Melancholy as an Artistic Position: The Case of Bas Jan Ader

• Published in: PSYART (Gainesville, Fla.) p. 1
• Main Author: Biberman, Efrat
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Gainesville University of Florida 01.01.2021
• Subjects: Art history; Iconography; Narcissism; Psychoanalysis
• ISSN: 1088-5870

[...]can the manner in which art treats melancholy offer us something beyond the taxonomy of the mere representation of the melancholic state of mind? Art, for Freud, offered a way to shed light on certain aspects of the human psyche, for instance in his essay on Leonardo da Vinci's memories, he examines the implications of early childhood experiences on mature life.3 He also used art as a metaphor for psychic mechanisms such as condensation, or simply turned to it from a genuine interest in artistic expression, for instance, in his exploration of Michelangelo's Moses .4 However, despite the many intersections between the two discourses, their connection is not self-evident, and may even invite quit a few essentially ethical questions, especially when it comes to actual artists. In response to this loss, the subject shifts his focus from the external towards the memory of the lost object while rejecting anything that is not related to this loss, including himself. [...]by devoting himself totally to the work of mourning, the subject impoverishes his ego. The melancholic reproaches himself and diminishes his value in relation to others, regardless of how justified his criticism may be. [...]the melancholic also suffers from insomnia and a lack of apatite, which Freud states "is psychologically very remarkable", since it constitutes "an overcoming of the instinct which compels every living thing to cling to life"10.