Surrealism, an artistic and literary movement that that played a huge role in changing the perception of many on the idea of art and shaped the course of art history. Surrealism emerged in the wake of the end of Dada, emphasizing on the uninhibited imagery of the subconscious, to liberate the oppressed boundaries of human thoughts through visual arts as a means to address the extreme rationality of society which was viewed as what culminated the catastrophic war. The Surrealist Manifesto published in 1924 by poet André Breton was significantly influenced by the psychoanalytic theory of Sigmund Freud's The Interpretation of Dreams which delve into the subconscious realms of dreams, human's innermost emotions and desires.
Surrealists poets were initially skeptical about affiliating themselves with visual artist with the belief that the arduous process of producing the artwork conflicted with the idea of free expression, however did not completely overlook the visual arts as they admired and acknowledge artists such as Gustave Moreau, Arnold Bocklin, Odilon Redon, and Henri Rousseau, and more recent artist such as Francis Picabia, Giorgio de Chirico, Pablo Picasso and Marcel Duchamp. Surrealist literature and poetry as well as visual arts manifested through the juxtaposition of words or objects that brought together both the conscious and unconscious mind.
Automatic Drawing, 1924 Painiting, 1927 Nude, 1926–27
“Surrealism is destructive, but it destroys only what it considers to be shackles limiting our vision.” ― Salvador Dalí
Automatism or automatic writing refers to free association, a technique of subconscious drawing that taps into the unconscious mind and allowing it to unleash creative force without the control of the conscious mind. Some artist went as far as hypnotism, hallucination to completely suppress their conscious minds. Max Ernst, previously a member of Dada who later became an important member of the Surrealist movement pursuit the idea of automatism and embraced the element of chance. Together with artists Joan Miro and Andre Masson developed techniques such as frottage ( rubbing ), grattage (scraping) and decalcomania ( pressing paint between two surfaces ).Automatism would later on contribute to the development of abstract expressionism.
Two Children are Threatened Le Déjeuner en fourrure, 1936 The Son of Man, 1946
by a Nightingale, 1924 Meret Oppenheim Rene Magritte
Max Ernst
“The imaginary is what tends to become real.”― André Breton
Surrealist were also deeply interested in interpreting dreams, painting hyper realistic objects, removing them from their regular context, creating a paradoxical composition that is was shocking to the public as they were incomprehensible. This form of surrealist painting were usually provoked by dreams without preconceived notions and employed Freudian symbols. Belgian artist René Magritte, was one of the leading Surrealist artist that express his work through hyper-realistic, dreamlike imagery, with symbols such as the hat, apple and birds which could be found in some of his famous paintings.
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Surrealism, like many other artistic movements of the time experimented in different fields of art, surrealism manifested itself in sculpture, cinematography and photography. Un Chien Andalou (1929) and L'Age d'Or (1930) are classic surrealist films that were seen as peculiar and disturbing as they employ sexual Freudian symbols. The movement reflected the male dominated society through the emphasis on sexual inhibitions inspired by Sigmund Freud's theories..
UN CHIEN ANDALOU (1929)
Luis Buñuel and artist Salvador Dalí
The movement eventually dissolved around the time of the second world war when artists dispersed and migrated from Europe to America. Surrealism influenced following movements such as Abstract Expressionism which would flourish in America as the artists continued to spread their ideas after departure. Regardless, it was a groundbreaking movement that expanded the possibilities of modern art and is still frequently discussed to this day.
References
Hutchinson, P. ( 2014, March 14 ). Surrealism, Symbols And Sexuality In UN CHIEN ANDALOU (1929) AND L’AGE D’OR (1930). Retrieved from https://silentlondon.co.uk/2014/03/14/surrealism-hands-and-sexuality-in-un-chien-andalou-1929-and-lage-dor-1930/
Mann, J. （2016, September 23 ). How the Surrealist Movement Shaped the Course of Art History. Retrieved from https://www.artsy.net/article/artsy-editorial-what-is-surrealism
MoMALearning. ( n.d. ). Tapping the Subconscious: Automatism and Dreams Retrieved from https://www.moma.org/learn/moma_learning/themes/surrealism/tapping-the-subconscious-automatis
Tate. ( n.d. ). Automatism. Retrieved from http://www.tate.org.uk/art/art-terms/a/automatism
Tate. ( 2014, April 24 ). Exploring Surrealism with Peter Capaldi | Unlock Art. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uPD6okhfGzs
The Art Story Contributors. ( 2017 ). Surrealism Movement Overview and Analysis. Retrieved from http://www.theartstory.org/movement-surrealism.htm
The Editors of Encyclopædia Britannica. ( n.d. ). Surrealism. Retrieved from https://www.britannica.com
Voorhies, J. ( 2004, October ). Surrealism. Retrieved from https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/surr/
Art Encyclopedia. ( n.d. ). Automatism in Art. Retrieved from http://www.visual-arts-cork.com/definitions
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