Introspective Art

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Introspective Art: Windows on Inner Life

(Estimated reading time: 1 min, 14 sec)

We hear a lot about the inner world, but what is it? What moves within us? How do we perceive it? How can a painting show it? We often hear that “all art is introspective.” Some might also say that “all art helps us look within.”

We don’t discuss these beliefs and let everyone think what they want. But introspective art is different. It is art that describes our inwardness. What does that mean?

An Introspective Painting Is a Window to the Unconscious

The figures in such a painting are not human figures or objects of the material world, but symbols of what moves in our inner world. Therefore, we can say that these paintings are windows to the unconscious.

They represent the interaction between hidden inner parts. These parts are hard to access and describe.

We call these hidden parts “forces”. They are collections of thoughts, emotions, and physical tensions that behave mechanically. Over time, they become stronger and more resistant to our control, gaining increasing autonomy. Only when we perceive these forces within can we manage them. Painting the inner world shows how the inner forces work.

Inner World: Who Manages Whom?

If we cannot manage them, they are the ones who manage us more and more. So, we find ourselves with thoughts we do not share. We have emotions we cannot control and physical tensions that are hard to relax.

As long as we look at one thought, one emotion, one tension alone, we can’t manage them. We need to see them in a context. Otherwise, we feel conditioned and mechanical.

We need to watch the clusters of thoughts, emotions, and tensions. They are the “forces” we need to understand and manage.

On this site, we will often discuss introspection, art, and introspective psychology. We will do this as our research continues.

Aurora Mazzoldi

Other Mazzoldi’s pages on painting:

RHow to Read an Introspective Painting

Introspective Art Paintings

Depression — Poem for a Painting

Paintings for Self-Discovery