The atelier of the psychoanalyst

Abstract

The author departs from the mythical encounter between the baby and his/her mother, described by D. Meltzer as the aesthetic conflict, to refer to the foundation of public and private spaces in the human mind. The notions of mystery and secret resulting from these cardinal spaces will configure, along with them, the different possibilities in the relationship between the subject and the world (internal and external). The relation between men and their aesthetic objects, especially works of art, is among such possibilities. Counting with these “instruments”, the author refers to a mental space he has named “atelier”, a type of internal analysis room, where dreams are conceived. In this aesthetic dimension of psychoanalysis, the dream itself, on its part, is an atelier: a space for generating and expanding creativity, the venue of mysterious regenerations.