Aesthetic experience

Abstract

An initial clinical question, 'Why does an analysand talk about his/her relationship with an aesthetic object?' opens an investigation into the nature of aesthetic experience. Three principal aspects of the psychoanalytic approach are presented: sublimation, a Freudian concept concerning the vicissitudes of the drives; reparation, a Kleinian concept linked to depressive anxiety; and transformation, a concept of object-relations theory about primitive ego-states. The article discusses the psychic function of aesthetic feelings in mastering anxiety as related to ego, id and superego. The transformation of the experience of passivity is a common link underlying these aspects. Such transformation relies on tolerating ambiguous and contrary feelings within the self, fostered by contact with an aesthetic object. This balance can, however, be upset: two excessive forms of aesthetic experience ensue, namely, fascination and bewitchment. The first belongs to the experience of awe; the second can lead to claustrophobic anxiety. The initial clinical question requires an elaboration of aesthetic transference, a variant of the narcissistic transference, whereby the analysand invites the analyst to share his/her internal state as a common unspoken object.

Aesthetic Experience Anchors Ego Identity Formation

“…Freud asserted that artworks reveal the phantasy shared between artist and audience. During the sublimation of phantasy, viewers obtain a deep level of pleasure that adjusted their ego identification [36]. Winnicott [37,38] stated that the origin of artistic creation is traced back to infancy, and infants differentiate themselves from others based on the first not-me possession created when a transitional object substitutes for their mother.…”

“…In addition, the moderating effect created by the transitional object subsequently expands into artistic activities among human society. Similarly, Bollas argued that the fulfilment of needs during infancy, where individuals explore their existence and self-significance, is the origin of aesthetic experience [36]. However, regarding the fine arts merely as a reflection of original experience or self-expression overlooks the aspects of initiatives and plasticity of the ego.…”