Freud for Beginners - Amy Lu

So, Freud lived during a period of major psychoanalysis development. From believing in mechanism to developing the Id, Ego and Superego model of the mind, he went through 70 odd years of challenges, debates, oppression, friendships and hardships. His other theories of defining sexual desire as the source of psychological diseases and mourning and melancholia have fallen out of favor, but his therapeutic techniques such as free association are still being used. In terms of art, this founder of psychology would say that art works could be another form of your unconsciousness, sort of like dreams. Dreams are your identity, expressed without any hindrances or repressions – of course this would probably mean that you love your mother if you were a male and you have penis envy if you are a female, but in modern day times, this could be analyzed differently. But how could anyone access their unconsciousness/repressed feelings as a defense mechanism while you are fully conscious?

What I was captured by was the artwork. The picture collages of sculptures, paintings and original artwork provide a feeling, understanding and, personally, a huge relief when I saw that I had to read 154 pages. The styles of work, from realistic to bizarre, smooth to graphic all combined together is, surprisingly, appropriate for one book. This engaging illustrative book simplified Freud’s life and theories but kept it comprehensive with extra drawings. Overall this was an enjoyable and educational reading with explanations for the human psyche and exaggerated and entertaining artwork.