Hypnosis and Art
Contra Galleries in New York have opened a show of art created by artists who employed hypnosis to create their works. This is done under the auspices of unconscious art. Now, it is of course uncommon for artists to engage in formal hypnosis in order to create their works. However, it is not uncommon for art to come from the unconscious. Indeed, it could be argued that the greatest artworks are completely drawn from the unconsious mind.
The unconscious mind is the repository of our creativity and artistic skills. So it is reasonable to say that even without the benefit of hypnosis art, be that painting, music or other is a creation of the artist’s unconscious mind. I myself have never been very artistic, but I have always appreciated it and the process. I have often wondered how the painter looks at a blank canvas and then makes it come to life.
Of course, if we insert the unconscious into this, it all makes perfect sense. As the unconscious tends to work in metaphor and symbology as well as creatively, then perhaps we should consdier that artists have a greater connection with their unconscious minds and the act of creating art is hypnotic.
