SURREALISM By: Kelsey and Michael

WHAT IS SURREALISM?  The Metropolitan Museum of Art defines surrealism as a literary movement, that began in the late 1910s and early ‘20s, that experimented with a new mode of expression called “automatic writing, or automatism, which sought to release the unbridled imagination of the subconscious.”

WHERE DID IT ALL BEGIN?  Paris 1924  Andre Breton publishes The Manifesto of Surrealism

MANIFESTO: PART 1  Dream states exhibit qualities unrestrained by thought and consciousness.  The simple ‘automatic’ nature of dreams may expose things which cannot be perceived or understood otherwise and may reveal more about existence than other, restrained, forms of thought.

MANIFESTO: PART 2  All things occurring in a dream state seem natural because they are automatic.  The body does not try to reason or understand while thinking automatically. It does however do so in the waking state and is in fact susceptible to disorientation, or not understanding what is perceived, which suggests that the waking, logical, or conscious states of the mind are not normal and interfere with ‘true’ perception.  Non-automatic thought cannot react in a meaningful way. It can react and its reaction can be measured in ways but it does not contribute meaning of itself.

MANIFESTO: PART 3  In a state of automatic thought one will be content with whatever one perceives.  What one perceives is not lacking in any way, nor does one desire to experience more or need anything.  Simple experience is enough for the sake of itself.

MANIFESTO: PART 4  Surrealism is then by definition the combination of this seemingly unnatural conscious thought or dream and seemingly natural automatic thought or reality.  One must delve into the depth of dreams and form a combined reality of both reality and dreams.

THE IDEA BEHIND IT ALL  The poetry and works of art that came from this time period drew inspiration from the inner workings of the mind.  Using Freud’s idea of free association, poets and artists produced surprising and unique works.

FREE ASSOCIATION 

KEY POETS  French Poets: Louis Aragon (1897–1982, Paul Éluard (1895–1952) Philippe Soupault (1897–1990 All influenced by the psychological theories and dream studies of Sigmund Freud (1856–1939) and the political ideas of Karl Marx (1818–1883)

KEY VISUAL ARTISTS  German Max Ernst (1891–1976)  Frenchman André Masson (1896–1987)  Spaniard Joan Miró (1893–1983)  American Man Ray (1890–1976

MAX ERNST “La Nymphe Echo” 1990 “The Temptations of St. Anthony” 1945

ERNST  German-born Surrealist  Helped shape the emergence of Abstract Expressionism in America post-World War II  Medium: sculpture, painting, and collage  Used surrealist art as a means of processing his experience in World War I  Helped in the transition from surrealism to abstract expressionism in New York, particularly inspiring Jackson Pollock.

ANDRE MASSON “In the Tower of Sleep” 1938“Paysage Iroquois” 1942

MASSON  French painter, draughtsman, printmaker and stage designer  Automatic Drawing: The hand is encouraged to move randomly around across the page, allowing chance to take over.  Many of his works were inspired by the Spanish Civil War

JOAN MIRÓ “Carnival of Harlequin” “Sonnens”

MAN RAY

 Painting, sculpture, film, prints and poetry  Worked in styles influenced by Cubism, Futurism, Dada and Surrealism  Worked commercial and fine art  Fashion photographer.

ARTISTS INSPIRED BY SURREALISM

GIORGIO DE CHIRICO “Le Muse Inquietanti” 1918“Il Ritornante” 1918

CHIRICO  Helped form the short-lived Metaphysical Art movement, along with the painter Carlo Carrà.  French Surrealists viewed his early works as a precursor to surrealism but found his later works strayed from the movement. Disapproval of his late works shaped the ideology of critics

PABLO PICASSO “Marie-Therese Walter 1937” “Guernica”

PICASSO  Invented collage  Major contributions to Symbolism  Painter, sculptor, printmaker and ceramist.  “At any one time, his work was usually characterized by a single dominant approach, he often moved interchangeably between different styles - sometimes even in the same artwork.”

FRANCIS PICABIA “Hera” 1929 “Villica Safe” 1929

PICABIA  "Papa Dada"  Principle figures of the Dada movement both in Paris and New York  Never actually associated himself with surrealists though his work was a combination of figurative images and abstraction.

MARCEL DUCHAMP

DUCHAMP  Spearheaded the American Dada movement together Picabia and Man Ray.  Challenged the very notion of what art was  Focused on mechanisms of desire and human sexuality as well as wordplay, much like the Surrealists  Refused to be affiliated with any specific artistic movement

WHAT HAPPENED TO SURREALISM?  The Surrealist Movement in Europe came to an end with the onset of World War II  Breton, Dalí, Ernst, Masson, and others moved to New York to continue their work  Movement found renewal in the United States at Peggy Guggenheim's (1898–1979) gallery, Art of This Century, and the Julien Levy Gallery  Later generations of artists, including Joseph Cornell (1903–1972) and Arshile Gorky (1904–1948, transformed Surrealism into Abstract Expressionism

DADAISM AND SURREALISM TODAY 

WORKS CITED  "Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History." Surrealism. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Oct  "Manifesto of Surrealism." Manifesto of Surrealism. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Oct stoOfSurrealism.htm>.

WORKS CITED CTD…  "Max Ernst Biography, Art, and Analysis of Paintings by TheArtStory." Max Ernst Biography, Art, and Analysis of Paintings by TheArtStory. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 Nov  "The Art Story.org - Your Guide to Modern Art." Pablo Picasso Biography, Art, and Analysis of Works. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 Nov  "The Art Story.org - Your Guide to Modern Art." Marcel Duchamp Biography, Art, and Analysis of Works. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 Nov