ABSTRACT
In this chapter, the author tries to discuss the different means through which analysts attempt to deal with art, weighing the contributions and the shortcomings of the various psychoanalytical approaches to art. To sum up, at a societal level, art is considered by Freud among "the greatest monuments of civilization" and a precursor of psychoanalysis in that it allows a direct grasp of deep psychological truths. Psychoanalysis has much to contribute, but the people need to offer their contributions in such a way that what they have to give might be received more easily. Applied to Duchamp's work, the author might, thus, reflect on some striking convergences between contemporary art and contemporary psychoanalysis, such as the insistence on mental growth and the concern to be wary of the risks of suggestion, seduction, and indoctrination in order to enhance the greatest degree of personal freedom.
