The Sublimatory Function of Art as a Way of Processing Early Psychological Trauma in the Work of Louise Bourgeois

Student: Ponkratova Elena

Educational Programme: Psychoanalysis and Psychoanalytical Psychotherapy (Master)

Year of Graduation: 2018

This paper examines psychoanalytic concepts that link psychoanalysis and art, fantasy and symbol formation processes, sublimatory mechanisms, the impact of early psychological trauma on the development of the individual. It also explores the work of the American sculptor Louise Bourgeois from the psychoanalytic point of view.  The major focus is on the study of such method of dealing with early traumatic experiences as the artistic process, and its influence on the life and creativity of the artist. The paper presents new research by modern psychoanalyst theorists and their views on the relationship between early psychic experience and art.

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