Jung wrote, “The unborn work in the psyche of the artist is a force of nature that achieves its end regardless of the personal fate of the man who is its vehicle”. This is evident in the life of Jean Michel Basquiat, one of the most innovative artists of the 20th century. In his wildly intuitive way, and while still a teenager, he knew exactly what was in store: “I’m going to be famous and I’m going to die young.” Basquiat’s extraordinary access to the ecstatic and destructive powers of creation extracted a terrible price on his perishable human life, but his body of work is everlasting. In this presentation we will examine Jung’s concept of creativity as an autonomous complex as witnessed in the individuation process of Basquiat himself.
Learning Objectives:
Describe what is meant by the creation complex, Jung’s concept of creativity as an autonomous complex
Give an example of the destructive vs creative aspects of the creation complex
Describe some of the similarities and key differences between artistic creation vs pathology and how to differentiate between these in clinical practice.
