Freud/Lynch: Behind the Curtain

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Jamie has given talks on Viennese modernism and the Surrealists at the Freud Museum London, the Austrian Cultural Forum, and is featured on documentaries such as Art & Mind. She has published articles and essays on psychoanalysis, philosophy, and art in The Art Newspaper, various Freud Museum publications, and artist monographs. This is her first edited book with hopefully many more to come. Lynch, who once told an interviewer ‘I love dream logic’ would surely agree with Sigmund Freud’s famous claim that ‘before the problem of the creative artist, psychoanalysis must lay down its arms’. But what else might the two agree on? Why not puncture bafflement with playful speculation? Mulholland Drive proves surprisingly amenable to the dream logic explored by Freud in The Interpretation of Dreams, so let’s see where it takes us. 3. Andrea Sabbadini

The hysterical subject is an essential figure in Lynchian cinema. With an art historical lens, this paper will explore how hysteria has returned time and time again throughout Lynch’s oeuvre by looking at a few important characters, from The Alphabet (1968), to Blue Velvet (1986), to Twin Peaks (1990-2017). 5. Catherine Spooner With contributions from Olga Cox Cameron, Tamara Dellutri, Allister Mactaggart, Stefan Marianski, Richard Martin, Todd McGowan, Carol Owens, Chris Rodley, Jamie Ruers, Andrea Sabbadini, and Mary Wild. David Lynch is primarily known as a filmmaker whose singular cinematic/televisual creations have held audiences both spellbound and perplexed over several decades. Yet he initially trained as a fine artist and has continued to work as such throughout his life, using a wide variety of media to express his unique artistic vision across various fields. In this paper I will suggest that Lynch’s work, in whatever medium, is best understood as that of a visual (and sonic) artist. As such, the perceived lacunae or unintelligibility in it may be understood or “experienced” in other ways and, further, that psychoanalysis may help to bring to light various aspects of his work which have hitherto been less explored than others.The conference was attended by 400 people, coming from all over the world. There was such an appetite for discussion, sharing ideas, and finding reason in David Lynch’s cinematic oeuvre, which are known for their seemingly nonsensical narratives, non-linear storylines, absurd characters, and mystical spaces. If you’re in/near London, you don’t want to miss the book launch event of ‘Freud/Lynch: Behind the Curtain’ on Friday 24 February 2023 at the Freud Museum.

David Lynch is primarily known as a filmmaker whose singular cinematic/televisual creations have held audiences both spellbound and perplexed over several decades. Yet he initially trained as a fine artist and has continued to work as such throughout his life, using a wide variety of media to express his unique artistic vision across various fields. In this paper I will suggest that Lynch’s work, in whatever medium, is best understood as that of a visual (and sonic) artist. As such, the perceived lacunae or unintelligibility in it may be understood or “experienced” in other ways and, further, that psychoanalysis may help to bring to light various aspects of his work which have hitherto been less explored than others. 10. Chris Rodley An introductory understanding of Fred Madison's mind should be clear at this point. While the movie presents many more images that could be examined for further meaning, there just isn't enough space in the confines of this essay to do a complete character study. What is clear is that Fred's mind has tended toward fantasy as a coping mechanism for the troubles in his life, and that each component of his psyche - id, ego, and superego - are each equally at work creating an illusory universe where he can work out these troubles by venting his frustration. Ultimately, however, this fantastical diversion seems to have done little good. Fred's superego does a remarkable job of keeping him relatively close to reality, letting him know that he's taking his fantasy too far. In the end he may feel as though he has exorcised many of his demons, but the closing shots of the film suggest otherwise. Perhaps near the end, after the fantasy has dissolved, he begins to realize that the anger he feels so deeply does not in fact originate with his wife, but with himself. Much of his paranoia seems unfounded, and in the early, reality portion of the film the viewer finds little reason to suspect that Renee is cheating on him. His inclination to fabricate the ending of her story about the job she was offered by the man at Moke's seems indicative of a mind bent on expecting the worst, and then worrying about it endlessly. And so, in all the ways that Fred is restrained, Pete is care-free and in control. He has a girlfriend but no sense of monogamy. After being released from prison he takes his girlfriend out, but one senses that something is wrong between them. While dancing at a club she asks if he cares about her, and he merely looks her in the eyes and kisses her. To the viewer this plays as a smooth dodging of the question, but she is like Fred in that she believes physical and emotional affection are one and the same. If Pete is in fact an idealized version of Fred, we see here the idealized Fred using the same technique that his wife used against him. If Fred were the man he wants to be he would be in control, and when someone questioned his adoration he would just use sex to abate the questioning. In reality Fred has no such control, and he cares too much to merely be physical. He needs unmistakable, verbal reassurance.We hope you’ll enjoy delving in and getting lost in the Freudian and Lynchian dreamscapes, but do make sure to have a MacGuffin to hand to help you wake up again … The book was derived from a conference of the same name held in May 2018 for the Freud Museum London. It was an exciting event held at the Rio Cinema, an independent movie theatre in Dalston, East London. In the cinema’s main auditorium hangs grand red velvet curtains on the stage where the speakers presented their papers. The curtains were the perfect motif that connected our two subjects: David Lynch uses red – and blue – velvet curtains that line otherworldly settings in Blue Velvet (1986), Twin Peaks (1990–1991), and Mulholland Drive (2001). Similarly, Sigmund Freud also has red velvet curtains which adorn his famous psychoanalytic study in his home, now the Freud Museum. This motif functions as a separation between reality and fantasy spaces, or spaces to explore the unconscious, which begs the question: what lies ‘behind the curtain’? Mary Wild is the creator of the PROJECTIONS lecture series (psychoanalysis for film interpretation), which has been running regularly at Freud Museum London since 2012. Her interests include cinematic representations of identity, femininity, the unconscious, love and mental illness. Bursary places Freud and Lynch are predestined to meet. Only through Freud can we discern in Lynch's films an authentic effort of thought, not just a postmodern confusion. And only through Lynch's films can we see how relevant Freud's theory remains for grasping the crazy predicament we live in. Freud/Lynch is thus a collection of essays which was predestined to be written." Todd McGowan teaches theory and film at the University of Vermont. He is the author of The Impossible David Lynch, Only a Joke Can Save Us: A Theory of Comedy, Capitalism and Desire: The Psychic Cost of Free Markets, and other works.