Looking into the Subconscious Surrealism Looking into the Subconscious

What is Surrealism? A style in which fantastical visual imagery from the subconscious mind is used with no intention of making the work logically comprehensible (artcylopedia.com)

Other Surrealism Facts: Began in Europe around 1924. The Surrealism Movement ended in the 1950’s. Many artists still use Surrealist concepts in their artwork today. The movement was deeply influenced by Freudian concepts and studies.

There are numerous artists that belong to the Surrealism Movement There are numerous artists that belong to the Surrealism Movement. We will be studying: Rene Magritte Salvador Dali

Rene Magritte (1898-1976) Could this be a self portrait? This is meant to be a self portrait. One thing that most people do not notice is the left arm looks as if it is bending backwards. Son of Man, 1964

Magritte’s Techniques: Levitation: Floating objects. Juxtaposition: Placing objects together that normally aren’t seen together. Scale Changes: Making large objects small and vice versa.

This is an example of levitation and a little of metamorphosis.

How? His realistic technique; his paintings look almost like photographs that have been cut and pasted together. Although the technique is realistic, this painting is missing several things. The missing reflection in the mirror and the missing fireplace help to add an eerie affect to this painting. This is an example of Juxtaposition. Time Transfixed

Magritte created paintings that made the impossible look possible. Le Blanc Seing

Why doesn’t he include any faces in his paintings? He also didn’t include faces which is a common characteristic of dreams; characters without faces or characters changing from one person to another in the middle of a dream. Also, leaving the faces out of the painting allows the viewer to create their own faces in their minds which can change the meaning.

What do you think Magritte was trying to do with his paintings? Do you think he was trying to convey a message? Surrealists were not concerned with conveying a specific message. They wanted their artwork to be like dreams; ambiguous or not able to decipher.

The Temptation of St. Anthony Salvador Dali (1904-1989) The artwork of Dali (persistence of memory specifically) is perhaps the most recognizable of the Surrealist movement. The Temptation of St. Anthony

Some additional Surrealist techniques used by Dali: Metamorphosis: Changing one object into another. Melting objects (such as clocks). Stretching objects

Swans Reflecting Elephants All of Dali’s paintings seem to occur is this bright, colorful world that almost seems unnatural. This is an example of metamorphosis and juxtaposition which seem to happen at the same time. Swans Reflecting Elephants

Like Magritte, Dali wants you to believe that his paintings can be interpreted. This is also an example of metamorphosis, with the rocks changing into a hand holding an egg. Metamorphosis of Narcissus

Again, this is a metamorphosis, where the ship is turning into a man.

The Persistence of Memory, 1931 This is Dali’s most famous painting. It has been said that he wanted his viewers to feel the anxiety that he felt when looking at this painting. The ants represent the anxiousness, the clocks represent the melting or wasting of time, and the object in the center is supposedly a self portrait. The Persistence of Memory, 1931

So, what does all this have to do with Photography? Well, you get to do what the Surrealist painters did, but you don’t have to paint anything.

Like this one, which was done with digital photos! You will be creating Surrealist compositions, but with your photography. Like this one, which was done with digital photos!

You will be required to: Create 2 Surreal Compositions, using your OWN digital photographs. One composition you will create using Adobe Photoshop at school. One composition you will create using ArtWeaver, Gimp, or Paint.Net at home. (This is free software that you will download onto your home computer).

Your software choices: If you have a PC, you can choose one from any of the three software choices. If you have a Mac, you can only download GIMP. I will give you directions for downloading the software.

Composition Specifics: Each composition must combine at least 5 of your own, original photographs. You must cut out the objects and paste them as separate layers. You must add filter to at least one of the layers. You must change the color to at least one of the layers. You must add shadows (where needed). You must have floating objects, juxtaposition, and scale changes.

References: Photos taken art.com Information from Artcyclopedia.com Rene-magritte.org Salvadordalionline.com authenticsociety.com/article/29 artic.edu/aic/education/trc/Magritte.pdf