Boundaries of Self and Subject

Abstract

The paper considers the efforts of two artist patients—one productive and the other not—to manage engulfment and separation anxiety through manipulations of virtual and literal spaces. The patients assumed characteristic emotional distances from their objects, subjects, products, audiences, and culture. More concretely, they developed artistic styles that, through formal structure and narrative content, signified a compromise between isolation and merger. Further investigation revealed that the productive patient's mother suffered a protracted post-partum depression that estranged her emotionally and physically from the patient in infancy. The tension between early maternal deprivation and later reaction-formed intrusiveness promoted the patient's aesthetic compromise between communication and concealment, permitting successful delivery of fantasy material. Although the unproductive patient portrayed repellent scenes which alienated her audience, she curiously never attempted stylistic corrections. Her press for merger was countered by a dread of contact conditioned by paternal abuse. Further exploration suggested that her artworks were not self objects, but rather close relations competing with her for audience attention.