Surrealism
Surrealism was a movement which began in the 1920`s of writers and artists (Salvator Daliand Rene Magritte) who experimented with ways of unleashing the subconscious imagination.
Influenced by the writings of psychologist Sigmund Freud, the literary, intellectual and artistic movements called Surrealism sought a revolution against the constraints of the national mind, and by extension, the rules of a society they saw as oppressive. Freud and other psychoanalysts used a variety of techniques to bring to the surface the subconscious thoughts of their patients. The surrealists borrowed many of the same techniques to stimulate their writing and art, with the belief that the creativity that came from deep within a person`s subconscious could be more powerful and authentic than any product of conscious thought.
Sigmund Freud`s Theory
1. Dreams : accessing the subconscious (unconscious), playful yet sometime the disturbing.
Freud used the analogy of an iceberg to describe the three levels of the mind.On the surface is consciousness, which consists of those thoughts that are the focus of our attention now, and this is seen as the tip of the iceberg. The preconscious consists of all which can be retrieved from memory. The third and most significant region is the unconscious. Here lie the processes that are the real cause of most behaviour. Like an iceberg, the most important part of the mind is the part you cannot see.
2. Automatism: in art automatism usually refers to the accessing of materials from the subconscious or unconscious mind as part of the creative process. Automatism plays a role in Surrealists techniques such as spontaneous or automatic writing, painting, and drawing ; free association of images and words and collaborative creation though games like Exquisite Corpse.
Salvador Dali
He was a prominent Spanish surrealist painter. Dalí was a skilled draftsman, best known for the striking and bizarre images in his surrealist work. Dalí's expansive artistic repertoire included film, sculpture, and photography, in collaboration with a range of artists in a variety of media. Dalí was highly imaginative, and also enjoyed indulging in unusual and grandiose behavior. His eccentric manner and attention-grabbing public actions sometimes drew more attention than his artwork, to the dismay of those who held his work in high esteem, and to the irritation of his critics.
The Object
Andre Breton
Many surrealist artists, especially in the 1930s, began arranging objects in combinations that challenged reason and summoned subconscious and poetic associations. The most easily obtained materials were found objects, or items cheaply purchased at flea markets. The mundane, mostly mass- produced objects found new resonances when arranged in unprecedented and provocative configurations. Surrealist leader Andre Breton believed that this new form of sculpture, called assemblage, had the power the puncture the thin veneer of reality, and the tap into the subconscious mind. As Breton proclaimed, " to aid the systematic derangement of all the senses... it is my opinion that we must not hesitate to bewilder sensation... "
The Body
Many surrealists produced objects and images with an insistently erotic dimension. This was driven , in part, by their interest in Freudian psychology and so called 'primitive' non-Western art, which they presumed to be untainted by modernist rationalism. Though these explorations of the human figure had a long tradition in the history of art, Surrealists went further, breaking, taboos and shocking viewers in their depiction of mutilated, dismembered or distorted bodies.
In the 1930s, such visions may have had particular resonance given the still-pervasive sight of World War 1 veterans- many left limbless or using prosthetics and the specter of the second World War on the horizon.
The Landscape
Landscapes- images of natural scenery- remained a popular subject at the height of the Surrealist movement in the 1920s. In the decades preceding Surrealism, the genre had undergone radical transformations as artists broke free from straight representational landscapes, using non-naturalistic colours and experimental paint applications. Despite these innovations, most painters continued to paint from the natural world.
Surrealist landscape tapped into a different source for imagery: the subconscious mind. The landscapes shown here reflect the uncanny, sometimes elusive imagery of dreams, myth and fantasy. At time lacking recognizable geological elements such as mountains, hills or vistas, these works confound traditional expectations of the landscape genre, and propose that interior world of the of the psyche is as complex and ripe for exploration as the world beyond our bodies.
1. Dreams : accessing the subconscious (unconscious), playful yet sometime the disturbing.
Freud used the analogy of an iceberg to describe the three levels of the mind.On the surface is consciousness, which consists of those thoughts that are the focus of our attention now, and this is seen as the tip of the iceberg. The preconscious consists of all which can be retrieved from memory. The third and most significant region is the unconscious. Here lie the processes that are the real cause of most behaviour. Like an iceberg, the most important part of the mind is the part you cannot see.
2. Automatism: in art automatism usually refers to the accessing of materials from the subconscious or unconscious mind as part of the creative process. Automatism plays a role in Surrealists techniques such as spontaneous or automatic writing, painting, and drawing ; free association of images and words and collaborative creation though games like Exquisite Corpse.
Salvador Dali
He was a prominent Spanish surrealist painter. Dalí was a skilled draftsman, best known for the striking and bizarre images in his surrealist work. Dalí's expansive artistic repertoire included film, sculpture, and photography, in collaboration with a range of artists in a variety of media. Dalí was highly imaginative, and also enjoyed indulging in unusual and grandiose behavior. His eccentric manner and attention-grabbing public actions sometimes drew more attention than his artwork, to the dismay of those who held his work in high esteem, and to the irritation of his critics.
The Object
Andre Breton
Many surrealist artists, especially in the 1930s, began arranging objects in combinations that challenged reason and summoned subconscious and poetic associations. The most easily obtained materials were found objects, or items cheaply purchased at flea markets. The mundane, mostly mass- produced objects found new resonances when arranged in unprecedented and provocative configurations. Surrealist leader Andre Breton believed that this new form of sculpture, called assemblage, had the power the puncture the thin veneer of reality, and the tap into the subconscious mind. As Breton proclaimed, " to aid the systematic derangement of all the senses... it is my opinion that we must not hesitate to bewilder sensation... "
 |
| Man Ray Indestructible object |
 |
| Joseph Cornell Taglioni's Jewel Casket |
 |
| Meret Oppenheim Object |
Many surrealists produced objects and images with an insistently erotic dimension. This was driven , in part, by their interest in Freudian psychology and so called 'primitive' non-Western art, which they presumed to be untainted by modernist rationalism. Though these explorations of the human figure had a long tradition in the history of art, Surrealists went further, breaking, taboos and shocking viewers in their depiction of mutilated, dismembered or distorted bodies.
In the 1930s, such visions may have had particular resonance given the still-pervasive sight of World War 1 veterans- many left limbless or using prosthetics and the specter of the second World War on the horizon.
 |
| Salvador Dali Retrospective Bust of a Woman |
 |
| Renee Magritte The Lovers |
 |
| Hans Bellmer Plate from La Poupee |
The Landscape
Landscapes- images of natural scenery- remained a popular subject at the height of the Surrealist movement in the 1920s. In the decades preceding Surrealism, the genre had undergone radical transformations as artists broke free from straight representational landscapes, using non-naturalistic colours and experimental paint applications. Despite these innovations, most painters continued to paint from the natural world.
Surrealist landscape tapped into a different source for imagery: the subconscious mind. The landscapes shown here reflect the uncanny, sometimes elusive imagery of dreams, myth and fantasy. At time lacking recognizable geological elements such as mountains, hills or vistas, these works confound traditional expectations of the landscape genre, and propose that interior world of the of the psyche is as complex and ripe for exploration as the world beyond our bodies.
 |
| Salvador Dali The persistence of memory |
 |
| Max Ernest Two children are threatened by a nightingale |
 |
| Joan Miro The Hunter |
No comments:
Post a Comment