Attempt at a psychoanalytic approach to "concept art"

In a short review the development of psychoanalytic explorations in art from "pathography to psychobiography" is given. Chasseguet-Smirgel's critique on a limitation to looking for connections between the biography of the artist and his work is discussed as well as Eissler's proposal of an "endopoetic approach". The characteristic of most of the psychoanalytic publications is their orientation on the psychoanalytic conflict-model. New impulses to psychoanalytic interpretations of art were given by ego-psychology. The author tries to understand the artistic creations of "Concept Art" which appeared in the late Sixties, by the psychoanalytic model. It can be shown that especially in these productions which made their theme the "idea" and which are characterised by a degree of abstractness which had not been known before the ego-psychological approach seems to be the most adequate one. Ego performances manifest themselves in these works of concept art at an extreme intensity while the conflictual material of the id is reduced to a minimum or is totally eliminated. The concept artist is not only showing us a mirror of the pathology of our time, but is also giving us ways to overcome these problems. The hypothesis is formulated that concept art is giving us responses to three main problems of our time which is makes it's theme and by doing so tries to solve: it is dealing with the fear of a common psychic disintegration, especially with the danger of outbreaks of aggressive impulses. Moreover single central ego-functions are demonstrated by the concepts to the recipient and he has (actively) to discover them. Lastly the communicative function of art is formulated in concept art in such a radical way as has not been known before. In some of the artistic concepts the recipient is not only meant to reflect upon them, but is also forced to communicative actions.