Surrealism


 * Surrealism ** is a movement in visual and literary art that focuses on irrationality bringing to light truths which were inaccessible or obscured by realism. It uses devices such as surprising juxtaposition and unrealistic images in order to bring forth a subconscious reaction. "The Surrealist Manifesto" defines it thus: "SURREALISM, noun, masc., Pure psychic automatism by which it is intended to express, either verbally or in writing, the true function of thought. Thought dictated in the absence of all control exerted by reason, and outside all aesthetic or moral preoccupations."

=History=

Surrealism flourished in the early 20th century, mainly between the two world wars. It grew out of the Dada movement, but unlike Dada which was arguably centered around anti-art, Surrealism was more concerned with positive expression. In 1924 Andre Breton published "The Surrealist Manifesto," the first manifesto for the movement, which posited that surrealism could be applied not only to art and literature, but to other aspects of life as well. Breton also makes connections between surrealism and certain historical figures such as the Marquis de Sade, Arthur Rimbaud, and Dante Alighieri ==

Surrealism art focused on the dream-scape and an interest in psychology and consciousness, similarly to its Gothic predecessor. Rene Magritte, who became a figurehead for the surrealist art movement (his //Son of Man// is seen left) placed erotically exotic subjects in a dreamlike environment. In the //Son of Man//he creates desire in the audience to see the subjects actual face as well as his placement in the world since one, his face is hidden by a suspended apple and two, the environment is not very informative (it's environmentally abstract). Above, "Ceci n'est pas une pipe" reads 'this is not a pipe', because it's only a representation of a pipe. The caption included in the piece makes the audience aware that they are looking at a presentation. In creating this conscious barrier between the audience and the piece, the audience becomes self conscious. The movement began with such artists as Ernst (previously a Dada artist) and Miro. With Magritte there became two divisions of Surrealist art; automatism as previously described (and practiced artists such as Miro and Breton), and the the new illusionistic (Dali, Magritte, etc.). Where Magritte was illusionistic however, Dali took influence from him and made works that were hallucinatory. Like the Gothick movement, many works were inspired by Freudian ideas (i.e. the ant being a symbol of overwhelming lust). The formal organization of the movement dissolved with the coming of World War II.

=Artists=

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Max Ernst (1891-1976)
Having no formal training in art didn’t stop this philosophy dropout from achieving from being dubbed the “compleat Surrealist”. He dedicated himself to art, and was drafted into the German army during World War I soon after. After a brief marriage that produced a son, he left for Paris in 1921 with poet Paul Eluard and his wife.

In the 1920’s, Max developed techniques like frottage, grattage, and decalcomania. These techniques, some developed alongside Joan Miro, were said to “free the subconscious and relieve the ‘author’ of any direct hand in creation... the visual artist’s counterpart to the ‘automatic writing’ procedure."

Max began sculpting in 1934, and his work caught the eye of Peggy Guggenheim, who displayed his work at her London museum. He gained some success in the U.S. after World War II, then returned to Paris in 1953, where he remained painting and sculpting until his death.



**Hans Bellmer (1902-1975)**
Search deep enough through the intensifying hidden layers, you will soon penetrate the forbidden monstrosities that lay beneath. Or as Nietzsche concisely put it, "If you stare into the Abyss long enough, the Abyss stares back at you." Less than 40 years after Nietzsche's death in 1900, Hans Bellmer moved to Paris to build a career that would take Surrealism into a new level of dark and twisted imagination, exemplifying Nietzsche's warning. His specialty was the assembly and staging of posable nymphet dolls. In pantomime, or in photographs, this fetishistic display of pubescent limbs flush with sado-masochistic overtones, took the shock value up to the fringe between art and obscenity. The explanation he posits in his "Birth of the Doll" (1936), does nothing to soothe a morally apprehensive public, as he describes a sexual fascination hard to distinguish from pedophilia.

Salvador Dalí (1904-1989)
Salvador Dali was a Spanish painter, graphic artist, designer and sculptor that was lived from 1904-1989. Born in Figueras, Catalonia, Spain, Salvador Dali first went to Academy of Arts in Madrid, for his first artistic education. He also wrote several books throughout his life, his most famous being The Secret Life of Salvador Dali. While Dali had connections to the phases of Cubism, Metaphysical painting, and Futurism, he joined the Surrealists in 1929 as one of the most well-known representatives of the movement. He was famous for claiming that he was the source of his own creative energy, and that was fueled his eccentricity and exhibitionism in his many art forms. He was also very efficient in self-publicity, which is a huge part of him being a Surrealist icon.

=Poets=

[[image:federico-garcia-lorca.jpg width="199" height="253" align="left" caption="Federico Garcia Lorca"]]Federico Garcia Lorca (1898-1936)
A Spanish poet with a deep interest in the history and culture of Spain, Federico Garcia Lorca was born June 5th, 1898 in Fuente Vaqueros, Granada, Andalusia, Spain. He published his first book //Impresiones y Viajes//(1919) while studying law at Sacred Heart University after visiting Castile with his art class in 1917. His interest in Andalusian and Gypsy culture is shown in his works //Canciones// and //Romancero Gitano// ("The Gypsy Ballads") During the 1920's, Lorca was included in what was called the //Generación del 27// along with Salvador Dali where the poet was introduced to surrealism. Lorca and Dali collaborated with Dali creating the sets for Lorca's play //Mariana Pineda//. In 1929, Lorca came to New York where Harlem was his favorite neighborhood as he thought that the African-American spirituals were reminiscent of "deep songs" of Spain. By 1930 he was back in Spain and his works were toted throughout Spain which lead to his assassination by Franquist soldiers in 1939.

Leopold Sedar Senghor (TBA)
=External Links=

[|encyclopaedia brittanica] [|dictionary of surrealism] [|thai surrealism] [|surrealism and the splinters] [|the art story] [|Federico Garcia Lorca] [] [] [] []

=References=

Images are used in accordance with fair use practices.If you hold copyright to an image, and do not agree that its use accords with fair use practices,please contact the wiki's creator and organizer. =Works Cited=

From: (The Games of Dolls), trans. French. Paris, 1949 Works Cited:

Bellmer, Hans. "Birth of the Doll." Trans. Lucy R. Lippard, ed. Surrealists on Art. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1970. 63-66. Print. Lippard, Lucy R., ed. "Hans Bellmer." Surrealists on Art. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1970. 63. Print. Nietzsche, Frederich. "Article 146." Beyond Good & Evil. 1966. Vintage Books Ed. New York: Random House, 1989. Print.