Surrealism and

Abstract Expressioni

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What is Surrealism?A movement that grew out of Dada was

Surrealism. Fascinated by the studies of Sigmund Freud on the inner workings of the mind. Surrealists appreciated the mysteries of dreams and the unconscious, and the appeal of the bizarre and the strange. For them, the world is made of pure imagination and personal expression.

Surrealist PhotographyHerbert Bayer, Christmas Card: Happy, 1943 Herbert Bayer, I love some, 1922

Herbert Bayer

What are the characteristics of Surrealism? Who are its main formulators?Giorgio de Chirico created one of the first

of those invented worlds of the Surrealists and one of the most enduring.

The world he created is:• Once desolate and empty• Filled with suggestions• Deserted• Full of mysterious presence

Like dreams, the painting shows the familiar changing and shifting of the subjects

Giorgio de Chirico. The Nostalgia of the Infinite, 1911. Oil on canvas.

Salvador Dali. Soft Construction With Boiled Beans: Premonition of Civil War, 1936. Oil on Canvas.

Giorgio de Churico Salvador Dali

Surrealism further developed into a style distinct from other styles. It worked in a host of new media and ”mixed media” forms like collage, frottage (rubbed patterns), photomontage, objects, and found or manipulated objects. Later, it went to explore fashion, advertisement, theater, environmental works, the cinema, photography and much more.

Two of the most infamous Surrealists’ objects

Meret Oppenheim. Object (Luncheon in Fur), 1936 Man Ray. Gift, 1958

Film is an ideal medium for Surrealism. Luis Buñuel, working closely with Salvador Dali, created disturbing and deliberately confounding scenes. Robert Wiene’s film, on the other hand, was considered to be a reference to Germany itself, a country in which a power-mad leader had led unsuspecting masses, leading them into the horrors of World War II.

Still from the 1929 Surrealist Film Un Chien Andalou by Salvador Dali and Luis Buñuel

Robert Wiene. Still from The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, and his sleepwalking assistant, Cesare.

What are the influences of Surrealism in Philippine Art? What are some famous works of Filipino artists inspired by it?

Philippine art, from the time of the pioneers until after the end of World War II, owed much to the modern art movements that sprang up in Europe at the turn of the century. For one, Surrealists have since been able to attract a number of adherents and gave the artistic direction to what Filipino modernists were looking for. Two prominent Filipino artists pioneered Surrealist style in the Philippines. They were Galo Ocampo and Hernando Ocampo.

Galo Ocampo. Nuclear Ecce Homo,1931. H.R. Ocampo. Blooming, 1949

What is Abstract Expressionism? What are its characteristics?• Also called “action painting”• Stressed energy and kineticism• Produced paintings that are abstract but expressed

the artist’s state of mind.• Opens channels for unconscious forces to make it

visible• Convey a rough spontaneity and great energy• Advise to grasp meaning intituively in a state free

from structured thinking

1. Jackson PollockNo one better exemplified this wildly

subconscious approach than Jackson Pollock. Labeled “Jack the Dripper”, Pollock made a revolutionary breakthrough by abandoning the paintbrush altogether-pouring, flickering, and dripping commercial paints onto a large canvas on the floor. The image of Pollock is of a man possessed as he painted, in which such artistic considerations as foreground, background, focal point, and perspective are thrown out like many empty paint cans.

Jackson Pollock. Blue Poles, No.1. Pollock in action

2. Willem de KooningHe is a Dutch-born painter and

decorator who went to New York and became one of the most consistent longest-lived Abstract Expressionists. He developed a style where he employed fierce, slashing brushstrokes.

Artist at work Woman 1, 1950-52. Oil on canvas.

3. Franz KlineA leading Abstract Expressionist, Franz

Kline paints in the manner that was typical of his time: gestural, personal, spontaneous, and full of emotions. ”The final test of a painting,” he said, “is: does the painter’s emotion come across?” In many of his works, such as in Untitled, Kline started to build up texture, using broad brushes to apply paint thickly, called impasto.

Artist at work Cardinal, 1950. Oil on canvas.

Who are the representative artists of Abstract Expressionism in the Philippines?Jose Joya• Embraced the value of spontaneity

and quick gestures in painting• Exhibited abstract expressionist

features where paint is applied spontaneously, in broad strokes, using brushes or directly squeezed from the tubes, and splashed across the canvas.

Jose Joya. Granadian Arabesqu 1958. Oil Detail on canvas.

Lee Aguinaldo• Also a pioneer of Modern Art in the

Philippines. His painting, Homage to Pollock, from his “Flick” series was inspired by the Abstract Impressionist Jackson Pollock

Lee Aguinaldo. Homage to Pollock, 1953. Enamel on Cardboard