Surrealism research

Research of surrealism 

Surrealism began in literature in 1924 through the poet andre breton. 

Surrealism rose from the ashes of Dada. 

Like Dada, it was an avant-garde movement, surrealism was also influenced by the ideas of symbolism.  

Symbolist artists such as Gustave Moreau were seen by Brenton as precursors. Surrealist artists sought to liberate the subconscious mind in their art did this through depiction of dreamlike images rendered in precise detail. 

Other artists like Miro explored atomism the means of creating expressive images without engaging the rational rotational mind.   

In 1963 the International surrealist exhibition was held in London, Brenton and Deli gave lectures there. 

As the second World war ravaged Europe many surrealists fled across the Atlantic. 

Abstract Expressionists, such as Jackson pollock were inspired by the Surrealist approach to automatism for the unconscious mind. 

What is Surrealism 

Surrealism aimed to revolutionize human experience, rejecting a rational vision of life in favour of one that asserted the value of the unconscious and dreams. The movement’s poets and artists found magic and strange beauty in the unexpected and the uncanny, the disregarded and the unconventional. 

Source: https://www.tate.org.uk/art/art-terms/s/surrealism 

Artist research 

 I chose to do André Breton, I find his work to be odd in the best way possible.  A French writer and poet, His writings include the first Surrealist Manifesto of 1924, with this he defined surrealism as “pure psychic automatism”. He was born 1896 in the beautiful Tinchebray. As an only child, As a medical student, Breton was interested in mental illness; his reading of the works of Sigmund Freud (whom he met in 1921) introduced him to the concept of the unconscious. Influenced by psychiatry and Symbolist poetry, he joined the Dadaists. His inspiration was Tristan Tzara a poet, Tristan Tzara, Tristan Tzara yet anther poet and many more. With his first three inspirations he must have been inspired more by poetry, he was one to write and dabble in poetry along with his art. 

I love how This is such an old piece and yet its so original, it seems like it’s a regular picture of him with a 20^th century twist to collage to it. The goofy atmosphere of this piece can define how he sees himself as an artist but yet the stern surrealness sets his work. His use of minimal colors makes this appealing to the eye as its not too in your face. The use of green, red and brownish yellow gives this almost bland piece a pop of color. As I’m struggling to find words to describe this I asked my sister what she though, as shes not much of an art head her words were “it looks like there’s a marshmallow on his head smoking a cigar” and looking into it as a modern perspective it does make sense where she’s coming from. Going into this blind with no knowledge on him or his work it can look odd.