COSMOGONIA

“This tremendous world I have inside of me. How to free myself, and this world, without tearing myself to pieces. I’d rather tear myself to a thousand pieces than be buried with this world within me.” 
(Kafka Franz)

The creative process is, according to Freud, an alternative to neurosis, that is a defense mechanism protecting against neurosis, leading thus to the production of a socially acceptable source of entertainment and pleasure for the public. For the artist has the ability of turning his fantasies into artistic creations instead of into symptoms.

The unconscious plays a major role in the act of creation. That is, the act of creation is made possible by the libido, the energy of the id, and by a defense mechanism considered to be the most beneficial – sublimation making the thoughts of the unconscious more acceptable to the conscious.

Art is thus a means of giving expression to, and dealing with, various psychic pressures. The artist can work his fantasy - a substitute for satisfaction - by means of sublimation, into a socially acceptable form, art, that the others can enjoy. He works out the personal in his daydreams, fantasies into something he can share with the public. Any artistic creation is a compromise between the unconscious and conscious intent of its author. However, how the artist accomplishes this effect of pleasure is, according to Freud, his 'innermost secret'.