| Jo
Bowen |
 |
This
is the introduction to a Thesis
which is particular to a student who has been dual trained in psychiatry
and fine art. Here, in the introduction to her Thesis, Jo outlines
an approach to not simply an understanding of Helen Chadwick’s
work but a specific positioning of an aspect of it through Kleinian
psychoanalytic theory. Through the identification of the cameo as
a repeated and important motif in selected works, Jo develops an
approach to the interpretation of the cameo space which encourages
us to understand its meaning as determined an unconscious psychological
state arising from the mother/child relationship. It is characterized
both by idealization and a depressive positioning and, if I might
speculate, an enduring tension around separation as against the
containment suggested by the cameo shape. Certainly, the works considered
in this Thesis present the complex psychological factors at play
in Chadwick’s work. It also demonstrates how a new interpretation
of this aspect of her iconography (the cameo), might serve to further
understand the work through its motivation and signification. KM |
| The
following is excerpted from Jo's writing: |
|
|
| A
Kleinian exploration of idealisation and the depressive position
within Helen Chadwick’s cameo works |
 |
| Introduction;
Bibliography |
| Introduction
My project
in this thesis is to examine how the space of the cameo[1]
can be used to position the body and consequently the way we map
our identities within a contemporary fine art context. My main
interest, linked to my dual identity as a psychiatrist and a fine
artist[2],
is in a Kleinian psychoanalytic understanding of the use of the
cameo as a space of idealisation[3].
Aspects of the ideal relate strongly to the traditional remit
of the cameo (as, for example, in ever-popular cameo jewellery
portraying gods or beauties[4])
and idealisation, as an unconscious psychological state, has special
relevance to Kleinian psychoanalytic theory in which the early
relationship of the baby to the mother is focused upon:
"...there are two poles to Klein's theory both involving
the construction of a phantasy world. The first is the self or
ego's relationship, through phantasy, to the external world of
objects at first seen as the mother's breast which includes other
part-objects, .... These objects are either idealised or denigrated
through the mediation of love or hate. The second pole is the
self's relationship with its inner world containing, most importantly,
the baby's anxiety[5]."
Therefore, within this theory, the issues of whether the baby
can overcome its feelings of hatred or anger which arise in relation
to the loved object (usually the mother) are considered centrally
important as to whether the baby can mature in a healthy manner.
This is thought to be achieved by moving towards what Klein called
the 'depressive position'[6]
where there is a sense of reparation. Whether the baby can relate
to the whole of the mother (the 'whole object', in Kleinian terms)
and whether the mother can offer a containment of the baby's strong
often anxious emotions are also key factors allowing positive
development. In consequence, attached to the notion of 'the ideal'
are the intra-psychic areas of reparation, wholeness and containment
and these areas will be given attention in my unravelling of the
modern signification of the ideal within the cameo space.
For the purpose of my Kleinian enquiry I have chosen to examine
the cameo space in the work of the late Helen Chadwick, an artist
well known for the way in which she challenges stereotyped perceptions
of the body in elegant and unconventional forms[7].
My choice is determined by two issues which are directly relevant
to this artist's use of the cameo. The first is that, within the
development of her work, Chadwick used the cameo space in an increasingly
overt but, as yet, mostly unanalysed way[8].
What is tantalising, especially considering the recent intense
interest in her work, is why her use of the cameo form has not
been accorded any major critical attention. In the time-honoured
psychoanalytic tradition could this be interpreted as some form
of communal critical denial, perhaps even stemming from the invisible
power of the cameo space itself? To illustrate this denial let
us consider that three of the last six major pieces of Chadwick's
work overtly contained the cameo or associated geometrical forms
and yet, in the recent retrospective exhibition at the Barbican
Gallery, London[9],
which even used a type of cameo format self portrait on its catalogue
cover, ("Vanity", Helen Chadwick 1986), none of the
critical contributions paid more than lip service to the issue
of the cameo space in her work. To emphasise this further, even
the effect of her last unfinished works actually called 'Cameos'[10]
has not yet been enough to have promoted this theme within the
literature on her work in general.The second reason for my choice
of Chadwick is because of the questions her art objects pose relating
to the issue of human identity and the assimilation of difference
which, according to Marina Warner are about: "the beautiful
and the pleasurable, the permitted and the forbidden, the poisonous
and the nourishing, which catch up the beholder and make us rethink
ourselves[11]."
These areas are profoundly relevant to both our identity as can
be understood within a Kleinian paradigm as well as to a consideration
of the space of the ideal. What, we may then ask, is being assimilated
within the cameo contained 'ideal' in Chadwick's work? Where within
the cameo spaces of Chadwick is the opposite of the ideal - that
is, the non-ideal or denigrated state? These questions are at
the heart of my enquiry which will begin with a survey of the
situation of the cameo within Chadwick's oeuvre, (in order to
affirm the quintessential nature of aspects of the cameo to Chadwick's
work). This will be followed by an in-depth investigation of two
later contrasting sets of works which use the cameo as a dominant
motif and theme.
However, before launching off into the enquiry it is important
to mention possible methodological limitations of this Kleinian
analysis. The first is to question the validity of any (let alone
the single Kleinian perspective) analytic approach to Chadwick's
work when this artist was so clearly influenced by a rich tapestry
of philosophical and sociological research[12].
Whilst acknowledging this, it can be argued that such a criticism
could with validity be applied to any chosen theoretical approach
and might thus act as a deterrent to any deeper understanding
of her work. It might also threaten, in a more general way, major
art theory critiques such as the celebrated example of Freud on
Leonardo de Vinci[13].
The second reason to be cautious is to raise issue with the idea
of the cameo as related in any way to the psychological area of
idealisation[14].
This argument could justify an acknowledgement that this thesis
is positioned on original theoretical ground, and, as applied
to Helen Chadwick's use of the cameo in two dimensional art practice,
requires a caveat that this work is limited to a consideration
of the 'cameo space' rather than the concept and usage of the
cameo (e.g. as 'cut gem') in general. This said, it could be counter-argued
that the iconography of traditional cameo jewellery mostly consists
of idealised bodies (e.g. classical gods or beauties) and is still
associated today with precious materials, beauty and sentimentality.
In addition it would appear intuitively reasonable to infer psychological
attribution relating to their continued everyday usage as jewellery,
often as copies, and additionally in their prestigious role as
collectors' pieces[15].
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|
Footnotes
[1]
Cameo: noun -a gem with figure carved in relief ; adj., small and
perfect of its kind Chambers English Dictionary 2003. The traditional
iconography within cameo frames often relate to gods, usually detailing
heads or small mythic scenes (see illustration1, appendix).
[2] I am a fully accredited psychiatrist ( MB BS MRCPsych) as well
as a fine art student
[3] definition idealisation -idealise: v. to regard or represent
as ideal; ideal: perfect, as opposed to the real, imperfect; the
highest conception of anything or its embodiment. Chambers English
Dictionary 2003
[4] Pollitt J.J. Art and Experience in Ancient Greece, CUP 1972.
Evidence of our current level of usage can be seen in terms of the
commercial sale interest on the internet with 97,600 hits in response
to the search 'cameos for sale' on Google 18/11/04
[5] Rosalind Minsky, Psychoanalysis and Gender, p84, Routledge 1996
[6] Rosalind Minsky states that 'in the depressive position the
still helpless baby's anxiety causes depression rather than fear
of attack (persecution). This emotional pain is induced by guilt
caused by anger turned against the self rather than, as before,
against someone in the external world. Guilt has replaced hate or
blame'. In Klein, phantasy and the mother, p89-90 in Psychoanalysis
and gender, Routledge, 1996
[7] Helen Chadwick, Effluvia, Preface (Catalogue), Serpentine Gallery
1994
[8] Marina Warner, cultural theorist, writes that this analytic
angle is a 'highly sensitive approach' but states that she has little
to
contribute to Chadwick's rationale for the cameo other than about
'Helen's use of 18th century aesthetics' (personal communication
by e-mail: Jo Bowen with Marina Warner, November 2004 )
[9] Helen Chadwick Retrospective, Barbican Galleries, attended by
Jo Bowen July 31st 2004
[10] A survey of the research archives relating to her work Cameos
did not reveal the exact reasons for her labelling of her work as
such other than her related interest in Victor Vasarely's formal
work and her interest in jewellery and time pieces from the 18th
and 19th centuries : Jo Bowen, research of Helen Chadwick archives,
3/12/04, Henry Moore Institute, Leeds
[11] Marina Warner, preface, Helen Chadwick (catalogue), Barbican
Galleries 2004
[12] It is not possible to find any specific references to seminal
analytic writers in Chadwick's research notes relating to Cameos:
Jo Bowen research of Helen Chadwick archives, Henry Moore Institute,
Leeds, 3/12/04 although it is clear that many of Chadwick's seminal
influences are deeply rooted in analytic theory (e.g. as seen in
one of her influential texts, Downcast Eyes, Martin Jay, 1993)
[13] Richard Wollheim, On Art and the Mind, Freud and the Understanding
of Art, p205, Allen Lane 1973.
[14] & [15] Personal communication by phone 9/12/04: Jo Bowen
to Dr Beartriz Shadour-Sampson, Royal College of Art, London. This
Cameo expert has pointed out that there is no known literature which
suggests that Cameos are linked with a psychological reading -there
are good and bad cameos like anything else. Literature in the field
is exclusively about cameos as collectors pieces, their attributions
and dates. She acknowledges, however, that symbolism and iconographical
details within the cameo may be related to the area of idealisation
or other psychological readings. |
|
Bibliography
Primary
Sources:
Visit to Helen Chadwick retrospective, Barbican Galleries, London
30th July 2004
Research of Archives of Helen Chadwick (with help from archivist,
Victoria Worsley) at Henry Moore Institute (Helen Chadwick archives
) Leeds, 3rd December 2004: reference: Helen Chadwick papers,
Acc No 2003.19, Leeds Museums and Galleries (Henry Moore Institute
Archive)
E-mail and telephone contact (November 2004) with Marina Warner,
London
Telephone contact, 9/12/04, with Dr Beartriz Shadour- Sampson,
Cameo Expert, Royal College of Art, London
British Museum, London (Enlightenment Exhibition) and Victoria
and Albert Museum, London (cameo holdings) visits (November -January
2005)
Secondary Sources:
Books
Adams S. and Robins A. (Eds.) Gendering Landscape Art, MUP 2000
Betterton R., An Intimate Distance, Routledge, London 1996
Diamond J. M., In search of the third chimpanzee, London 1991
English Chambers Dictionary, Cambridge University Press 2003
Frosch S. The Identity Crisis, Modernity, Psychoanalysis and the
self, 1991
Fuller P., Art and Psychoanalysis., Hogarth Press, London 1988
Gombrich E.H., Art and Illusion Phaidon Press 1983
Jay, M., Downcast Eyes, University of California,1993
Jones D., Antique Jewellery, A Shire Book 1988
Kemp M. and Warner M., Spectacular Bodies, Hayward Gallery Publishing
2000
Klein, M., Psychoanalysis and Gender, Routledge,1996
Klein M., Envy and Gratitude Tavistock,London1957
Klein, M., Our Adult World and other Essays, Heinemann, London
1963
Klein M. Love, Guilt and Reparation, Vintage 1988
Minsky R., Psychoanalysis and Gender, Routledge 1996
Pollitt J.J. Art and Experience in Ancient Greece CUP 1972
Pollock G., Differencing the Cannon, Routledge 1999
Roudiez L.S.(ed.), Desire in Language , Oxford, Basil Blackwell
1980
Segal H. Melanie Klein. New York: The Viking Press 1980
Sieglohr, U., Focus on the maternal, Nexus, Scarlet Press 1998
Sloan K., Enlightenment, British Museum Publications, 2003
Wilcox C. Up Close and Personal in Jerwood Arts Prize 2000, Crafts
Council 2000
Winnicott, D., Art and Psychoanalysis, Hogarth Press 1988
Wollhein, R., On Art and the Mind, Allen Lane 1973
Articles:
Warner M., In the Garden of Delights, Enfleshings, Aperture 1999
Warner M., In Extremis: Helen Chadwick and the wound of difference,
Stilled Lives (catalogue), Portfolio Gallery 1996
Mellor D.A. The Cameos, Stilled Lives (catalogue) Portfolio Gallery
1994
Ploye, P.M., A note on two important aspects of Kleinian theory,
Projective identification and idealisation, British Journal of
Psychiatry, 145:55-58 (1984) The Royal College of Psychiatrists
(1984)
Buck L. Unnatural Selection, Stilled Lives (catalogue) Portfolio
Gallery 1996
Gray L., Chocolate, embryos,urine -yum! The Independent on Sunday
12 May 2004
Catalogues:
Effluvia (catalogue) Serpentine Gallery 1994
Enfleshings, Chadwick, H., Aperture 1999
Stilled Lives (catalogue) Portfolio Gallery 1996
Helen Chadwick (catalogue) Barbican Galleries 2004
My Personal Museum (catalogue) Henry Moore Institute, Leeds 2004
Websites:
http://www.rcseng.ac.uk/services/museums/wellcome/visiting_html
28/03/04
http:/www.andaman.org/book/chapter34/text34.htm
26/03/04
http:/courses.nus.edu.sg/course/elljwp/klein.htm
09/10/04
http:/www.LifeandLibertyforWomen.org
13/12/04
Videos:
A tribute to Helen Chadwick, Broadcast 3/6/96
The Art of Helen Chadwick, Illuminations 2004 |
| ©
Jo Bowen |
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