Desire and Avoidance in Art - Pablo Picasso, Hans Bellmer, Balthus and Joseph Cornell

Начало книги

My deepest thanks to Helen Brink for the critical reading of successive drafts of this book. Darlene James helpfully read an early version of the Picasso chapter, and Kris Wilson-Yang’s comments have improved clarity throughout. Patricia Crittenden generously gave permission to use her Adult Patterns of Attachment chart. John Miecznikowski provided insightful illustrations, and I gratefully acknowledge Kris Wilson-Yang’s preparation of the text and index. My thanks to Joshua Kendall for his advice and support.—AB

Introducing Attachment Theory

Artists and Psychobiography

Artists who challenge us with extreme statements about how to view women should be asked for reasons why. When the female is distorted in art, entangled and compromised, as well as erotically idealized, the paradox should be explained. Whereas art has long idealized female beauty, certain twentieth century artists rejected traditional canons of taste, replacing them with expressive distortions. Historical and cultural explanations may be given as to why art can never return to the chaste medieval Madonna or the classical purity of an Ingres nude. There are many staging grounds in art history for the eventual distortions of female beauty seen so dramatically in the work of Pablo Picasso, Hans Bellmer, and Balthus. It is not my purpose to trace the historical course to their innovations. My purpose is to offer psychobiographical explanations for the “necessity” of expressive distortions of women in their art. These distortions are not only of personal origin but also reflect the changed spirit of the age and hence changed receptivity in the artist’s public.

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