The Archetypes and the Collective Unconscious

In 1966, Jung published The Spirit in Man, Art, and Literature, in which he describes the relationship between art and artist as an inevitable internal force. He portrays the process of making art as a compulsion beyond personal autonomy. He goes on to argue that artists are not individuals; instead, they are a part of “collective man,” and their role is to help others understand their own inherent places within a larger framework of consciousness. According to Jung, the relationship between the collective unconscious and the artist is intrinsic. The artist’s role is to tap into the collective unconscious, which is a reservoir of shared human experience; the artist draws from the mythological archetypes that inhabit the collective unconscious and explores their meanings.

Archetypes, in Jungian psychology, are universal symbols or motifs that recur across cultures and time periods, shaping human narratives and artistic expression. The relationship between archetypes and art is driven by myth, which acts as a vessel for these timeless patterns. In different art forms, they manifest through distinct mediums: In music, myth is expressed through an audible image. In literature, it is explored through symbols and motifs. In art, the visual image develops the myth. 

Jung believes that archetypes come together to form narrative and meaning. Some common Jungian archetypes are: the Self, the Shadow, Anima/Animus, the Trickster, and the Hero, and artists frequently draw on them, whether consciously or unconsciously. For example, Neil Young calls upon the archetype of the Wise Old Man in his song “Old Man,” in which the young speaker sees himself reflected in the life of his listener. The character Major Tom in David Bowie’s “Space Oddity” exemplifies the archetype of the Hero. Frida Kahlo’s paintings explore the relationship between the archetypes of the collective unconscious and her personal psyche, using imagery that aligns with archetypal patterns. These artists never explicitly acknowledged Jung’s influence, suggesting that archetypes can emerge naturally from the collective unconscious.

Jung argued that the expression of archetypes is inherent to the artist’s role. His ideas directly impacted how some musicians and artists approached their disciplines, causing them to intentionally seek examples of archetypes in their work. David Byrne of the band Talking Heads and Billy Corgan from The Smashing Pumpkins both explicitly cite Jung as an influence. The archetypes of the Self and the Shadow play a central role in The Smashing Pumpkins’ album Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness. Similarly, surrealist painters like Salvador Dali and Max Ernst were fascinated by Jung’s symbolic archetypes and descriptions of the collective unconscious and represented these ideas in their art. In literature, Herman Hesse, the author of Siddhartha, and Clarissa Pinkola Estés, who wrote Women Who Run with Wolves, incorporated Jung’s ideas into their writing.

Building on Jung’s work, the American writer and philosopher Joseph Campbell emphasized how art is connected to Jungian mythology. Focusing on Jung’s archetype of the Hero, he revealed the specific process by which the Hero achieves glory in folklore and myths from around the world. In his book, The Power of Myth, Campbell further contextualizes the shared symbols that found their origin in Jung’s theories. Campbell’s ideas have deeply influenced modern storytelling. George Lucas famously used Campbell’s theories about the Hero when writing the Star Wars movies. Science fiction writer Ursula K. Le Guin, while inspired by Campbell, took it upon herself to reimagine the traditional male-centric role of the Hero, offering alternative versions in her works. This further expanded the role of Jungian archetypes in mythology and the arts.