Just like any other movement that was sprung by the ideas of a single individual, not all Surrealist artists remained true to its original beliefs. As the war developed, artists from across Europe fled the continent for countries like the US, bringing the ideas of Surrealism along with them. While Breton controlled the movement as it existed in Paris, Surrealism started to expand outside of Europe at the beginning of WWII. Surrealist icon, Salvador Dalí, was quite the opposite in his political views, and after refusing to condemn Fascism, was thrown out of Breton's group. Breton hoped his newly founded movement would go so far as to unleash the minds of the masses from the rational order of society. Politically, Surrealism was a far-left movement, as Breton himself was a Marxist. ![]() While Breton welcomed artists and writers into the Surrealist movement, he was also very quick to excommunicate members who crossed him. It's similar to drawing a picture with your eyes closed. This stream of consciousness approach encouraged artists to produce art without thinking, and allowed their subconscious to take over. With this theory in mind, Breton and the artists he welcomed to the movement used the idea of Automatism when approaching their art. The unconscious mind was revolutionary when applied to artistic practice, as it challenges the most fundamental notions we hold about artistic production: that art is the result of a single artist’s creative imagination. ![]() Breton obsessed over Freud, but one idea he found particularly fascinating was that the unconscious mind - which is responsible for dreaming - is a source for artistic creativity. ![]() The story of Surrealism began with Sigmund Freud and his theories about the unconscious mind. Where did all of these ideas come from and how has it been explored through art? Let's find out. Yes, Surrealism is weird, but let’s back up a bit. With Surrealism came revolutionary artistic practices and explorations of the psyche. Once a member of the Dada movement, Breton decided to start a movement of his own and thus wrote the Surrealist Manifesto. Surrealism, the art movement that explored the deepest and darkest inner workings of the subconscious, was founded in 1924 by the French poet and writer, Andre Breton.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |