The Psychoanalysis of Aesthetic Experience

'With starling originality, George Hagman's Psychoanalysis of Aesthetic Experience: Self, Relationship and Culture radically expands psychoanalytic aesthetic theory beyond the great early seminal contributions on art and idealization. He questions prior theories that focused on the pathology of art and artists through his appreciation of the affirmative process of making art, growth and emotional heath. With this new edition he has added several new chapters which extend his ideas into new clinical and cultural areas.’

Malcolm Owen Slavin Ph.D. Co-founder, Massachusetts Institute for Psychoanalysis, Author of The Story of Original Loss: Grieving Existential Trauma in the Arts and the Art of Psychoanalysis. (Routledge).

'In this expanded edition of his brilliant and pathbreaking book Psychoanalysis of Aesthetic Experience: Self, Relationship and Culture, George Hagman now includes fresh and insightful additional essays on the psychology of musicians, the function of beauty in erotic obsession (Kohut and Thomas Mann’s Death in Venice) and the abuse of Beauty in Hitler’s fascist aesthetics. These chapters that open clinical insights into intersubjective and transitional realms, showing how sensitivities to aesthetic meanings and the relation of artists to their artwork can transform the ways we practice psychoanalysis. In the clarity, simplicity and generosity of Hagman’s writing, the reader can always sense his dedication to what Donna Orange calls a “hermeneutics of trust.” It is a delight to be in the presence of such friendly and enlightening discourse.’

Maria D-S. Dobson, Ph.D.Professor of Classics at Colorado College. Private Practice in psychoanalytic psychotherapy in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Author of Metamorphoses of Psych in Psychoanalysis and Ancient Greek Thought, 2023 (Routledge).

'Psychoanalysis of Aesthetic Experience: Self, Relationship and Culture is a pivotal psychoanalytic text integrating the fields of aesthetics and creativity into clinical practice. Now in its 2nd edition, George Hagman expands on his definition of art, extends further the application to psychoanalytic treatment, and explores new perspectives on literary and historical investigations. Those who love the arts, or work with artists in their practice, will find this book invaluable.'

Carol M. Press, EdD,Emeritus of the Department of Theatre and Dance, University of California, Santa Barbara.