Chapter 7 Intestines

Dissecting The Western Woman Artist; An Artist's Dialogue by Amy E. Fraser

 Chapter 7 Intestines

The Primordial Being

     After inspection of the chest organs, the internal examination moves down to the abdomen. The abdomen is opened further by dissecting the abdominal muscle away from the bottom of the rib cage and diaphragm. The flaps of the abdominal wall fall off to either side, and the abdominal organs are exposed.

     The first dissection in the abdomen is done to free up the intestines. The intestines are stripped away from the mesentery and opened over a sink of running water, in order for the feces and undigested food to flow out. This step is unpleasant because the intestinal contents are extremely malodorous. However, this process is necessary because the intestines contain important information relating to the cause of Amy E. Fraser's art.

     Autopsy revealed that the subject's intestines embody the basic nature of woman, instincts, intuition and unconscious. The intestines relate to the primordial instincts, intuition and the unconscious because of Western Culture's perception of 'guts'. This core element is also referred to as the drive, energy, sexuality, the ID, the Self, the medial-fundamental-typical nature of woman. An individual who has 'guts' is seen to possess qualities such as bravery, courage, fortitude, daring, nerve and determination. The intestines are also where we feel our greatest fears. The serpent-like intestines are the forgotten and reptilian aspect of our bodies. Our instincts, particularly our primordial ones, require a dark and hidden place in which to reside because they have not evolved much since humans first crawled out of the primordial muck.

Biological Aspects

     Instincts are basic to survival. They include impulses and can serve as an instigation to action. Instincts control our most important actions, urging us to run and hide or to stand and fight. Instincts are tactic, durable, resilient and mysterious. To feel something in one's gut is to know something instinctively. Many depend on their gut feeling in order to make important decisions while others feel that acting on instinct breaks all rational law.

Allegorical Considerations in Relation to The Intestines

     Our intestines eliminate the residues of digestion in the same way trusting one's gut instinct or intuition can eliminate falsehoods. The intestines assist us in determining truth and fact from intellectually imposed fictions. Instincts give us a natural intuitive power and a way to directly perceive truth, independent of any rational reasoning process. A woman's gut instinct or intuition is her inner vision, composed of inner seeing, inner hearing, inner sensing and inner knowing. It is her shrewd and precognitive animal consciousness.

     If the unconscious is located in the intestines, our culture's definition of 'guts' is apt. It takes bravery and courage to accept the darker part of ourselves. Life's negative experiences and regular anxieties can have a disturbing effect on the unconscious. These anxieties lurk on the threshold of consciousness, growing more powerful as they feed on our fears. To confront them takes nerve and determination, but, they must be faced, fought and vanquished. Secrets of the unconscious are not easily won. Acquiring wisdom requires fortitude. Through this battle, we learn to make the best of what we are made of, our 'guts'.

     If I believe that the instincts and unconscious aspects of the body are so positive, why do I locate them in the dark, malodorous interior of the intestines? I chose to house the unconscious/instincts/intuition in this less glamorous area of human anatomy because, instinctively, the unconscious is where humans choose to hide much that is displeasing, distasteful and unadmirable. Like the image of the intestines, the unconscious is most often visualized as a long dark tunnel. It is believed that the pathway to this underworld is a long and lonely place of decent, a place most prefer not to see. The 'tunnel' contains many of the characteristics that we think or wish were not part of our personality. Impulses or instincts can be vulgar, uncivilized and completely illogical. The intestines, unconscious and instincts are not easily controlled; they act with a will and purpose beyond conscious force. The unconscious has been described throughout the ages as hell, the underworld, the primordial self or in more recent times, as Alice In Wonderland's rabbit hole.

 Learning To Trust The Primordial Being Within

     Learning to trust our instincts and acknowledging their power can provide the courage to accept life's challenges. They are the elemental forces within ourselves, our inner sources of energy, honesty and self respect. Submitting to these forces enables us to see ourselves as we truly are. From this vantage point, we can obtain a true and unbiased view of the world around us.

     Stressing our own animality is one way of seeing what is instinctual, physical, and material about being human. Attempting to understand our primal instinctual urges is a move back to basics and away from imagining ourselves as intellectual machines. Many lose touch with what it is to be human when they imitate machines and model themselves on that which is not alive. Some argue that when women imagine themselves as controlled or directed by entities outside of their bodies, they distort the world and dehumanize themselves.

Jung's Theory

     Jung speculated that instincts derived from the psychoid unconscious. He believed that the unconscious contains many ancient and archaic elements, much more primitive than the more recently evolved conscious/scientific mind. Jung suggested that the unconscious contains a very ancient psychic dimension, the contents of which form the core of what he referred to as the 'collective unconscious'. The collective unconscious is the common and inherited sub-stratum of the human psyche. According to Jung's theory, if we continue to descend into our unconscious, we would soon enter a level of the mind where the personal layer ends. There, we would discover the residues of ancestral life, the earliest of all memories and the most profound experiences of our ancient ancestors [Joseph, P.17].

     Jung never actually stated where he believed these instincts and collective unconscious reside. He simply postulated that the collective unconscious was a place where the biological and the psychological might mingle and influence one another. According to Jung, the collective unconscious is an aspect of the mind that functions in harmony with inherited tendencies to respond to certain experiences with emotional, spiritual, mythical, or religious feelings, images, thoughts, and ideas. Collectively, these primordial feelings and images are called archetypes. Jung believed these archetypes are encountered in dreams and mythology and can also ascend into consciousness through the creation of art.

     In my view, there has to be some truth to Jung's theory. How else to explain the ancient and universal attraction to certain symbols and shapes? In every culture, people have created similar icons, unaware of the identical images created by different, unrelated cultures. These shapes include the spiral, circle, square, star, triangle, diamond, cross and many other basic shapes that we generally take for granted. Wells, trees and standing stones have been universally recognized as symbols of pagan worship. Motifs like the egg, pods, seeds, roots, holes and the moon are universally associated with women. Images are the universal language. The closer one can come to visually interpreting the visceral, unconscious and instinctual realm, the more direct the artist's message.

Redefining Western Femininity

     If Western culture were to base it's definition of femininity on my conceptualization of the intestines, then Western woman could respectfully rely on the power of her instincts, intuition and unconscious without forfeiting the power of her intellect, spirit or ability to rationalize. If our society could change its negative views on embodiment, woman could more openly celebrate her visceral connection to the earth, nature and the ancient archetypal symbols.

     Jung's theories about archetypal images illustrate the importance of womens' long-standing relationship to nature. Fear of womens' powerful pagan connections to the earth has resulted in derogatory views and has been detrimental to womankind since the beginning of Christianity.

     For woman to embody the virtues of nature is to be empowered. Nature and our base instincts are the oldest and most primal of beings, they are what we can rely on when articulation and intellect fail. As the most ancient of entities, these possess a strength, dignity, integrity and beauty that is beyond conscious human comprehension. The woman and nature connection surpasses intellectual explanation. The primitive and ancestral images provide a direct and immediate means of expression. My works challenge traditional Western views and redefine the concept of femininity to encompass a more positive definition of woman, her intestines, archetypes and nature.

Psychoanalyzing Art

     Interpreting art derived from this woman/nature/symbolic level is a difficult task. Because psychoanalytic art criticism reduces art to its subject matter, many fear that it interprets away specifities of form, technique or medium to get to psychological themes, which are then most often interpreted, minimized or dismissed as sexual. Sometimes this process of evaluation destroys the credibility of the work and the artist's intended message. Often the psychoanalytic conclusions are erroneous and disrespectful. The interpretations are not necessarily inherent in the painting but happens when the artist's intimate creative expression is translated or reduced into mere words. The intent of the piece is often demeaned, reduced or even lost by being spoken.

     Aesthetic values are taught. Western culture teaches that the proper way to enjoy art is to enjoy it's formal and technical qualities, however, our instinct, intuition and unconscious resists that 'civilizing' education and responds to subject matter. Art is about attraction, not necessarily sexual. An intuitive attraction to subject matter can be inhibited and forbidden by such civilized education. The subject matter does not have to be about some experience of sexuality, however, because we experience the subject matter as forbidden and embarrassing, it causes us to feel as though the attraction were sexual.

     The greatest creations are still unresolved riddles to our conscious civilized understanding. Great works of art are always a challenge to the legitimacy of authority. A great image changes the viewer and takes him/her beyond the conscious self. It puts the viewer into a state of unconscious passivity that is seen as a violation of the conscious body, a permeation of the self. This aspect of art is believed to be something dangerous and threatening and at the same time pleasurable.

     A work of art, like instincts, has the desire for, but resistance to, logical meaning. Paintings pass beyond the realm of words and language, the symbol system of the conscious mind. The desire to analyze and interpret the works evolves out of our struggle to understand what moves us. The questions raised are disturbingly intimate. The artist's desire to create a wordless message can be seen as an act of rebellion against civilized society.

     Certain psychoanalyst's feel that choices within art originate from an individual's desire to satiate unfulfilled wishes. They feel that wants and needs are acted out through our artistic mediums and are therefore consciously gratified. Some, in line with Jung, feel that the choices of color, symbolism and concepts are based on primitive instincts derived from the 'collective unconscious'. Others believe the images created are a result of the release of repressed memories from childhood or other traumatizing events.

The Intestines In Relation To My Own Art

     The belief that artists act out unfulfilled wishes in their works is true, in my own experience. I believe the unconscious allows access to the hidden content of our experiences. Through painting I am able release the emotions and thoughts I may not consciously allow myself to recognize. Instincts provide us with a more profound knowledge about the world than conscious thought. Which, in my opinion, relies too heavily on surface appearances and the expected. The unconscious, instinctual aspect of our body transcends intellect and understands everything on a deeper, more primordial, clearly basic level.

     On a conscious level, the aim of my work is to express the spirit of women overcoming difficulties. The intention is to illustrate and explore the positive forces of female nature. The images are a combination of intellect and instinct, they are meant to be raw, base, explicit and expressive. I want the viewer to react. It is important to evoke a strong emotional response from my viewers. I want the female viewer to walk away from the experience feeling empowered.

     Much of my art is about seeing and confronting inner fears. The works are created out of the desire to release the emotions and memories within. I use the act of creation as therapy and a way to visualize my unconscious thought. The process of painting serves to integrate the repressed aspects of my personality into the surface persona, creating a unity that keeps me balanced and sane.

     The choice of subject matter in my work is a result of my life experience and knowledge I have gained both mentally and physically. My primary focus is a combination of women, nature, anger, pain, life, death and rebirth because that is the subject matter I know most intimately. The colors I use evolve out of mood or unconscious attraction more than from a conscious or intellectual decision. I believe every artist has a signature pallet based on their personality, gender, culture and individual life experience. Sometimes a concept will lead to a color and conversely a color can lead to an image. Generally, colors, textures, mediums and subject matter grow and change as the artist develops.

     The symbols, body parts, animals and patterns I use all have multiple meanings and different levels of significance to each work. Often, my attraction or reasoning behind the use of these elements, colors and archetypes in my work is beyond my ability to explain in words. I rely on the image to relay my message. Unfortunately, for those who ask, I cannot be more concrete and specific about my process of creation, as I consider it against everything I believe to limit the powers of the unconscious by describing it in words. Like those who have religious faith, I allow myself to trust and have complete faith in that which I cannot define. I believe in the powers vested in the intestines.

     Ultimately there is no science to the decisions in my work. I do not view these choices as a commercial artist or interior designer might. I am not trying to target a market, create an ambiance, or sell decorator art. What I do in my work is primarily for me and those who choose to understand and relate to it. What I do is express myself. To do so successfully, I rely on a combination of my spirit, instincts, intuition, emotions, sexuality and intellect. My art is multidimensional and created from all aspects of my embodiment.

Intestines Symbolized

     The serpent symbolizes many of the concepts I have vested into the intestines. I chose the serpent because she is also believed to be uncivilized and prefers to live in dark, damp places. Her image lurks in our subconscious and triggers a deep instinctual response. In many paintings seen on AEFraser.com, it appears as though the intestines came to life and separate from the figure in the form of a serpent. The long, strong muscular form acts as an extension of the revitalized feminine persona.

     The serpent is a positive symbol for women because its ancient archetypal image has long been associated with powerful Queens, Chieftains, Priestesses and the Greek Goddess Athena (goddess of wisdom and war). Like the image of these strong women, the serpent is as graceful she is deadly. The serpent's primordial form invokes fear, fascination and excitement. Similar to my definition of the intestines, the serpent has traditionally represented the unconscious, instincts, inner knowledge, feminine sexuality and intuition. The serpent is also seen as the guide to the underworld. In many cultures, the serpent is recognized as the actual force behind creation, the first Great Mother. In all mythological language, the serpent is a symbol of immortality; she is the primordial instincts, continuous and unchanging.

Art's Greater Purpose

     Beyond my need for art as a refuge and means of meditation, I believe it serves a greater purpose. I think sharing one's inner suffering in a non verbal fashion helps to connect with others on a deeper level. Some experiences cannot and perhaps should not be verbally articulated. My work provides proof of this woman's pain as well as her strength, power and intelligence.

     Unveiling one's work is both frightening and exhilarating. To share these pieces that evolved from my unconscious takes great courage and determination. It is a forbidden act of mental exhibition, the naked truth of one's deepest secrets and fears revealed. To view an honest portrayal of one's unconscious is to participate in, as well as gain knowledge from, the experience.

     In reestablishing a lost contact with the unconscious, the artist creates from the position of medium or seer. Re-envisioning our primal memories of mythic places, ancient symbolism and human-animal-plant hybrids increases the possibility of communicating directly with the viewer at a more primitive, visceral and sincere level.

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      For more Art and Information on Amy E. Fraser go to Aefraser.com All images and text from "Dissecting The Western Woman Artist: An Artist's Dialogue" copyright Amy E. Fraser. All rights reserved. Amy E. Fraser's Master's Thesis. Original Publication by Dartmouth College 2000.