ABSTRACT
This chapter aims to develop a Winnicottian approach to art that differs significantly both from Freud's early essays in the field, and from the more recent Kleinian approach of Hannah Segal. E. L. Freud's theoretical equipment was too deeply rooted in instinct theory to do justice to the relational aspects of the work of art, while Segal's view pays too little attention to the power and influence of the actual environment in shaping the course of development, and the subsequent life of the individual. The chapter attempts to build on Winnicott's interest in creativity and its roots in the early mother-infant set-up. It makes use of notion of primary creativity which can only be understood in terms of a very specific kind of interaction with the mother. Responsive dialogue involves a matching resonance of form and experience. It underpins the development of the self and the core sense of "aliveness".
