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A Critical Theory of CreativityRoger Fry and the Language of Form

A Critical Theory of Creativity: Roger Fry and the Language of Form [Psychoanalysis, as we saw in the last chapter, can provide great insight into the conscious and unconscious content of visual texts. What happens though, with works which are predominantly formally rather than content-based? Or if indeed they have no recognisable figurative content at all? This is especially relevant with the ‘abstract’ designs, which provide the predominant characteristic of Navajo textiles. We saw in Chapter 5 how much the unconscious and the collective unconscious were at work in Navajo design, but how at the same time, the great majority of Navajo visual cultural texts are devoid of distinguishable subject matter, symbols or literal archetypes. But lack of figurative meaning does not equate to a lack of meaning. Here we turn to the work of British aesthetician Roger Fry, which proved so important (and, indeed, articulate) in the understanding of the centrality of form to art and design. He is less known for his thinking on the relationship between psychoanalysis and the artist, which he first set out in a lecture to the British Psychological Society and subsequently published as a Hogarth Essay in 1924. 1 This will provide a useful bridge between psychoanalysis and the language form, which I will argue are not separate but deeply related categories. This, in turn, is something of considerable importance to a critical theory of creativity.] http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png

A Critical Theory of CreativityRoger Fry and the Language of Form

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References (4)

Publisher
Palgrave Macmillan UK
Copyright
© The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s) 2015
ISBN
978-1-349-68579-0
Pages
101 –115
DOI
10.1057/9781137446176_7
Publisher site
See Chapter on Publisher Site

Abstract

[Psychoanalysis, as we saw in the last chapter, can provide great insight into the conscious and unconscious content of visual texts. What happens though, with works which are predominantly formally rather than content-based? Or if indeed they have no recognisable figurative content at all? This is especially relevant with the ‘abstract’ designs, which provide the predominant characteristic of Navajo textiles. We saw in Chapter 5 how much the unconscious and the collective unconscious were at work in Navajo design, but how at the same time, the great majority of Navajo visual cultural texts are devoid of distinguishable subject matter, symbols or literal archetypes. But lack of figurative meaning does not equate to a lack of meaning. Here we turn to the work of British aesthetician Roger Fry, which proved so important (and, indeed, articulate) in the understanding of the centrality of form to art and design. He is less known for his thinking on the relationship between psychoanalysis and the artist, which he first set out in a lecture to the British Psychological Society and subsequently published as a Hogarth Essay in 1924. 1 This will provide a useful bridge between psychoanalysis and the language form, which I will argue are not separate but deeply related categories. This, in turn, is something of considerable importance to a critical theory of creativity.]

Published: Dec 18, 2015

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