IDEAS FACTORY Freud on Masochism
"The Masochist's Fault
the true fault that the masochist must atone for is... being subject to the blows of morality. As in the case of Herr K., the protagonist of Kafka’s The Trial, the moral masochist is thus punished for a mysterious, perhaps in-existent, fault... It is as though the moral masochist never repents: he does not cease being punished, but he does not repent. After all, what should he repent for? But if Freud’s line of interpretation is nevertheless correct, what does the moral masochist not repent for? Clearly, a fault, even though we are perhaps unable to say what this might be in each and every case: it is therefore necessary to analyse them individually. But, for the cases in general, what characteristics must this fault have in order to become the cause of masochistic self-punishment?"
- Sergio Benvenuto
source: http://www.psychomedia.it/index2.htm
Although many psychoanalytic essays on masochism show that subjects usually have a complex mentality/background of torment, this essay in particular shows both sides to this assumption, by looking at the sadism end as well, based around the thoughts on sadomasochism of Australian neurologist, Sigmund Freud.
I find this particularly interesting as the two arguably positive/negative concepts of masochism can fit together themselves to create a concept of sadomasochism in an actual relationship. For example, in almost every relationship, one partner is more attached than the other, and therefore the less attached partner will naturally become more dominant knowing that the more attached would do anything, whilst the more attached partner becomes submissive in order to please. The less attached can venture, but not too far because the more attached would leave.
Personally, I think taking on the role of masochism can offer relief from guilt, responsibility or burdens. However, it can also be a powerful role in itself, as the masochist is essentially controlling the sadist, keeping all their attention, so it can feel empowering too.
IDEAS FACTORY TeleHuman 2
IDEAS FACTORY Andy Warhol
Andy Warhol – Self-Portrait with Skull (1977)
source: https://www.nationalgalleries.org/art-and-artists/85329/self-portrait-skull
After Warhol was shot in 1968, he became tangled with the concept of mortality, resulting in his frequent use of skulls, a heavy symbol of death. Aside from death, I think this artwork reflects self-image through Warhol’s pose, especially from a contemporary perspective, almost as if he had predicted the modern day struggle of self-image. With both faces staring straight ahead, and almost identical mouth shapes between the two, I think this directly represents Warhol seeing his own mortality. When the concept of self-image is brought into this, it could reflect the desperation people have to feel recognition or in the case of sadomasochism, the attention that is desired from the masochist. I believe that my assumption based on this artwork conveys the message that the masochist will ultimately be lead to their own mortality of self-image (or more) due to their supposedly frantic desire for pain.
IDEAS FACTORY Anthony McCall
I visited Anthony McCall's Solid Light Works exhibition, an interactive installation using only projected light and thin mist. These tools created a physical sculptural form, following huge planes of light and caves. Interacting with the funnels of light felt like virtual reality, as everything else in the atmosphere was pitch black. Through the help of digital projection, McCall was able to bring his initial sketched to life, in full size form that allows the audience to get involved. Being inside the installation with other people, it brought an almost digital link between all of us, although we remained distant. With your entire surrounding being invisible in dark whilst you are inside one of the tunnels of light, the viewer experiences a feeling of forgetting everything and being forced to focus on the shapes of light directly in front of them, especially with the difficulty to navigate in such an atmosphere, with other strangers. I appreciate the raw, geometrical nature of McCall's sketches, showing his work as something more than just an immersive experience.
Source: https://www.creativetourist.com/event/anthony-mccall-solid-light-works/
These are unedited images I took at the exhibition, aiming to stand out of the light in some of them for a visual decomposition of the installation, and some of them inside the light to convey the immersive nature:
I find that McCall's work links to my concept of creating a digital link. The one in which the masochist in a relationship can receive sadistic pleasure digitally/from a different being instead of directly interacting with the sadist that retains a toxic power dynamic outside of sadomasochism.
IDEAS FACTORY Atmospheric Memory
We live in an age obsessed with ‘absolute recollection’, where technology captures every moment, every act, every impression. But is the atmosphere an archive itself? A vast library holding every word ever spoken? And what if we could ‘rewind’ the movement of air molecules to recover those long lost voices?
Inspired by computing pioneer Charles Babbage’s 180-year-old proposal that the air is a ‘vast library’ holding every word ever spoken, Atmospheric Memory asks: was Babbage right? Can we rewind the movement of the air to recreate long lost voices? And if so, whose would we want to hear?
And what of the future? Years from now, whose voices and histories will be preserved? And if our actions and voices are forever impressed in the air, will we ever be able to ‘escape’, be forgotten or be set free?
Harnessing both state-of-the-art technology and classic phantasmagorical effects, Lozano-Hemmer’s ‘Atmospheric Machines’ mine for air turbulence caused by speech, then transform it into something we can see, hear and even touch: trails of vapour, ripples on water, epic 360-degree projections. Works include a polyphonic tunnel featuring thousands of separate sound channels, a weathervane table controlled by computerised fans, an endoscopic film, a voice-controlled light beacon and the world’s first 3D printed speech bubble.
source: https://futureeverything.org/art/entry/atmospheric-memory/