A detail of the Gaze from one of my upcoming pieces :: Soleil.
PSYCHOANALYSIS OF THE GAZE
In some of my work I have definitely chosen to focus on the power of the gaze. However, prior to that what really brought awareness of the gaze into my consciousness was my own fascination with the affect that it has on the way I physiologically react at the gaze of others.
This term "gaze" was brought into popular usage by Jacques Lacan, French psychoanalyst & psychiatrist who made prominent contributions to psychoanalysis and philosophy. For a great number of very driven individuals like myself who spend a lot of time in solitude in order to self-reflect & focus greatly on our work, this occurrence of the gaze can be noticed easier the moment we step out into social environments. As we focus on our work we become so focused on the ideas, thoughts & processes of it all that we stop thinking about our physical self as on object that exists amongst other objects. Our internal focus is shifted on our external focus the moment we come across a mirror where we can see ourselves, or we become aware that others can view us. In 'The Seminar of Jacques Lacan Book XI: The Four Fundamental Concepts of Psychoanalysis,' Jacques Lacan best describes this phenomenon of gaze as:
"In the depths of my eye the picture is painted. The picture, certainly, is in my eye. But I am not in the picture. Yet, to consider any picture I have to be involved in it somehow because the picture does not even exist, as far as I am concerned, without me ... The view which enables me to see things around me leaves a defenseless opening to my own self in which I am consequently judged by my surroundings."
Lacan also describes the negative aspect of the gaze as "the stain", when each of us feels as though we seem to stick out & draw the attention of the gaze. Lacan writes:
"As "the stain," the subject unconsciously imagines s/he is somehow a blemish on the landscape that sticks out like a sore thumb for any viewer to see."
Processing knowledge of how our consciousness & our imagination drives our own perception of inner & outer illusion of ourselves, should over time help us become more aware in the way we react to the gaze.
This term "gaze" was brought into popular usage by Jacques Lacan, French psychoanalyst & psychiatrist who made prominent contributions to psychoanalysis and philosophy. For a great number of very driven individuals like myself who spend a lot of time in solitude in order to self-reflect & focus greatly on our work, this occurrence of the gaze can be noticed easier the moment we step out into social environments. As we focus on our work we become so focused on the ideas, thoughts & processes of it all that we stop thinking about our physical self as on object that exists amongst other objects. Our internal focus is shifted on our external focus the moment we come across a mirror where we can see ourselves, or we become aware that others can view us. In 'The Seminar of Jacques Lacan Book XI: The Four Fundamental Concepts of Psychoanalysis,' Jacques Lacan best describes this phenomenon of gaze as:
"In the depths of my eye the picture is painted. The picture, certainly, is in my eye. But I am not in the picture. Yet, to consider any picture I have to be involved in it somehow because the picture does not even exist, as far as I am concerned, without me ... The view which enables me to see things around me leaves a defenseless opening to my own self in which I am consequently judged by my surroundings."
Lacan also describes the negative aspect of the gaze as "the stain", when each of us feels as though we seem to stick out & draw the attention of the gaze. Lacan writes:
"As "the stain," the subject unconsciously imagines s/he is somehow a blemish on the landscape that sticks out like a sore thumb for any viewer to see."
Processing knowledge of how our consciousness & our imagination drives our own perception of inner & outer illusion of ourselves, should over time help us become more aware in the way we react to the gaze.
Writing & Image : : by : : Boris Pelcer | Lacan quote taken from : : 'The Seminar of Jacques Lacan Book XI: The Four Fundamental Concepts of Psychoanalysis,' Jacques Lacan (1901 - 1981)
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