Modernist Art And Modernism

the human eye. Visualize having the ability to completely free your imagination, letting your thoughts and desires wander to form exotic scenes or locations. These unfamiliar worlds lay deep inside of the brain as subconscious thoughts, usually undetected by the person with them in his or her possession. With the help of the intriguing art movement known as Surrealism, however, these subconscious thoughts are finally able to be brought to fruition. Surrealism is a unique style of art that originated in France with the help of brilliant writer André Breton (Chilvers 599). He defined surrealism and its principles as a “purely psychic automatism through which we undertake to express, in words, writing, or any other activity, the actual functioning of thought… Surrealism rests upon belief in the higher reality of specific forms of associations, previously neglected, in the omnipotence of dreams, and in the disinterested play of thinking” (Chilvers 599). He also strongly emphasized that its purpose was “to resolve the previously contradictory conditions of dream and reality into an absolute reality, a super-reality” (Chilvers 599). Surrealism is a 20th century style of painting which rebels against traditional notions of art. In order to understand this genre, it is necessary to examine the movement’s characteristics, representative

Surrealism is a movement that built off of the burgeoning look into art, psychology, and the workings of the mind. Popularly associated with the works of Salvador Dali, Surrealist art takes imagery and ideology and creates correlation where there is none, creating new forms of art. In this essay I will look to explore the inception of the surrealist movement, including the Surrealist Manifesto, to stress the importance of these artists and their work in the 20th century and beyond. I also will look to films from our European Cinema course to express how films incorporate the influence of surrealism both intentionally and unintentionally.

Breton in his manifesto, defines surrealism as: ‘’Psychic automatism in its pure state, by which one proposes to express — verbally, by means of the written word, or in any other manner — the actual functioning of thought. Dictated by the thought, in the absence of any control exercised by reason, exempt from any aesthetic or moral concern.’’ (1) Surrealists, according to the text, wanted to perceive reality, uncorrupted by the restrictions of reason. Inspired by Sigmund Freud’s theories, Andre Breton wanted to unleash the unconsciousness that is repressed by reason, society and one’s self. Breton, also stated that: ‘’We are still living under the reign of logic…The absolute rationalism that is still in vogue allows us to consider only facts relating directly to our experience. Logical ends, on the contrary, escape us…’’ and expressed his desire to bypass reason and rationalism and reach to a greater reality; sur-reality. Moreover, Breton and other surrealists being non-conformists, attacked the conventional social order. Surrealist manifestos called for a social revolution. It called for individual liberty and a rejection of societal norms, abandoning of rational thought, the controls of family, church, and state. While dedicated to the overthrow of the bourgeois and patriarchal values of post-Victorian society; Surrealists continued on reinforcing the traditional patriarchal image

While contemporary artists often look back on Surrealism as a deeply impactful revolution of thought in art, not everyone agrees with the praise it is given. At its consummation, Surrealism was viewed by many in the art world as the pseudo-intellectual creations of anarchic men. “In 1925, there were few indeed who saw in it anything more than a return to infantilism and nihilism” (Peyre). By the 1940s some surrealists themselves viewed the movement in a negative light, including poet Louis Aragon. Author Anna Balakian states that:

Surrealism was one of the most influential artistic movements of the 20th Century. André Breton consolidated Surrealism as a movement in the early 1920s, trying to achieve the “total liberation of the mind and of all that resembles it[1]” through innovative and varied ideas. Surrealism deeply influenced the world in the era between the two world wars and played a big role in the diffusion and adoption of psychology worldwide. Surrealism faded after World War II, but its revolutionary genius has influenced every artistic movement ever since.

Surrealism is a movement in art and literature that occurred in the 20th century which influenced the incorporation of fact and fantasy in a piece. Tim O’ Brien uses surrealism in The Things They Carried to show how many war stories incorporate this idea of false and factual stories combined. He says that many of the things that occur on a daily basis are stories that are made up and the stories that no one believes are the ones that actually happen. The idea behind surrealism is to tap into the potential of the human mind. This incorporation of surrealism helps to enhance the plot of the book.

What is reality behind surrealism? What is surrealism? Why surrealism? Surrealism is a workmanship development that started in Paris in 1917. The primary event of "surrealism" was in the year 1917. It was initially used to characterize a vaudeville play called 'Les Mamelles de Tiresias' which was delivered by Guillaume Apollinaire. However Apollinaire didn't make an arrangement of standards for his definition, which got to be well known with individuals who enjoyed Apollinaire

During the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, changes in the dynamics of society caused intellectuals to question the traditions of everyday life. From religious views to the arts of literature, traditional values and forms were rejected, thus defining a line between the two time periods, which can be considered as the start of the Modern era. Also known as Modernism, the modern era used literature as an outlet for expressing the thoughts and feelings of the time. Modern texts use city life, industrialization and globalization, and ironic and satirical themes to showcase their bleak outlook on life post both world wars. The nature of these events are aspects of society

Surrealism stems directly from the effects of modern age warfare (Brahman, Kennan, & Alcaine, 2004). Europe was left devastated and disillusioned after years of fighting in World War I (Brahman, Kennan, & Alcaine, 2004) .The effects of the war were visible everywhere in Europe as populations became stagnant, economies plummeted, buildings remained in ruins and many survivors suffered from depression (Brahman, Kennan, & Alcaine, 2004).The general population had a feeling of utter destruction at the hands of man (Brahman, Kennan, & Alcaine, 2004). There was a great void left in European cities beautiful and true topple into an abyss of ridicule and shame (Brahman, Kennan, & Alcaine, 2004).

Surrealism is one of the most distinguishing movements of art. It was proclaimed by the poet André Breton in Paris in 1924. It is defined by Breton as “Pure Psychic automatism, by which one tries to express verbally, in writing, or by any other method, the actual process of thinking.” It’s goal was to liberate thought from the oppressive boundaries of rationalism. The source of artistic creativity for surrealism was inspired by the unconscious mind, particularly dreams. The Surrealist movement emerged from Dada art in Europe after world war one. Dada art sought to break all other art movements with an anti-aesthetic style. On the other hand, “Surrealism’s emphasis was not on negation but on positive expression.” Surrealism

The surrealist artists believed the dream state and subconscious mind to be an untapped and very fertile creative fount of inspiration. The symbolism of dreams and the expressive images generated by the subconscious were far more thought provoking than the representational, logical images of the conscious mind. The surrealist artists were creating art out of what others thought to be garbled and unintelligible. They were in effect taking a concept created to heal and using it to create art instead. They were on to something with this. No matter what the medium or the style used, a bit of the self becomes visible and evident in the result. Art therapy is one of the modern descendants of this movement.

The surrealist movement holds emotional authenticity and social activism as the highest ideals. Influenced by the work of Freud and Jung, the arts are viewed as psychic manifestations that go deeper than external reality. Spontaneous techniques, like psychic automatism (i.e. automatic writing and drawing), generate images from the unconscious and result in content similar to dream experiences and contemplating these images provides a new experience of reality (McNiff, 2009).

Most of us connect surrealism with art and images from Dali and his generation. However, the artists of the surrealist movement regard their work as an expression of the original philosophical movement with the works being an artefact that philosophy. André Breton was clearly in his view that surrealism was above all, a revolutionary and radical philosophical movement, explaining that is not a matter of aesthetics, but rather a way of thinking, a point of view (Waldberg 1997; Pass 2011:29-30).

Pablo Picasso was the most important artist of the first half of the twentieth century. He also created collage and made major contributions to Symbolism and Surrealism. Symbolism means to represent ideas or qualities. Surrealism is a cultural movement that began in the early 1920s, and is best known for its visual artworks and writings. The aim was to "resolve the previously clashing conditions of dream and reality."

“Modern painting, breaking through old conversation, has released countless suggestions which are still waiting to be used by the practical world.”(Gropius) The birth of modernism and modern art goes back to the Industrial Revolution, a period that lasted from the 18th to the 19th century, in which rapid changes in manufacturing, transportation, and technology profoundly affected the social, economic, and cultural conditions of life in Western Europe, North America, and eventually the world. Before the 19th century, artists created art pieces for wealthy people and institution places like the church where they can create art works about storytelling of religious or mythological scenes . These arts were there to instruct the viewers.However, this changed when during the 19th century many artists began to create works that were about people, places, or ideas that interested them, and of which they had direct experience. With the popularization of the idea of a subconscious mind, many artists began exploring dreams, symbolism, and personal iconography as avenues for the depiction of their subjective experiences.Challenging the notion that art must realistically depict the world, some artists experimented with the expressive use of color, non-traditional materials, and new techniques and mediums.