51社区

Abstract

Art serves many purposes in Western society; however, its most profound contributions are largely being forgotten. Today鈥檚 artists are confronted by two dominant trends; the first proposes that anything may be called art, that everyone may create 鈥渁rt.鈥� The second trend would restrict art to an increasingly elite realm of insiders and specialists. Both directions, however, rely upon the marketplace for validation.
Against the background of these two trends, this dissertation utilizes depth psychological, archetypal, mythological, philosophical, historical and neuroscientific perspectives to reimagine the nature of artistic expression, and ultimately its value. Primary areas of inquiry concern whether art and artists have a 鈥渕ission鈥� in the contemporary world, and how forces once called 鈥渇ate鈥� interact with what is commonly known as 鈥渇ree will鈥� in the lives and work of artists.
In our current 鈥渃ulture of control,鈥� the concept of free will is generally unquestioned. Our insistence on the existence of free will acts as an apotropaic device against forces out of our control, the forces of fate. Today, psychologists and neuroscientists are posing fresh challenges to the notion of free will. These challenges impact the arts in powerful ways; as this dissertation asks: if the artist does not 鈥渇reely鈥� create his/her work, then how does the creative process actually work? Why does it even exist? Answers to these critical questions of creative processes are offered.
C.G. Jung writes about the insistent demands upon the artist of the autonomous 鈥渄aimon鈥� or 鈥済enius.鈥� Inspired by philosophers from Plato to Henry Corbin, archetypal psychologist James Hillman proposes that 鈥渋mages鈥� themselves direct the image-maker鈥攊t is their expression and their needs that supersede those of the artist. Image making thus becomes an act of soul-making not only for the artist, but primarily for psyche/soul.
This inquiry seeks to reawaken the artist to these insights, to the mythological roots of art (mythopoesis), and ultimately to the most meaningful and critical aspects of his/her vocation.