Sublimation?

Picasso sculpture in Daley Plaza, Chicago, IL, USA

"Modern art, a creative outlet of one's psychological distress"?? I've always known modern art and theater are depressing if we understand the reason behind the masterpieces but I never thought of them as "sublimation", one of Freudian's defense mechanisms in which one channel their anger and aggression in a creative way namely sports, video games etc., until my Counseling Psychology lecturer mentioned it in class.

It makes sense now that many of the artists have some problems. Lol. Now I'm not sure whether art is such a good thing anymore. That question stuck with me for the past two days. It's kind of depressing. From theater class last semester, I learned how much social criticism exist in theatrical works. It was interesting but gloomy to find out. Is music, art, and theater still worth being appreciated? Should we keep exposing ourselves to these depressing materials?

After thinking a bit, I think the best thing to do is just acknowledge and understand art and perhaps appreciate the madness behind them, and not to take them personally. Hehe.... I'm trying to think of theater and art with not so much pain in them. Any suggestions anyone?