Synopsis

TheSurrealistartistssoughttochanneltheunconsciousasameanstounlockthepowerofthe
imagination.Disdainingrationalismandliteraryrealism,andpowerfullyinfluencedby
psychoanalysis,theSurrealistsbelievedtherationalmindrepressedthepowerofthe
imagination,weightingitdownwithtaboos.InfluencedalsobyKarlMarx,theyhopedthat
thepsychehadthepowertorevealthecontradictionsintheeverydayworldandspuron
revolution.Theiremphasisonthepowerofpersonalimaginationputstheminthetraditionof
Romanticism,butunliketheirforbears,theybelievedthatrevelationscouldbefoundonthe
streetandineverydaylife.TheSurrealistimpulsetotaptheunconsciousmind,andtheir
interestsinmythandprimitivism,wentontoshapemanylatermovements,andthestyle
remainsinfluentialtothistoday.

KeyIdeas
AndrBretondefinedSurrealismas"psychicautomatisminitspurestate,bywhichone
proposestoexpressverbally,bymeansofthewrittenword,orinanyothermannerthe
actualfunctioningofthought."WhatBretonisproposingisthatartistsbypassreasonand
rationalitybyaccessingtheirunconsciousmind.Inpractice,thesetechniquesbecameknown
asautomatismorautomaticwriting,whichallowedartiststoforgoconsciousthoughtand
embracechancewhencreatingart.
TheworkofSigmundFreudwasprofoundlyinfluentialforSurrealists,particularlyhisbook,
TheInterpretationofDreams(1899).Freudlegitimizedtheimportanceofdreamsandthe
unconsciousasvalidrevelationsofhumanemotionanddesires;hisexposureofthecomplex
andrepressedinnerworldsofsexuality,desire,andviolenceprovidedatheoreticalbasisfor
muchofSurrealism.
Surrealistimageryisprobablythemostrecognizableelementofthemovement,yetitisalso
themostelusivetocategorizeanddefine.Eachartistreliedontheirownrecurringmotifs
arisenthroughtheirdreamsor/andunconsciousmind.Atitsbasic,theimageryisoutlandish,
perplexing,andevenuncanny,asitismeanttojoltthevieweroutoftheircomforting
assumptions.Nature,however,isthemostfrequentimagery:MaxErnstwasobsessedwith
birdsandhadabirdalterego,SalvadorDal'sworksoftenincludeantsoreggs,andJoan
Mirreliedstronglyonvaguebiomorphicimagery.

Beginnings

SurrealismgrewoutoftheDadamovement,whichwasalsoinrebellionagainstmiddleclass
complacency.Artisticinfluences,however,camefrommanydifferentsources.Themost
immediateinfluenceforseveraloftheSurrealistswasGiorgiodeChirico,theircontemporary
who,likethem,usedbizarreimagerywithunsettlingjuxtapositions.Theywerealsodrawnto
artistsfromtherecentpastwhowereinterestedinprimitivism,thenaive,orfantastical
imagery,suchasGustaveMoreau,ArnoldBocklin,OdilonRedon,andHenriRousseau.Even
artistsfromasfarbackastheRenaissance,suchasGiuseppeArcimboldoandHieronymous
Bosch,providedinspirationinsofarastheseartistswerenotoverlyconcernedwithaesthetic
issuesinvolvinglineandcolor,butinsteadfeltcompelledtocreatewhatSurrealiststhought
ofasthe"real."
TheSurrealistmovementbeganasaliterarygroupstronglyalliedtoDada,emerginginthe
wakeofthecollapseofDadainParis,whenAndrBreton'seagernesstobringpurposeto
DadaclashedwithTristanTzara'santiauthoritarianism.Breton,whoisoccasionally
describedasthe'Pope'ofSurrealism,officiallyfoundedthemovementin1924whenhewrote
"TheSurrealistManifesto."However,theterm"surrealism,"wasfirstcoinedin1917by
GuillaumeApollinairewhenheuseditinprogramnotesfortheballetParade,writtenby
PabloPicasso,LeonideMassine,JeanCocteau,andErikSatie.

AroundthesametimethatBretonpublishedhisinauguralmanifesto,thegroupbegan
publishingthejournalLaRvolutionsurraliste,whichwaslargelyfocusedonwriting,but
alsoincludedartreproductionsbyartistssuchasdeChirico,Ernst,AndrMasson,andMan
Ray.Publicationcontinueduntil1929.
TheBureauforSurrealistResearchorCentraleSurralistewasalsoestablishedinParisin
1924.Thiswasalooselyaffiliatedgroupofwritersandartistswhometandconducted
interviewsto"gatheralltheinformationpossiblerelatedtoformsthatmightexpressthe
unconsciousactivityofthemind."HeadedbyBreton,theBureaucreatedadualarchive:one
thatcollecteddreamimageryandonethatcollectedmaterialrelatedtosociallife.Atleasttwo
peoplemannedtheofficeeachdayonetogreetvisitorsandtheothertowritedownthe
observationsandcommentsofthevisitorsthatthenbecamepartofthearchive.InJanuaryof
1925,theBureauofficiallypublisheditsrevolutionaryintentthatwassignedby27people,
includingBreton,Ernst,andMasson.

ConceptsandStyles
SurrealismsharedmuchoftheantirationalismofDada,themovementoutofwhichitgrew.
TheoriginalParisianSurrealistsusedartasareprievefromviolentpoliticalsituationsandto
addresstheuneasetheyfeltabouttheworld'suncertainties.Byemployingfantasyanddream
imagery,artistsgeneratedcreativeworksinavarietyofmediathatexposedtheirinnerminds
ineccentric,symbolicways,uncoveringanxietiesandtreatingthemanalyticallythrough
visualmeans.

SurrealistPaintings

ThereweretwostylesormethodsthatdistinguishedSurrealistpainting.ArtistssuchasDal,
Tanguy,andMagrittepaintedinahyperrealisticstyleinwhichobjectsweredepictedincrisp
detailandwiththeillusionofthreedimensionality,emphasizingtheirdreamlikequality.The
colorintheseworkswasofteneithersaturated(Dal)ormonochromatic(Tanguy),both
choicesconveyingadreamstate.
SeveralSurrealistsalsoreliedheavilyonautomatismorautomaticwritingasawaytotapinto
theunconsciousmind.ArtistssuchasMirandErnstusedvarioustechniquestocreate
unlikelyandoftenoutlandishimageryincludingcollage,doodling,frottage,decalcomania,
andgrattage.ArtistssuchasArpalsocreatedcollagesasstandaloneworks.
Hyperrealismandautomatismwerenotmutuallyexclusive.Miro,forexample,oftenused
bothmethodsinonework.Ineithercase,howeverthesubjectmatterwasarrivedator
depicted,itwasalwaysbizarremeanttodisturbandbaffle.

SurrealistObjectsandSculptures
Bretonfeltthattheobjecthadbeeninstateofcrisissincetheearlynineteenthcenturyand
thoughtthisimpassecouldbeovercomeiftheobjectinallitsstrangenesscouldbeseenasif
forthefirsttime.ThestrategywasnottomakeSurrealobjectsforthesakeofshockingthe
middleclassalaDadabuttomakeobjects"surreal"bywhathecalleddpayesmentor
estrangement.Thegoalwasthedisplacementoftheobject,removingitfromitsexpected
context,"defamilarizing"it.Oncetheobjectwasremovedfromitsnormalcircumstances,it
couldbeseenwithoutthemaskofitsculturalcontext.Theseincongruouscombinationsof
objectswerealsothoughttorevealthefraughtsexualandpsychologicalforceshidden
beneaththesurfaceofreality.
AlimitednumberofSurrealistsareknownfortheirthreedimensionalwork.Arp,whobegan
aspartoftheDadamovement,wasknownforhisbiomorphicobjects.Oppenheim'spieces
werebizarrecombinationsthatremovedfamiliarobjectsfromtheireverydaycontext,while
Giacometti'sweremoretraditionalsculpturalforms,manyofwhichwerehumaninsect
hybridfigures.Dal,lessknownforhis3Dwork,didproducesomeinterestinginstallations,
particularly,RainyTaxi(1938),whichwasanautomobilewithmannequinsandaseriesof
pipesthatcreated"rain"inthecar'sinterior.

SurrealistPhotography
Photography,becauseoftheeasewithwhichitallowedartiststoproduceuncannyimagery,
occupiedacentralroleinSurrealism.ArtistssuchasManRayandMauriceTabardusedthe
mediumtoexploreautomaticwriting,usingtechniquessuchasdoubleexposure,combination
printing,montage,andsolarization,thelatterofwhicheschewedthecameraaltogether.Other
photographersusedrotationordistortiontorenderbizarreimages.
TheSurrealistsalsoappreciatedtheprosaicphotographremovedfromitsmundanecontext
andseenthroughthelensofSurrealistsensibility.Vernacularsnapshots,policephotographs,
moviestills,anddocumentaryphotographsallwerepublishedinSurrealistjournalslikeLa
RvolutionsurralisteandMinotaure,totallydisconnectedfromtheiroriginalpurposes.The
Surrealists,forexample,wereenthusiasticaboutEugeneAtget'sphotographsofParis.
Publishedin1926inLaRvolutionsurralisteatthepromptingofhisneighbor,ManRay,
Atget'simageryofaquicklyvanishingPariswasunderstoodasimpulsivevisions.Atget's
photographsofemptystreetsandshopwindowsrecalledtheSurrealist'sownvisionofParis
asa"dreamcapital."

SurrealistFilm
Surrealismwasthefirstartisticmovementtoexperimentwithcinemainpartbecauseit
offeredmoreopportunitythantheatretocreatethebizarreortheunreal.Thefirstfilm
characterizedasSurrealistwasthe1924Entr'acte,a22minute,silentfilm,writtenbyRene
ClairandFrancisPicabia,anddirectedbyClair.But,themostfamousSurrealistfilmmaker

wasofcourseLuisBunuel.WorkingwithDal,BunuelmadetheclassicfilmsUnChien
Andalou(1929)andL'Aged'Or(1930),bothofwhichwerecharacterizedbynarrative
disjunctionandtheirpeculiar,sometimesdisturbingimagery.Inthe1930sJosephCornell
producedsurrealistfilmsintheUnitedStates,suchasRoseHobart(1936).SalvadorDal
designedadreamsequenceforAlfredHitchcock'sSpellbound(1945).

RiseandDeclineofSurrealism

ThoughSurrealismoriginatedinFrance,strainsofitcanbeidentifiedinartthroughoutthe
world.Particularlyinthe1930sand1940s,manyartistsweresweptintoitsorbitasincreasing
politicalupheavalandasecondglobalwarencouragedfearsthathumancivilizationwasina
stateofcrisisandcollapse.TheemigrationofmanySurrealiststotheAmericasduringWWII
spreadtheirideasfurther.Followingthewar,however,thegroup'sideaswerechallengedby
theriseofExistentialism,which,whilealsocelebratingindividualism,wasmorerationally
basedthanSurrealism.Inthearts,theAbstractExpressionistsincorporatedSurrealistideas
andusurpedtheirdominancebypioneeringnewtechniquesforrepresentingtheunconscious.
Bretonbecameincreasinglyinterestedinrevolutionarypoliticalactivismasthemovement's
primarygoal.Theresultwasthedispersaloftheoriginalmovementintosmallerfactionsof
artists.TheBretonians,suchasRobertoMatta,believedthatartwasinherentlypolitical.
Others,likeYvesTanguy,MaxErnst,andDorotheaTanning,remainedinAmericato
separatefromBreton.SalvadorDal,likewise,retreatedtoSpain,believinginthecentralityof
theindividualinart.

LaterDevelopments
AbstractExpressionism
In1936,theMuseumofModernArtinNewYorkstagedanexhibitionentitledFantasticArt,
Dada,Surrealism,andmanyAmericanartistswerepowerfullyimpressedbyit.Some,suchas
JacksonPollock,begantoexperimentwithautomatism,andwithimagerythatseemedto

derivefromtheunconsciousexperimentswhichwouldlaterleadtohis"drip"paintings.
RobertMotherwell,similarly,issaidtohavebeen"stuckbetweenthetwoworlds"of
abstractionandautomatism.
LargelybecauseofpoliticalupheavalinEurope,NewYorkratherthanParisbecamethe
emergentcenterofanewvanguard,onethatfavoredtappingtheunconsciousthrough
abstractionasopposedtothe"handpainteddreams"ofSalvadorDal.PeggyGuggenheim's
1942exhibitionofSurrealistinfluencedartists(Rothko,Gottlieb,Motherwell,Baziotes,
Hoffman,Still,andPollock)alongsideEuropeanartistsMir,Klee,andMasson,underscores
thespeedwithwhichSurrealistconceptsspreadthroughtheNewYorkartcommunity.

FeminismandWomenSurrealists

TheSurrealistshaveoftenbeendepictedasatightlyknitgroupofmen,andtheirartoften
envisionedwomenaswild"others"tothecultured,rationalworld.Workbyfeministart
historianshassincecorrectedthisimpression,notonlyhighlightingthenumberofwomen
Surrealistswhowereactiveinthegroup,particularlyinthe1930s,butalsoanalyzingthe
genderstereotypesatworkinmuchSurrealistart.Feministartcritics,suchasDawnAdes,
MaryAnnCaws,andWhitneyChadwick,havedevotedseveralbooksandexhibitionstothis
subject.
WhilemostofthemaleSurrealists,especiallyManRay,Magritte,andDal,repeatedly
focusedonand/ordistortedthefemaleformanddepictedwomenasmuses,muchintheway
thatmaleartistshadforcenturies,femaleSurrealistssuchasClaudeCahun,UnicaZurn,Lee
Miller,LeonoraCarrington,andDorotheaTanning,soughttoaddresstheproblematic
adoptionofFreudianpsychoanalysisthatoftencastwomenasmonstrousandlesser.Thus,
manyfemaleSurrealistsexperimentedwithcrossdressinganddepictedthemselvesas
animalsormythiccreatures.
ContentcompiledandwrittenbyTheArtStoryContributors
EditedandpublishedbyTheArtStoryContributors
Surrealism.[Internet].2016.TheArtStory.orgwebsite.Availablefrom:
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