The use of art for the study of symbols.

"All symbols function within a complex network of matrices and potential choices which can perhaps be explained up to a point, but not translated into exact equivalences unless a happy accident provides one." Art "was once the servant of symbolism and not symbolism the servant of art. I believe the study of known symbols in artistic contexts, be they in painting, music, or poetry might indeed elucidate to the psychologist what forms, colors, rhythms, or sounds are felt to go with what meanings. They might direct his attention to the old doctrine of decorum which is precisely concerned with the search of such fitting or appropriate matches." The effect of art on the receiver is a multiple kind of message; in the work of art the matrices are not neatly separated; they are telescoped and condensed into one. "The effect of this simultaneity can be dramatic. There is no doubt that Freud's discoveries have enabled us to look deeper both into the consonance and the dissonance of multiple meanings that interlink in the structure of artistic symbols." Historically, art did not begin as self-expression, "but as a search for metaphors commanding assent among those who wanted the symbols of their faith to make visible the invisible, who looked for the message of the mystery." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)