The psychoanalyst and philosopher, Otto Rank said, ”Art is life's dream interpretation.”
Rank was fully aware that art acted as an “immortality project” for humans. In other words, we all have projects that we want to live on beyond our physical selves (after our death).
“The Great Mullein” - Kallitype print from a paper negative.
We need these. What are they? They may be things like having children, getting a big job, wearing the latest fashions, and all kinds of material things. It could be owning a collection of antiques, belonging to a church, or a political group, getting an advanced degree, etc. These projects can be anything that allows us to be a part of something that transcends our death. It’s a way for us to “achieve immortality”.
We’re not afraid of actually dying. We’re afraid of being forgotten. That’s the crux of the issue. If you feel like you’re going to be forgotten, your life becomes meaningless and insignificant. We can’t bear that, psychologically speaking. So we need to create these illusions in our lives - “immortality projects”.
Think about the billions (some estimates say 10+ billion) of people that have lived and died on the earth. The vast majority, 99.99999%, are forgotten. Only a few in recent history, mostly bad or infamous people, are remembered. And, over time, they will be forgotten, too. It’s a frightening thought for most people.
Thinking that your life has no significance or meaning and that you’re going to die and decay is unbearable. Becker refers to us as “food for worms”. As humans, we all engage in activities that allow us, for a time, to disengage from the fear of dying and being forgotten or death anxiety. They provide us with what Becker calls self-esteem. Self-esteem gives us meaning and significance in the world. Without it, we can’t function, or, we can’t function very well. There are a lot of people that suffer from no self-esteem - you see them everywhere - low functioning, problematic lives. We need to feel good about our lives. And we do that through our projects.
One of my “immortality projects” happens to be art. I have a few in my life, but that’s the one you’d be familiar with. Am I aware of why I’m doing this? Yes, I am. Am I aware that in the “big picture” it’s meaningless? Yes, I am. Why do I keep doing it? Because I want to feel meaningful and significant while I’m here and want something of “me” to live on beyond my physical death. That’s why. And I’m fully aware of all it implies. I’m very aware that my art is meaningless in this context. Everything is. We can’t live every day with that terrible fact. We need a coping mechanism, a good and positive one. We need these projects, whatever they are, to survive and thrive in this life.
Becker was clear that this is not an ego thing. This is completely normal and even rational in some contexts. If we allow ourselves to fall into constant fear and anxiety about the meaninglessness of everything, we suffer and the people around us suffer as well. Most people are not consciously aware that this is going on in their lives. They only think that the new job is going to provide success or the new relationship is going to bring happiness. And they probably will. It will be in the context of fending off death anxiety. I’ve said it a lot, all human activity is driven by death anxiety, or in the service of keeping it at bay.
Dr. Sheldon Solomon is writing and talking a lot nowadays about another way to deal with death anxiety. He says that gratitude and humility will suffice, or can replace immortality projects. Or living in gratitude and humility can even become an immortality project itself. I’ve been thinking a lot about his ideas. I can see what he’s referring to in general. Both of those attributes are the polar opposites of death anxiety responses. The fear and worry are subdued with gratitude and humility.
So if you’re aware of this, pick projects that are positive. Projects that won’t hurt other people; and projects that will help humanity in some way; large or small. Express whatever it is that you feel connected to and concerned about. But be aware that we are all vulnerable to harming “the other” - people who are different from us, people who look different, believe different things, etc. Be conscious not to engage in projects that are harmful and negative.
"There was just that moment and now there's this moment and in between there is nothing. Photography, in a way, is the negation of chronology."
-Geoff Dyer, "The Ongoing Moment"