Surrealism
Surrealism cannot be defined by one word as the complexity of the art can only be interpreted by the imagination itself. It’s a 20th century avant-garde movement in art and literature as a way for various artists to express and release the creative potential within their unconscious mind. It started in Paris, 1924 by the artist Andre Breton. This was one of the longest surviving art movements as it explored and unlocked the truths and mysteries of the imagination, through dreams and depicting reality through one’s own personal perspective.
Many forms of surrealism took place in painting, sculpture, film, fashion, psychology, photography, philosophy, linguistics, pseudo-scientific study and political activism. Surrealism was popular during the post war Dada swell as Breton wrote “like two waves overtaking one another in turn” when describing proto-surrealism to modern surrealism. It was a collective media such as collage and the ‘readymade’, random objects thrust into gallery space to challenge the ideology of the audience. Surrealist work like Max Ernst’s who depicted cartoons within surrealism or Duchamp’s famous ‘Fountain’ which shocked, mocked, frustrated and ridiculed the opinions of the audience. Breton experienced pain as he was a war time psychiatric nurse therefore he took a Freudian psycho-sexual approach.
Playwright Antonin Artaud believed surrealism wasn’t a specific style yet he believed it was “the cry of a mind turning back on itself”. Within surrealism there were many techniques like frottage and grattage which involved placing texture objects underneath canvas or paper and rubbing/scraping through paint to reveal an imprint. On the other side of the movement there were those who tried convey surreal automatism without the use of media or process but through subject matter. Automatism artist such as Dali and Magritte created dream-scapes, being able to depict dream like scenarios within reality. Surrealism was the definition that explained architectural structure that defied the laws of physics, shadows that took no form, and entities that seem to blend into fabric and paintings itself.
At the time society was very judgemental and narrow minded. As surrealism opened a gateway to the unconscious mind and awakened various emotions within the pubic. Ruled by George V, people reserved their emotions. Therefore surrealism corrupted the normality of society by evoking emotions and opinions from the ‘normal’ public. “One may one will never find any other motivating source”. (www.theamericanconservative.com)
Many artists created their artwork through chance meaning they used lighting, shadows and the free will of the mind.
Key terms of the movement: Burlage is a technique where the photographer burns their negative images. This manipulates and distorts the images. This process results in melted, stretched and twisted images with colour shifts. This process is irreversible. Decalcomania is a technique where the artist press paint between two surfaces to create a mirror image. The most common version of this involves applying paint to paper then folding it, applying pressure and revealing a mirror pattern. This technique is mostly associated with the surrealist painter Max Ernst and Oscar Dominguez who turned these mirror images into landscapes and mythical creatures. Collage is a technique that involves using various media and layering them onto a supporting surface. This term comes from the French word 'papiers colles' or 'decoupage' which describes the technique of plastering paper cuts-outs onto various surfaces. Collage can also include other media such as painting, drawing and digital manipulation as well as three-dimensional elements. The uncanny is a concept of art associated with the psychologist Freud which describes a strange and anxious feeling sometimes create by objects in unfamiliar contexts. This term was first used by the German psychiatrist Ernst Jentsch in his essay 'On the psychology of the Uncanny', 1906. He describes the uncanny as 'unheimlich', unhomely in German. (www.tate.org.uk)
Features that inspired surrealism: lack of sleep, substance of abuse, culture (originating in New York, Paris, Caribbean), suppressed memory, sexual desires, violent urges, effects of romanticism, Arnold Brocklin, Edgar Alan Poe, Dada.
When compared to Baroque, I personally favoured surrealism as it has a more interesting approach to how art is made, thought of and presented. Baroque had a controlled and sombre colour palette and focused too much on detail and perfection. However, Surrealism is a stunning, striking and beautiful performance and story- it’s a way for many artists to create and narrate something beyond standards- it allows many to come together and live a dream, to give colour a meaning, to give shape life, surrealism is realism for those who live beyond the conscious mind.
These art movements both have different characteristics, events and people who influenced each movement. The Baroque movement started in 1630 and ended in 1680; this movement lasted 50 years. Whereas the Surrealism movement started in 1924 and ended in 1966 with the death of Breton; this movement lasted 42 years, 8 years less than the Baroque movement. However it is argued that the Surrealist movement didn't end in 1966 as there were various artists still creating pieces of work related to the subject. Moreover the Baroque movement was heavily influenced by the church and monarch whereas Surrealism was influenced by the unconscious mind and World War 2. This would have effected each movement as the Baroque period tried to manipulate peoples mind into thinking one way unlike the surrealist movement that aimed to liberate the minds of the people by presenting unusual and uncanny images. Also Baroque aimed to capture a moment in a painting, typically recorded on canvas. Whereas Surrealism aimed to create dream like paintings, photographs, collages etc... Surrealism explored various ways of experimenting with different media and ideas that were abstract and unnatural. Baroque didn't achieve this as their aim was to create realistic paintings and were usually religious interpretations of biblical stories.
Quotes from:
https://www.tate.org.uk/art
https://www.brainyquote.com/
https://artsandculture.google.com/
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