B.

Jungian Psychology and Its Archetypal Insights

The second major influence on mythological criticism is the work of C.G. Jung, t
he great psychologist-philosopher and onetime student of Freud who broke with th
e master because of what he regarded as a too-narrow approach to psycho-analysis
. Jung believed libido (psychic energy) to be more than sexual; also, he conside
red Freudian theories too negative because of Freud's emphasis on the neurotic r
ather than the healthy aspects of the psyche.
Jung's primary contribution to myth criticism is his theory of racial memory and
archetypes. In developing this concept, Jung expanded Freud's theories of the p
ersonal unconscious, asserting that beneath this is a primeval, collective uncon
scious shared in the psychic inheritance of all members of the human family. As
Jung himself explains in The Structure and Dynamics of the Psyche (Collected Wor
ks, vol. 8) [Princeton, NJ: Princeton UP, 1960]):
If it were possible to personify the unconscious, we might think of it as a coll
ective human being combining the characteristics of both sexes, transcending you
th and age, birth and death, and, from having at its command a human experience
of one or two million years, practically immortal. If such a being existed, it w
ould be exalted over all temporal change; the present would mean neither more no
r less to it than any year in the
166
hundredth millennium before Christ; it would be a dreamer of age-old dreams and,
owing to its immeasurable experience, an incomparable prognosticator. It would
have lived countless times over again the life of the individual, the family, th
e tribe, and the nation, and it would possess a living sense of the rhythm of gr
owth, flowering, and decay. (349-50)
Just as certain instincts are inherited by the lower animals (for example, the i
nstinct of the baby chicken to run from a hawk's shadow), so more complex psychi
c predispositions are inherited by human beings. Jung believed, contrary to eigh
teenth-century Lockean psychology, that "Mind is not born as a tabula rasa [a cl
ean slate]. Like the body, it has its pre-established individual definiteness; n
amely, forms of behaviour. They become manifest in the ever-recurring patterns o
f psychic functioning" (Psyche and Symbol [Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1958]: xv
). Therefore what Jung called "myth-forming" structural elements are ever presen
t in the unconscious psyche; he refers to the manifestations of these elements a
s "motifs," primordial images," or "archetypes."
Jung was also careful to explain that archetypes are not inherited ideas or patt
erns of thought, but rather that they are predispositions to respond in similar
ways to certain stimuli: "In reality they belong to the realm of activities of t
he instincts and in that sense they represent inherited forms of psychic behavio
r" (xvi). In Psychological Reflections (New York: Harper, 1961), he maintained t
hat these psychic instincts "are older than historical man. . . . have been ingr
ained in him from earliest times, and, eternally living, out-lasting all generat
ions, still make up the groundwork of the human psyche. It is only possible to l
ive the fullest life when we are in harmony with these symbols; wisdom is a retu
rn to them" (42).
In stressing that archetypes are actually "inherited forms," Jung also went furt
her than most of the anthropologists, who tended to see these forms as social ph
enomena passed down from one generation to the next through various sacred rites
rather than through the structure of the psyche itself. Furthermore, in The Arc
hetypes and the Collective Unconscious (New York: Pantheon, 1959), he theorized
that myths do not
167
derive from external factors such as the season or solar cycle but are, in truth
, the projections of innate psychic phenomena:
All the mythologized processes of nature, such as summer and winter, the phases
of the moon, the rainy seasons, and so forth, are in no sense allegories of thes
e objective occurrences; rather they are symbolic expressions of the inner, unco
nscious drama of the psyche which becomes accessible to man's consciousness by w
ay of projection--that is, mirrored in the events of nature. (6)

In other words, myths are the means by which archetypes, essentially unconscious
forms, become manifest and articulate to the conscious mind. Jung indicated fur
ther that archetypes reveal themselves in the dreams of individuals, so that we
might say that dreams are "personalized myths" and myths are "depersonalized dre
ams."
Jung detected an intimate relationship between dreams, myths, and art in that al
l three serve as media through which archetypes become accessible to consciousne
ss. The great artist, as Jung observes in Modern Man in Search of a Soul (New Yo
rk: Harcourt, n.d.; first published in 1933), is a person who possesses the "pri
mordial vision," a special sensitivity to archetypal patterns and a gift for spe
aking in primordial images that enable him or her to transmit experiences of the
"inner world" through art. Considering the nature of the artist's raw materials
, Jung suggests it is only logical that the artist "will resort to mythology in
order to give his experience its most fitting expression." This is not to say th
at the artist gets materials secondhand: "The primordial experience is the sourc
e of his creativeness; it cannot be fathomed, and therefore requires mythologica
l imagery to give it form" (164).
Although Jung himself wrote relatively little that could be called literary crit
icism, what he did write leaves no doubt that he believed literature, and art in
general, to be a vital ingredient in human civilization. Most important, his th
eories have expanded the horizons of literary interpretation for those critics c
oncerned to use the tools of the mythological approach and for psychological cri
tics who have felt too tightly constricted by Freudian theory.
'Birth' has been interpreted by a number of historians including Wolfe, Langhorn
e and O'Connor from a Jungian viewpoint based on a number of items of evidence.
Principally these are Pollock's assertion in 1956 that he had 'been a Jungian fo
r a long time' (quoted in O'Connor and Thaw 1978, IV, p.275); the fact that he w
as in analysis with Jungian therapists - from early 1939 until summer 1940 with
Dr Henderson and during 1941 with Dr. Violet Staub de Laszlo; that John Graham w
as by then a close friend of Pollock; Pollock's use of Surrealist imagery to dep
ict archetypes; the title of the work which is suggestive of birth, part of the
Jungian cycle of birth, death and rebirth. While not denying the probability tha
t 'his art not only reflects a concern for Jung's central thesis of the "collect
ive unconscious" but contains at least some reference to particular images and s
ymbols discussed in his analytical sessions' (William Rubin, 'Pullock as Jungian
Illustrator: The Limits of Psychological Criticism', Art in America, vol.67, No
v. 1979, p.106), both Rubin and Gordon reject the specificity of the arguments a
nd sources for 'Birth' and similar works posited by Wolfe and Langhorne. Gordon
maintains that Pollock could only have talked generally to his therapists about
Jung:
Henderson offered Pollock the Jungian faith in a 'psychic birth-death-rebirt
h cycle' as well as the symbol ordering device of the circular mandala. And simi
larly de Laszlo recalls that she explained to Pollock the concept of rebirth in
order 'to help give him hope and confidence' and also the meaning of the mandala
as 'interrelating formally fragmented parts of the psyche' (Gordon 1980, p.44).
Gordon maintains that no actual discussion of Jungian theory took place in these
sessions, an assertion based on evidence supplied by both doctors, and that the
role of the therapists, if any, in the making of paintings such as 'Birth' was
in their encouragement, through the use of drawings brought to or executed durin
g the sessions, 'to accept the babblings and doodlings of his unconscious psyche
as part of his personal identity and eluctable fate as an artist' (ibid.). Wher
e Wolfe contends that the hollow cylindrical object at bottom right represents a
birth canal and is related to a Mexican source illustrated been in a book by Ju
ng, Gordon proves that the illustration was not available in the USA until the y
ear Pollock died. He concludes that the cylinder, which also appears in an undat
ed drawing (repr. O'Connor and Thaw 1978, III, p.117 no.555), is in fact an unco
nscious symbol of a truly archetypal and autonomous kind with both male and fema
le sexual connotations. 'Pollock's symbolism [is] Jungian because it is archetyp
al and archetypal because it is the unconscious product of psychic fragmentation
' (p.43). Rubin concedes that a Freudian interpretation of Pollock might be equa
lly plausible, although it seems clear from his choice of Jungian therapists tha
t Pollock was less interested in Freudian concepts.
Pollock's interest in Jung, who was much discussed by artists in this period, wa
s probably stimulated both by his therapy and by John Graham's article on Picass
o which extolled the virtues of the employment of the unconscious in the creatio
n of works of art:
It should be understood that the unconscious mind is the creative factor and
the source and the storehouse of power and of all knowledge, past and future. T
he conscious mind is but a critical factor and clearing house. Most people lose
access to their unconscious at about the age of seven. By this age, all repressi
ons, ancestral and individual, have been established and free access to the sour
ce of all power has been closed. This closure is sometimes temporarily relaxed b
y such expedients as danger or nervous strain, alcohol, insanity and inspiration
(Graham 1937, p.237).
It is noteworthy that Pollock was indeed suffering from alcoholism at this time
although he did not necessarily deliberately drink to unlock his unconscious. Ho
wever, he may well have been struck by Graham's emphasis on the importance of th
e unconscious in the making of powerful art, his assertion that primitive races
and primitive genius have readier access to their unconscious mind than so-calle
d civilised people' (ibid.) and his stress on the notion of collectivity. Graham
also emphasised spontaneity and 'pure relevating form' which would be more impo
rtant for Pollock's later work. Although Jung's name was not invoked in this art
icle, Pollock would certainly have been aware of Graham's interest in Jung eithe
r by extension or through subsequent discussion with him. 'Birth' is a painting
of fantasy in which Pollock unmistakeably borrows forms from primitive artefacts
and combines them with a free flowing application of paint, which suggests spon
taneity, and with borrowings from Surrealist vocabulary.
Yang Lis Mustard Seed Forest | STACEY KOOSEL
espaol
Yang Li (1982) Mustard Seed Forest (April 2012) Mediums: acrylic, plastic, aluminu
m.

Yang Li (1982) Mustard Seed Forest (April 2012) Mediums: acrylic, plastic, aluminu
m.

Yang Lis Mustard Seed Forest is an installation that brings together Eastern trad
ition and history with Western contemporary aesthetics. She sourced inspiration
and theory from a Ming and Qing dynasty didactic and philosophical Chinese tradi
tional painting manual entitled The Mustard Seed Garden Manual of Painting (Jie
Zi Yuan Hua Zhuan?????) also translated into English as The Tao of Painting A st
udy of the ritual disposition of Chinese painting. Which is not actually one boo
k but rather a series of books curated by Li Yu between 1679 and 1701 with speci
alized themes such as: Book of Trees, Book of Orchids, Book of Rocks and Book of
Feathers-and-Fur and Flowering Plants [1]. The manual was curated by Li Yu, in
an attempt to consolidate the most appreciated artists paintings from merely exis
ting in private collections to becoming accessible reference points for professi
onals, which traditionally existed in three different classes: craftsmen, histor
ians and the literati (scholars).
The mustard seed itself being considered the smallest seed, and a mustard seed g
arden suggesting the concept that something larger and more complex can grow out
of the most humble, insignificant beginnings. The western variant of the adage
being, mighty oaks from little acorns grow which originates from the 14th century.
There are other meanings attached to the idea of seeds in Chinese culture, such
as the idea of death and rebirth. Which is derived from the process where plant
s have to die for the seeds to be harvested. This idea of birth-death-rebirth ha
s been explored as a larger theme in Yang Lis work, through the metamorphosis of
a young, emerging artist.
Yang Li (1982) Calligraphy in Space (2008). Medium: ceramic, wood.

Yang Li (1982) Calligraphy in Space (2008). Medium: ceramic, wood.
After Yang Li graduating from the Tianjin Academy of Fine Arts in China she move
d to Tallinn, Estonia to study sculpture and Installation at the Estonian Academ
y of Arts. The desire to combine traditional Chinese aesthetics in contemporary
Western forms was first explored in Calligraphy in Space (2008) a ceramic and wo
od sculpture.
However, in her following works such as Baby Carriage (2009) and My Time (2009)
she found herself in alien territory as an artist, working in mediums and styles
that were the antithesis of her Chinese fine arts education in painting and cal
ligraphy.Yang Lis classical fine arts education in Tianjin included studying unde
r a world renowned Master of traditional literati painting, Huo Chun Yang who is
known for his exploration of Tao and Zen philosophy in his paintings. In the th
eoretical portion of her Masters thesis, Yang explains how living in a different
country, adapting to new cultures and learning new aesthetics changed her previo
us worldview and synthesized something new out of the old which was directly ref
lected in her work.
In Hegelian thinking his most famous contribution deals with the antithesis as mu
ch part of the whole as any other part can be. It is like going so far away from
home that when you come back you are not the you you thought anymore, and then
something needs to be done about it; and a third you comes along, more synthesis
ez maybe.[2]
The alienation and distancing effect having a dual role, on both the artist and
the audience as they navigate new symbols and contexts creating a new language,
seeing through the canvas to the intangible heterotopia.[3] The process of paint
ing itself according to Li Yus manual, being an organic process, where the placem
ent of one line or stroke grows the next movement, an imitation or mimesis of natu
re itself. These skills, as the master says, must be made visible with the least
possible use of artifice and embarrassment of lines, with a few twists of the wri
st, as if to indicate the total fusion of the mind-body unit we may call artist a
nd that locked thing inside.[4] The locked thing inside the artist and the language u
sed to express these things, can be seen as Tao, which can be translate as a onene
ss with the path and the eternally nameless. As Lao Tzus classic text the Tao Te
Ching starts:
The way that can be spoken of
is not the constant way
The name that can be named
is not the constant name [5]
The attempt to communicate something beyond words[6] is part of the intangible asp
ects of Chinese paintings, in addition to the Western elements of composition an
d perspective are other dimensions such as the flow of Qi (energy), spirit reson
ance, balance and the anthropomorphism of animals, trees, rocks and water. Musta
rd Seed Forest harbors hidden messages and symbols, the negative space connotes
fog and mist as well as serving as paths for visitors to wander the forest, in a
maze of trees, rocks, water falls and a singular bird in a tree. The ceiling to
floor plastic sheets that the individual forest characters of calligraphy trees
are portrayed on, catch and bend the natural light in interesting and unexpecte
d ways. When Mustard Seed Forest was first exhibited at The Museum of Contempora
ry Art of Estonia, the shape of the room and late winter natural light that stre
amed through the windows bounced off the transparent forest canvases to create t
he effect of pools of rippling water on calligraphy ponds and waterfalls.
Yang Li (1982) Mustard Seed Forest (April 2012) at The Museum of Contemporary Ar
t of Estonia.

The scent of Japanese incenses wafts through the forest of calligraphy trees cre
ating a multi-sensory experience.
The effect of a maze of calligraphy trees, dancing light that perfectly mimicked
rippling water and the smell of heady Japanese incents in a cold, abandoned Sov
iet era factory building, turned art museum was a seminal sensory experience. Mu
ch like performance art that may not be replicated, it was something that could
only be experienced to be understood as it was something beyond words. Traditional
Chinese scroll paintings often use human figures to invite the viewer to wander
the landscape, Mustard Seed Forest is an installation of transparent canvases t
hat incorporate human interaction to create a three dimensional experience of wa
ndering a forest of Chinese calligraphy, as if wandering through another alphabe
t or symbols the visitor can navigate the maze to view the forest in its individu
al parts or stand back and take in the whole, the message changing at every angl
e.
As Yang Li writes in her reflective essay, the work was a very personal process
and voyage of discovery, while at the same time containing a larger altruistic a
ttempt at unity and mutual understanding. Her attempt at creating a sensory expe
rience which is self explanatory and spontaneously invites the visitor to partak
e in a transcultural contemplation of nature and art, East and West, form and sp
ace. The Mustard Seed Forest invites us into something timeless, placeless, an i
nvitation to see the magnificence of everyday life albeit through another system
of signs, another language which at its best can create the artists intended fee
lings of pleasure, surprise and curiosity and at its worst be viewed through a x
enophobic lens of stereotyping other cultures and aesthetics, and confusing a tr
aditional homage with an inability to experiment with what may be considered mor
e contemporary mediums.
Mustard Seed Forest was exhibited twice in a short period of time, to great publ
ic appreciation and media attention. Yang Lis first exhibit of Mustard Seed Fores
t was in early April 2012 at The Museum of Contemporary Art of Estonia, which wa
s quickly followed by an invitation to exhibit the same work again by Kirke Kang
ro, the curator of the Exotic exhibition, an international exhibition which takes
place from April to June of 2012 at Tallinn Art Hall. Yang Lis work has been feat
ured in assorted media in Estonia and abroad, and has proven to hold its own amo
ng the highest regarded Estonian contemporary artists. Mustard Seed Forest is an
exploration of the complex relationship of insider-outsider status of a Chinese
artist who found a voice in the fertile Estonian art world.
Yang Li (1982) Mustard Seed Forest (May 2012) at The Tallinn Art Hall.

Yang Li (1982). Mustard Seed Forest (May 2012) at The Tallinn Art Hall.
- See more at: http://interartive.org/2012/05/yang-li-mustard-seed-forest-eng/#s
thash.A5i6oEb2.dpuf