imprints of our instincts and experiences. Therefore, a telephone would appear with a lobster, like the famous “telephone lobster” sculpture by Dali or other unusual objects would appear with strange things in order to make it seem surreal or eerie.

The films “Un Chien Andalou” and “The Metamorphosis” are films with strange plots. In these films men turn into bugs, eye-balls are cut off and other flinch-worthy scenes are juxtaposed with inconsequential and non-sensical themes. These scene and art form are basically representations of the convoluted ideas of our unconscious mind or dreams. The medium for all of these pieces are our dreams and the content is whimsical, eerie, senseless and of course surreal.