The unleashing of desire and sexuality was crucial in the surrealists’ conception of a new world order. Influenced by psychoanalytic theories of libido and lust, the surrealists aimed to break down rational consciousness, in order to rebuild society anew. Moral and social conventions needed to be destroyed, in accordance with the ideal of a free person.
In an opening remark, Siri Gullestad will reflect on surrealism’s revolutionary project in the light of psychoanalytic theory. How does desire appear as a foreign body within us, as a craving for wildness and excess? The talk is followed by a dialogue between Gullestad and Lars Toft-Eriksen.
The talk is arranged in collaboration with Norsk Psykoanalytisk Forening in connection to the exhibition The Savage Eye.
Siri Gullestad, DPhil, is professor emeritus in clinical psychology and a psychoanalyst. She is the author of many articles and books on psychoanalytical topics, and is a practising therapist.
Lars Toft-Eriksen is senior curator at MUNCH, and has a PhD in art history specialising in Edvard Munch. Toft-Eriksen is the curator of the exhibition The Savage Eye, and has previously researched into surrealism in Scandinavia.
