Take out a piece of paper and Just draw (no thinking beforehand!)

Surrealism

Jessica Sun, Nureen Ahammed

What is surrealism?● Rejection of realism in art● Access the unconscious mind and imagination● Insight on reality/ “superior reality”● Free from constraints of logic and rationalism

History of surrealism ● Influenced by Dadaism● Started by Andre Breton, an ex-Dadaist, wrote the

Surrealist Manifesto● Wanted to override the rational mind to reach unconscious● Freud gave validity to the movement, emphasizing the

unconscious, an indicator of desires and emotions ● Started in Paris by a small group of artists in 1920s● Expanded worldwide in 1930s● No one event is known to have ended the movement

Automatists vs. Veristic Surrealists● Focus on feeling ● Less investigative● How images of the subconscious

reach the conscious automatically● Free association/less control● Joan Miro, Max Ernst, Andre Masson

● Imagery from subconscious holds meaning

● Language of the subconscious was in the form of an image

● Pursued subconscious images to understand it consciously

● Metaphors to understand world in different perspective

● Salvador Dali, Rene Magritte

Would you describe your drawings as automatistic or veristic?

Salvador Dali● Uses true form of

objects● Objects appear

deformed/dislocated● Different context

The Persistence of Memory

Rene Magritte● Realistic

paintings (hyper-realism)

● Displaced objects● “His unique

effect is heightened by his use of everyday objects.”

The Son of Man

Joan Miro● Every

form/shape/image signifies a real object

● Inspired by “state of hallucination,” induced by a shock of some sort

The Birth of the World