Personal Identity in the Works of Cindy Sherman and Louise Bourgeois

By

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I would first like to express my gratitude for my research supervisor, colleagues, peers and family whose immense and constant support has been a source of continuous guidance and inspiration.

DECLARATION

I [type your full first names & surname here], declare that the following dissertation/thesis and its entire content has been an individual, unaided effort and has not been submitted or published before. Furthermore, it reflects my opinion and take on the topic and is does not represent the opinion of the University.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTII

DECLARATIONIII

ABSTRACTVI

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION1

Background of the Study1

Purpose of the Study2

Problem Statement2

Aim and Objectives of the Study2

Rationale of the Study3

Significance of the Study3

Organisation of the Thesis4

CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW5

Theoretical Framework5

Psychoanalytic Theory of Creativity6

Archetypal Theory and Feminism6

CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY8

Research Method8

Research Design8

Data Collection9

Literature Search9

Reliability and Validity9

Ethical Concerns10

CHAPTER 4: ANALYSIS11

Cindy Sherman's Work11

Untitled # 4811

Untitled # 3012

Burying the Nightmare12

Growing the Dream14

Louise Bourgeois' Work15

Femmes Maisons15

Personages16

Lairs16

Destruction of the Father17

She-Fox18

Cells19

Spider20

Discussion21

CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION24

Summary24

Implications of the Study24

Limitations25

Conclusion25

REFERENCES27

BIBLIOGRAPHY28

ABSTRACT

Many contemporary feminists, however, attempt to transform the categorical structures of gender themselves, reclaiming mythmaking activity as a way to reinterpret and reinvent the experience of selfhood. Consistently the second term of a binary ontology, the feminine has largely been regarded negatively.' The first chapter presents an introduction to the topic of self identity in the works of two famous artistes. The purpose, aims, significance, and rationale of the study are covered in this chapter. The second chapter presents the literature review, which highlights the themes used by Bourgeois and Sherman in their respective works. The methodology is presented in the third chapter. The researcher has used qualitative research method for this particular study. The data for the study were gathered from published journal articles, research papers, articles and other secondary sources. The fourth chapter deals with the analysis of themes used by Sherman and Bourgeois in their film stills and sculptures. The fifth chapter concludes the dissertation.

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION

Background of the Study

The physical presence of the human body as an art form has increased in the twenty-first and last century by artists as both subject and object, both publically in performances and perhaps more privately in photography and video. Historically, the relationship between aesthetics and psychoanalysis has manifested unidirectionally (Taylor, 1981, 16). For nearly a century, analytic theories have been used to interpret art and artists.

Perhaps it is time to use art to interpret analysis. At its inception, psychoanalysis was intrigued by aesthetics and creativity. Beginning with Freud, in the initial years of the 20th Century and his thoughts on the great da Vinci, analytic interpretations of artwork, the process of creating, the effect it has on the artist, the viewer, and a culture, have all been a mainstay of analytic theory and its application.

Many of these artists routinely examine the body's connection to the psychological self, producing works specifically with cultural parameters for acceptable signifiers of identity, and with the body as the primary metaphor for society's perception of itself (Rose, 2007, 30). The exterior body is a boundary ...