Kafka and the “Isms”

Expressionism Art should represent the internal reality (usually painful) rather than attempt to recreate or reproduce external reality.

Surrealism Art should focus on impossibilities and contradictions that suggest the subconscious reality of the dream world rather than the tangible reality of the physical world.

“Persistence of Memory,” Salvador Dali

Salvador Dali

“Sleep,” Salvador Dali

Salvador Dali - The Anthropomorphic Cabinet (1936)

Existentialism Reality must be created through individual actions and choices “Man is nothing else, but what he makes of himself.” -Jean-Paul Sartre (philosopher)

Existentialism starts with your existence as the original certainty Existentialism starts with your existence as the original certainty. You might not know anything else, but you at least know you exist because you are thinking. As philosopher Rene Descartes stated: “I think, therefore, I am.”

To understand what Existentialism says about existence, think of the types of things a person might believe influences or controls their existence…. An Interactive God Fate Astrology Laws Human nature Pre-destination Freud’s sub-conscious mind

Then, imagine the universe without any of these! That’s the Existential view of reality! Existentialism says there is nothing that explains, guides or gives purpose to our existence. In short – you EXIST (have “BEING”) in total FREEDOM surrounded by NOTHINGNESS.

Golconde (Magritte)

The Son of Man (Magritte)