The call for papers for Psychoanalysis, Art & the Occult at the Freud Museum, London is officially going out:
Vanessa Sinclair and Carl Abrahamsson present:
Psychoanalysis, Art & the Occult: A Multi-disciplinary Conference
30 April – 1 May, 2016 at The Freud Museum, London
In 1953, psychoanalyst and anthropologist George Devereux published a collection of works from various psychoanalysts entitled Psychoanalysis and the Occult, which explored the intersection between the practice of psychoanalysis and occult phenomena, including contributions from Freud himself on ‘Premonitions and Chance’, ‘Psychoanalysis and Telepathy’, and ‘The Occult Significance of Dreams’. Additionally, Freud’s paper ‘Notes on the Unconscious’ was published in the journal of the Society for Psychical Research in 1912. Since that time, however, the majority of psychoanalysts
willing to traverse occult terrain have worked within a Jungian framework, as the topic itself was central to the split between Freud and Jung, with the former insisting the burgeoning field of psychoanalysis be scientific and not spiritualist. However, Freud maintained an interest in occult phenomena longer than many of his followers would like to believe, and it may be time to explore this aspect of his work further.
Until now, the intersection of psychoanalysis and the occult has perhaps been most richly explored through the arts. Most well known are the Surrealists, who espoused Freud’s theories, and who were fascinated by the unconscious, dreams, synchronicity, automatic writing and chance encounters. These themes and methods are also featured in the work of the Symbolists, Futurists, Dadaists, Fluxists and Actionists, as well as in the work of avant-garde artists of our day.
The purpose of this conference is to bring together a diverse group of psychoanalysts, occultists and artists to share their views on human subjectivity and culture. Through an investigation of the unique modes and methodologies utilized by each individual practitioner, we may explore human experience via the convergence of domains that rarely speak to one another yet often work in similar and complementary ways.
Please send an abstract of 300 words or less and a short biographical statement by December 1, 2015, to: sinclairvanessa@gmail.com
