Ca. 1920-1930

SURREALISM

WHAT IS SURREALISM?• An art movement completely different from

anything that came before it.

• “Revolutionary” in spirit, according to its founder Andre Breton. Breton studied medicine and psychiatry during WW1, which have a great deal of importance in the Surrealist movement.

• Surrealism is sometimes to referred to as “La Révolution Surréaliste (The Surrealist Revolution)”

• Surrealism dictionary definition: “n. Pure psychic automatism, by which one proposes to express, either verbally, in writing, or by any other manner, the real functioning of thought. Dictation of thought in the absence of all control exercised by reason, outside of all aesthetic and moral preoccupation.”

• Salvador Dalí is probably the best known Surrealist artist. We will look at his work exclusively.

THE PERSISTENCE OF MEMORY1931, SALVADOR DALI

THE ELEPHANTS

• Heavily inspired by the work of psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud, who analyzed people based on dream analysis, tapping into the unconscious, and free association.

• Artists also expressed themselves through stream of consciousness writing.

• Surrealist painters attempted to access the unconscious (our mind when we dream) in order to inspire their paintings and sculptures.

• Painters induced hallucinations by many means, including sleep deprivation and mind-altering drugs.

HOW DO SURREALIST PAINTERS COME UP WITH THESE IDEAS?

EL MERCADO DE ESCLAVOS

MAE WEST(SHE WAS AN AMERICAN ACTRESS AT THE TIME)

LA TENTAZIONE DI SANT ANTONIO

SURREAL COLLAGES

EXAMPLES OF MIXED MEDIA – WHAT DO YOU SEE?

FOR YOUR ASSIGNMENT, YOU WILL CREATE A SURREALIST MIXED MEDIA ARTWORK.

• Distortion of reality

• Scale – things large/small when they shouldn’t be or too large/small for the environment.

• Is this realistic?

• Is this something I might dream about that could never happen in real life?

• Exaggeration

THINGS TO THINK ABOUT:

MIXED MEDIA• An artwork created using a variety of materials, usually with

elements that are more sculptural in nature.

• For this project, you will use (or have the option of using) the following media (* = required):

• Acrylic paint *

• Collage – both FOUND and DRAWN imagery *

• Transparency with self-portrait *

• Mod Podge or Matte Medium as a means of sealing everything together

• Maybe use cardboard to build up areas?

• Items from nature?

• Thread?

• Other options…ideas…