1. Surrealism

2. Surrealism 1924 “more than real” “better than real”
Originally a literary movement, it explored dreams, the unconscious, the element of chance and multiple levels of reality.
“more than real”
“better than real”

3. WHY Surrealism in 1924?
What was happening in the world around this time?

4. WHY Surrealism in 1924?
What was happening in the world around this time?
World War I ( )
Sigmund Freud

5. Physically and psychologically, WWI destroyed Western civilization
Countries Involved:
Australia
Austria
Belgium
Bulgaria
Canada
France
Germany
Great Britain
Greece
India
Iraq
Italy
Japan
Montenegro
New Zealand
Poland
Portugal
Rhodesia
Romania
Russia
Serbia
South Africa
Turkey
United States

6. “The logic, science and technology that many thought would bring a better world had gone horribly wrong.
Instead of a better world, the advancements of the 19th century had produced such high tech weapons as machine guns, long-range artillery, tanks, submarines, fighter planes and mustard gas.”
(source: Janson)

7. Staggering destruction and loss of life
TOTAL WWI CASUALTIES: 11,016,000

8. Sigmund Freud (1856-1939) The father of psychoanalysis
In 1900, Freud published The Interpretation of Dreams, and introduced the wider public to the notion of the unconscious mind
theorized that forgetfulness or slips of the tongue (now called "Freudian slips") were not accidental at all, but it was the "dynamic unconscious" revealing something meaningful.
He said “Dreams are often most profound when they seem the most crazy.”

9. Surreal:
Odd
Illogical
Irrational
Exciting
Disturbing

10. Characteristics of Surrealism
Reaction to chaos of WWI
Influence of Freud: Dreams and subconscious
Impossible scale
Reversal of natural laws
Double images
Juxtaposition

11. Where? France, Germany, Catalunya, Belgium Artists Salvador Dali Rene Magritte

12. Rene Magritte (Belgian)

13. Rene Magritte

14. René Magritte La Chambre d'écoute (The Listening Room) 1952 (impossible scale)

15. “Carte Blanche,” Rene Magritte
Rene Magritte Carte Blanche
“Carte Blanche,” Rene Magritte

16. Rene Magritte (Reversal of Natural Laws)

17. Edward Gorey

18. Edward Gorey Edward Gorey was born in Chicago
He was an American writer and artist.
His pen-and-ink drawings often show strange scenes in Victorian (olden day) scenes.
Gorey classified his own work as “Literary Nonsense”

21. Lets take a closer look…
What techniques and patterns do you notice Gorey using to show texture and shadow?

22. Lets take a closer look…
Hatching, Crosshatching, small and large U shapes to portray scales…

23. How many textures do you see in this piece?

24. Create a Venn diagram
Exit Slip: Get with a buddy: create a 1 page Venn Diagram
Compare the current illustrations of Gorey with the surrealist artwork of the past by Magritte.
Ex (types of art): Difference: Magritte uses collage and Gorey uses pencil.
If you feel stuck try using some of the elements of design as a jumping off point (line, shape, value, color, form, texture…)

26. Assignment

27. Step 1: Collage Requirements (DO NOT GLUE- JUST CUT THEM OUT)
Find 6 images in magazines/on Internet that you find interesting.
They MUST have a variety of textures (smooth/grainy/rough/sharp/glassy/wet,etc)
They must have variety in size.
Choose some that can be used vertically and some that can be used horizontally in your composition
The must have variety in value

28. Step 2: Choose three to create a surrealistic image
Rank the images in order of preference.
What image is the most important to you?
How important do you want it to be to the composition?
Realize that we can re-size and manipulate images on Photoshop
Consider what and where your focal point is placed
Make visually interesting and effective use of positive and negative
What is your idea? Start with a well thought-out creative idea. Throwing two random things together doesn’t necessarily qualify as surreal.
Use QUALITY photographic images from magazines- not cartoons or illustrations.
Consider background, middle ground and foreground.
Avoid images from popular culture such as famous people, name brands and retail products that will distract the viewer.

29. Ideas for your Surrealist Collage a) change the normal scale of objects (ex: a car the size of a living room or bugs the size of people) b) turn the accepted order of things upside down (ex: dogs walking people instead of people walking dogs) c) mix internal and external space (ex: trees growing in a kitchen, seeing the inside and outside of an object at the same time) d) transform one object into another (ex: a car turning into a fish, an animal turning into a person)

30. Student Example- Alicia

31. Student Example- Alicia

32. Step 3: Glue composition down to paper

33. Step 4:
Using the techniques for creating texture and for filling space that Edward Gorey uses, plan how you will complete a "Gorey" image.
You MUST fill most of the shapes (white areas must represent brightest light only)
It MUST make sense (that is the texture chosen must work with the specific object)
There MUST be definite space/value distinction

34. Step 5: Gridding

35. Step 6: Gridding transfer

36. Salvador Dali
(Spanish, 1904–1989)

37. The Metamorphosis of Narcissus, 1937, Salvador Dali

38. Salvador Dali Persistence of Memory 1931

39. Salvador Dali Apparition