Surrealism

Surrealism originated in the late 1910s and early '20s as a literary movement that experimented with a new mode of expression called automatic writing, or automatism, which sought to release the unbridled imagination of the subconscious. Officially consecrated in Paris in 1924 with the publication of the Manifesto of Surrealism by the poet and critic André Breton (1896–1966), Surrealism became an international intellectual and political movement. Breton, a trained psychiatrist, along with French poets Louis Aragon (1897–1982), Paul Éluard (1895–1952), and Philippe Soupault (1897–1990), were influenced by the psychological theories and dream studies of Sigmund Freud (1856–1939) and the political ideas of Karl Marx (1818–1883). Using Freudian methods of free association, their poetry and prose drew upon the private world of the mind, traditionally restricted by reason and societal limitations, to produce surprising, unexpected imagery.

http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/surr/hd_surr.htm

Surrealism Surrealism was an artistic, intellectual, and literary movement led by poet André Breton from 1924 through World War II. The Surrealists sought to overthrow the oppressive rules of society by demolishing its backbone of rational thought. To do so, they attempted to tap into the “superior reality” of the subconscious mind. “Completely against the tide,” said Breton, “in a violent reaction against the impoverishment and sterility of thought processes that resulted from centuries of rationalism, we turned toward the marvelous and advocated it unconditionally.” Cut-and-pasted gelatin silver prints, cut-and-pasted printed paper, pencil, and pencil frottage on paper, 19 3/4 x 13 1/4″ (50.1 x 33.6 cm). Salvador Dalí Nul ne peut mettre en doute l'estime générale accordée à Dalí: demandez à l'homme de la rue de vous indiquer un artiste moderne, et vous pouvez être sûr qu'il citera son nom. mais tout le monde ne le connaît pas de la même façon : apprécié comme "showman" et comme un des plus grands artistes de ce siècle, Dalí sera loué pour son habilité technique et par ceux qui connaissent ses œuvres les plus populaires et apprécient son imagination luxuriante. Tous semblent connaître les montres molles apparaissant dans ses peintures même si, souvent, le titre La Persistance de la mémoire, leur échappe. - A.Fiel Dalí sculpture collection, 2005. La jeunesse de Dalí : 1904-1915

Surrealism Introduction to the surrealist movement ‘As Breton says, surrealism is not just an art movement. It is a way of thinking, a way of transforming existence.’ Dali sculpteur Le souhait de Dalí était de traduire en volume et matière solide les fétiches et obsessions issus de son inconscient. C'est ainsi qu'il restitua sous forme de sculptures les grands thèmes de son œuvre picturale. La collection ici présentée comprend plus d'une quinzaine de sculptures conférant à l'exposition son statut de plus importante collection en France. Dans la Vie secrète, l'un de ses récits autobiographiques, Salvador Dalí raconte qu'enfant il fit un modelage de la Vénus de Milo car elle figurait sur sa boîte de crayons : ce fut son premier essai de sculpture. Dès les années 1930, Dalí s'essaye à la troisième dimension. En tant qu'artiste surréaliste tentant de traduire l'inconscient, les rêves, les sentiments, et dans la lignée de Marcel Duchamp avec ses ready-made (Fontaine, 1917), il s'intéresse à l'art de « l'objet », utilisant des matériaux et des matières inattendues.

What The World Eats - Shocking Photos This photographic report exposes the proliferation of processed foods in the Western diet and in the diets of many developing countries the world over. Is it any wonder that we are seeing increases in diet & lifestyle related diseases? What are your thoughts? The project These images are from the book 'Hungry Planet: What the World Eats' by Peter Menzel and Faith D'Aluision.

Surrealism and Freudian Theory The Marvelous Mind of Surrealism In the Surrealist Manifesto of 1924, André Breton wrote, “I believe in the future resolution of these two states — outwardly so contradictory — which are dream and reality, into a sort of absolute reality, a surreality, so to speak, I am aiming for its conquest, certain that I myself shall not attain it, but too indifferent to my death not to calculate the joys of such possession.” He continued, “For the time being, “my intention has been to see that justice was done to that hatred of the marvellous which rages in certain men, that ridicule under which they would like to crush it. Let us resolve, therefore: the Marvellous is always beautiful, everything marvellous is beautiful.

Freud's influence on Dali's surreal dream art - Park West Gallery In 1962, surrealist master Salvador Dalí gave the following explanation of his oil painting entitled, Dream Caused by the Flight of a Bee Around a Pomegranate One Minute Before Awakening (1944): “[It was intended] to express for the first time in images Freud’s discovery of the typical dream with a lengthy narrative, the consequence of the instantaneousness of a chance event which causes the sleeper to wake up. Thus, as a bar might fall on the neck of a sleeping person, causing them to wake up and for a long dream to end with the guillotine blade falling on them, the noise of the bee here provokes the sensation of the sting which will awaken Gala.” Salvador Dali, Park West Gallery”Dream Caused by the Flight of a Bee around a Pomegranate a Second Before Awakening” (1944), Salvador Dali. Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum, Madrid. ©Salvador Dalí, Gala-Salvador Dalí Foundation/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York.

The Origins of Surrealism The Origins of Surrealism This Website is Best Viewed Using Firefox Historical Origins of The Surrealist Art Movement Last Updated: August 2011. By Charles Moffat. Edited by Suzanne MacNevin. Salvador Dalí. The Persistence of Memory. 1931 Gallery Text: Dalí: Painting and Film June 29–September 15, 2008 Time is the theme here, from the melting watches to the decay implied by the swarming ants. The monstrous fleshy creature draped across the paintings center is an approximation of Dalís own face in profile. Mastering what he called "the usual paralyzing tricks of eye-fooling," Dalí painted this work with "the most imperialist fury of precision," but only, he said, "to systematize confusion and thus to help discredit completely the world of reality."

Salvador Dalí. The Persistence of Memory. 1931 Salvador Dalí frequently described his paintings as “hand painted dream photographs.” He based this seaside landscape on the cliffs in his home region of Catalonia, Spain. The ants and melting clocks are recognizable images that Dalí placed in an unfamiliar context or rendered in an unfamiliar way. The large central creature comprised of a deformed nose and eye was drawn from Dalí’s imagination, although it has frequently been interpreted as a . Its long eyelashes seem insect-like; what may or may not be a tongue oozes from its nose like a fat snail from its shell. Time is the theme here, from the melting watches to the decay implied by the swarming ants.