Friday, May 3, 2013

Menil Collection Artist Exhibit Inspired by Jungian Psychology



The Menil Collection in Houston, Texas will be putting on a display entitled, “Forrest Bess: Seeing Things Invisible” through August 18.The display features approximately forty paintings by the American artist Forrest Bess (1911-77).  
Bess’s paintings have apparent abstract expressionist tones which were greatly influenced by Jungian psychology and its emphasis on dreams, archetypes and the collective consciousness. Teaching himself to paint, Bess incorporated the intense hallucinations he experienced as a child into his art work. It was through fueling his dreams into artwork that Bess really became interested in Jungian psychology.
 Interested in learning more about Jungian psychology? TAMU Press book, Finding Jung: Frank N. McMillan Jr., a Life in Quest of the Lion (TAMU Press, 2012) by Frank N. McMillan III, features the story of Texas country boy and Texas Aggie, Frank McMillan Jr., and his life-long quest for meaning inspired by a dream lion. McMillan followed the lead of Carl Jung, the founder of analytical psychology, and eventually established the world’s first professorship to advance the study of that field. Bess's story also figures into the story.
--Madeline Loving