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Surrealism and Dada essay During the days of World War I, a search began for new and fantastic

subject matter, and so this brought together a number of young men. The writer, Hugo Ball, the painter, sculptor and poet, Jean Arp and the painter Hans Richter, as well as many others, all began this search of new and exciting styles that brought on the movement called Dada. This movement was largely a reaction to the destruction, hysteria and madness of the war. The Dadaists felt that reason and logic had resulted in war, and so, they wanted to move away from this and explore different principals such as simultaneity and chance. There were two main parts to Dada, Zurich Dada and New York Dada. Zurich Dada came about as a result of

these men whose demonstrations, art exhibitions, poetry readings and noise concerts attacked Western Art and Culture. Jean Arp was one of the most prolific artists to emerge from Zurich Dada. He studied painting in the early years of the twentieth century but found that there was great conflict between his paintings and what he learnt. This uncertainty that he had, led him to spend 3 years in various small towns in Switzerland where he was greatly influenced by the Swiss landscape. This resulted in many abstract works that were all based on nature and living organic shapes. He wanted to express the reality of the object itself in the most concrete terms as possible; hence he used a form of organic abstraction. This led him from painting to collage and then to relief and sculpture in the round.

A typical work is Collage with Squares Arranged according to the Law of Chance. This work is a collage of torn squares of paper arranged in a random order. He produced many works in this vein and it is said that they were a result of his tearing up drawings with which he was not satisfied and, seeing the arrangement the papers made on the floor, he realized he had found the solution to his problem. It was actions such as this that showed Arps interest in the laws of chance. Although Zurich dada had finished by the end of World War I, its influences were just beginning to spread, and it was then that New York Dada emerged. It began with the artists Marcel Duchamp and Francis Picabia arriving in New York and sharing similar ideals. Duchamp was

disillusioned by the validity of art. He was influenced by Cubism, as is evident in his paintings, but he didnt like the more formal ordered direction that it was taking. Another distinct influence was that of the futurists. Not on Duchamp alone but on the Dadaists in general. Although Duchamp used a lot of the Futurist principals, such as devices with the feel of machinery, his Dadaist art was an expression of disillusionment, whereas the Futurists art was much more optimistic. Duchamps works were often satirical especially when he attempted to re-interpret traditional themes however all of his works take on a brilliant construction of abstract forms. His works include, The Passage from Virgin to Bride, and The Bride Stripped Bare of her Bachelors, Even (The Large

Glass). Duchamp was also the initiator of ready-mades. These were objects or paintings that were complete on their own, that Duchamp would just add to. A good example of this is L.H.O.O.Q. Here, he has taken a copy of the Mona Lisa and added a beard and moustache to it, and called it a work of art. Another example of a ready-made is a work entitled Fountain which is quite simply a urinal on which he has signed R. Mutt. Needless to say this caused a great stir when he tried to exhibit it in 1917. Duchamp was in some way trapped: He wanted to destroy facets of art altogether, but his Dada works contained elements of his art that he truly hated. However, his primary motive was to show that he rejected

the ideas and idols of society. This influenced the tone of his paintings in a number of ways. His willingness to use just anything as art, especially the ready-mades brought up the question, What is Art? and this is exactly what the Dadaists wanted. However, Dada wasnt all wild, mad humor aimed at annoying the middle class man. It had a purpose: that of re-examining and exposing the conceptions of order and beauty. Surrealism however, deals with a different kind of reality, a superreality that exists in our subconscious. The surrealists believed that the reality of dreams was superior to that of waking reality. They were not influenced as much as the Dadaists were by war but by the theories of Sigmund Freud. Up until then, the subconscious was still undefined and

they wanted to expand and explore themes involving the subconscious aspects of life. One of the characteristics of Surrealism was an element of chance, just as was used by the Dadaists. Accidental blots, textures and signs were incorporated into paintings to add to the effect that they wanted to create; where no attempt would be made to define the works or make them understandable. Surrealism has been defined as the state of mind where there is no difference between the past and the present, between life and death, high and low, real and unreal. This is exactly what the Surrealists tried to portray even though all the surrealist styles were very different. The chief Surrealists were Max Ernst, Miro, Magritte and Dali and although

their styles were all very different they all had common aspects such as a vision of totally new subject matter and individuality and isolation as artists. Much like the Dadaists they wanted to explore something new and completely different. They also propagated revolt against society and tradition just as the Dadaists did and their works, and also created great controversy because of the subject matter involved. Salvador Dali epitomizes the Surrealist artist, not only in his art, but also in his lifestyle. He was greatly influenced be De Chirico, Carra and by the writings of Sigmund Freud, and moved to Paris in 1929 to join the Surrealists. Dali tried to recreate his dream world and attempted to make it more real than everyday, accepted reality. His

paintings were extremely precise, in complete contrast to many of the Dadaist works in the way that they were almost photographic, as can be seen in his Basket of Bread. His works are often very contradictory where mechanical objects are soft or organic. Objects often disintegrate, melt and metamorphosis. An example of this is The Persistence of Memory where there are several melting clocks and foreign objects. There are many dissolving and transforming images in his works. Images are doubled, juxtaposed and repeated constantly, however, his paintings were painted in a very realistic style with very fine brushwork with a very gentle and delicate use of colour. He stuck with a very realistic technique instead of painting in the ways of the Cubists and Impressionists. The

Dadaists, however, were influenced by the Cubists, as can be seen in many of Duchamps works. In his works there is traditional use of line that is neither abstract nor decorative which is, however, seen in Dadaist works. His paintings often have eerie, haunting allegories and phobias often that populate his work. I do not know when I start to pretend or when I tell the truth. How do you expect the public to understand the meaning of the images that I transcribe, when I myself, who is the one who makes them, dont understand them any longer when they appear in my pictures? Beauty should be edible or not at all. -Salvador Dali Another Surrealist artist is Max

Ernst. Ernsts paintings often include machine monsters that show the Dadaists preoccupation with mechanization and automatism. His interest in metamorphosis and double identity of objects led him onto Surrealism and he began painting in a new style that still dealt with realism but in a fantastical way, just like Dali. Ernsts painting also dealt with Nightmares, dreams and the subconscious with fantastic creatures such as elephants, as seen in The Elephant Celebes. His works also include many birds and dream landscapes as seen in Two Children are Threatened by a Nightingale. He is said to have created the surrealist vocabulary and unlike some of the Dadaist works, they are never totally abstract. Both Dadaism and Surrealism were

extremely dynamic and interesting movements. They rebelled against the conformities of society, began to explore completely different subject matter and although were different in many ways, they were the start to a completely new outlook on art and culture of the 20th century.

Surrealism Essay Published by admin at 4:15 am under Example Essays Photography enriches our lives in many ways. A creative photographer is one who selects and captures qualities in their subject that make the picture artistic rather than plain and common. Ways of making photographs creative and more interesting can be by using different techniques and art movements. Surrealism is a movement

in art that attempts to express the subconscious mind. It is a style that shows strange objects and shapes like those in dreams and fantasies. During the period of 1928, the surrealist movement within photography was in what was known as its transition from an intuitive to a reasoning phase. Surrealism allows the viewer to enter a realm of dreams by conquest and normatively. Some take the history of photography to embody the political potential of surrealism in a variety of ways. They replace the notion of photography as an art with the idea of art as photography. It allows a window and everlasting view of the surroundings. Surrealism hoped to accomplish similar achievements, but instead of the surroundings around people, it is the surroundings in their dreams and fantasies. It was a way of expressing what a person sees that others cant. Photography could be seen in a special and interesting way,

with the surrealists aimed at restoring the interest and quality to photos with an added magical concept to everyday objects and images. One great photographer who used the method of surrealism and was able to capture images that appeared to be from dreams and fantasies was Kevin Wilson. He has been doing photography for many years and states that all my photographic work is dream inspired. (Quote: The surrealist look at art). Like many other surrealists photographs, Wilson attempted to recreate the feelings, anxieties and emotions evoked through his dreams. Kevin worked with digital photography for many years and then begun experimenting with other methods such as pinhole cameras, solarisation, photogram, photomontage, glass negative and double exposure. Most of these techniques provide an unpredictable and hazy nature which is ideal for recreating dream settings.

The pinhole camera is considered a very simple technique. There is no need for a lens just a light proof box with a pin hole opening that allows light to hit a sheet of film. There is a lack of control which means you can never be sure how the final image will look. This technique provides a dream like quality and the image taken can be difficult to comprehend. Another technique is solarisation, it is the result of shinning light onto a developing photograph in the darkroom. The effect is a selective reversal of highlights and shadows where parts of the image are positive while other parts are negative and this can leave a distinct line where the reversal has occurred. It can produce dramatic effects of light and dark. A photogram is created without a camera, it is made by placing an object directly onto or holding it above light sensitive paper in a darkroom and then exposing it to light. Photomontage consists of combining several photographs together for each

print. It is an ideal method for unifying unrelated elements producing images that have a dream like quality. Glass negative is a photographic print that is made from a design drawn onto a glass negative. Usually a drawing is scratched onto a coated glass plate that was then contactprinted onto sensitised paper. Double exposure is a film negative that has two separate images in the same frame. The photographer takes one photo, then focuses on another object and takes a second photo without forwarding the film. These are just some of the different techniques that the surrealist photographers use to create the dream and fantasy like images. Kevin Wilson was a self-taught photographer, therefore everything he knows and knows about photography has come through a process of trial and error. This has given him the opportunity of having a great deal of freedom. Since he

was unaware of the depth and knowledge involved with photography, when he received his first camera he basically made up his own ways to suit the subject matter. When following an art movement such as surrealism within photography it was a lot easier for him to just forget any of the rules involved with photography and follow whatever method was necessary. Wilson is using photography and surrealism as a way to explore his own emotions and dreams. The art movement of surrealism is quite a difficult one to follow. Though it does offer photographers, such as Kevin Wilson a way of exploring and sharing his emotions and dreams. Through his photography all these emotions, anxieties and fantasies are able to surface and he can show people what he is going through and the experiences he is experiencing. Though surrealism was a popular art movement many, many years ago, it is only recently been picked up by photographers

and their digital imaging. It is a great way of express what you are feeling and thinking to the onlookers of the photographs.

Surrealism Essay Many would say that for something to be surreal, it has to be unnatural; something from the unconscious mind. Something that is described as surreal would have no boundaries and no rules. Breton defined surrealism as Psychic automatism in its pure state, by which one proposes to express verbally, by means of written word, or in any other manner the actual functioning of thought. Dictated by thought, in the absence of any control exercised by reason, exempt from any aesthetical or moral concern. (Montagu, 2002, p. 11) The surrealism art movement expressed these ideas in both literary and art forms.

Surrealism brought about many new and unseen ideas that shook up the current art culture at the time. Surrealism strived towards independence from modernity, politics and war. It craved freedom. This essay will look at the Surrealism art movement and discuss its history, the major artists involved in the movement and how the movement has influenced the world of art prior to its emergence. Art forms in society are particularly powerful and impacting. They influence people, inspire people and give people a way to break in to other worlds, dimensions and realities. It is, therefore, increasingly important that we have an awareness and understanding of these movements and the way that they can help us to understand the society that we live in. A number of movements contributed towards the birth of Surrealism- Cubism, Expressionism, Vorticism, Futurism and the Dada movement, which is arguably the

strongest influence. The First World War left Europe in devastation and destruction. Many soldiers returned to their home countries with horrific stories and even had nightmares for many years after, reliving the events that took place. The Dada movement acted out against the war and the results of war. Artists began to protest and revolt against the governments and against the society that they were living in, speaking out against the leaders saying that things had to change. As a result, the Surrealism movement was formed. Artists such as Man Ray and Magritte saw what the Dadaists were doing and agreed with their ideas. They were not happy with the reality of the world. The Surrealism movement was not quite as extreme as the Dada movement, but the surrealists did share the underlying reasons for breaking out from the social norms in the way that they did. Rather than revolting against the whole governing leaders, the

group began to choose more specific social targets- primarily patriarchy, religion and morality. (Montagu, 2002, p. 17) The surrealists wanted to challenge peoples opinions on religion, on what was right and wrong and on how they saw the country that they lived in. They also felt very strongly that they should change the way that people looked at art and literature. Until the start of the 20th century, people had only ever seen art as finely painted images on a canvas, with such intricacy and precision that there was no room for error. Art was considered to be upper-class and for the rich and wealthy of the country. However with the rise of surrealism came a contradiction to these views. The surrealists took the view that art did not have to only be outworked in one linear way, but that actually art should be anything that expresses what is within oneself. Surrealism bought elements of fun, theatre, dance and music in to the

world of art and so challenged the ways that previous movements, such as impressionism, had portrayed art. In addition to the surrealists wanting people to look at art in a new way, the surrealism movement was also an opportunity to set the artists free and allow them to express themselves in a way that was not seen before. For the first time, artists and writers were able to enter in to a new, imaginary dimension where they could do as they liked. (Bohn, 2001, p. 2) Surrealism originated in Paris and Zurich, with Andre Breton being the main influence in the emergence of the movement. Breton was fascinated with the work of Sigmund Freud and studied him closely. Freuds theories about dreams, reality and the unconscious played a big part in the way that the surrealism movement developed and really helped to put in place the foundations of what the surrealists fought for. The movement was birthed at the

beginning of the 20th century- a time where the world of art was really transforming and moving forward in terms of the themes and ideas behind it. This was also a time where the Bohemian Revolution was starting in Paris. Across Europe, artists and poets were starting to experiment with different, new ideas of what art really was. To put the thoughts and ideas of the surrealists in to perspective, Andre Breton compiled the Manifesto of Surrealism. Written in 1924, the Manifesto sought to dispel the rationalism which brought about the First World War. (Unknown Author, 2003) The manifesto recognises that the whole idea of surrealism is a movement rather than simply a style of art. Andre Breton was one of the many key players of the surrealism movement. He shared his interest of the work of Freud with Max Ernst. Ernst was a man who had been scarred by the experience of the First World War, serving as a frontline soldier fighting

for the Germans. He started painting after the war and used many of the experiences that he had from the war to influence his art. Ernst studied the works of Frued before the war, but was able to draw upon them more so after the war. Ernst avidly read Freuds descriptions of the dreams and fantasies of his patients and was familiar with his techniques of free association. (Montagu, 2002, p. 38) Another key artist in the surrealism movement was Man Ray. Man Rays career as a Surrealist was launched by the inclusion of seven of his photographs in the first issue of La Revolution Surrealiste in 1924.(Montagu, 2002, p. 44) Man Rays main area of expertise was as a portrait photographer. He became very well-known in Paris for his photographs and was extremely successful. Some of his most memorable and successful works included his revolutionary photographs of the female body. Man Ray lived with the singer and

dancer Kiki of Montaparnasse for six years and she became the subject of most of these photographs. Perhaps the most famous of these was Le Violon dIngres where the subject is seen sat with her back to the camera with what appears to be the markings from a violin placed in the middle of her back. Perhaps the most famous of all the surrealist artists was Salvidor Dali. Born in Spain, Dali attended the Madrid School of Fine Arts, where he became fascinated with the surrealism movement. His techniques and processes were unlike any of the other surrealists work. That the work was carried out in the unconscious, between sleep and walking, in a state of hypnagogical submissiveness, that the conscious mind stood by like an empty receptacle waiting to be filled, the hand, however expert, serving only to record the upsurging vision that is possible. (Picon, 1983, p. 136) It was quite clear that Dalis

approach to the surrealism ideas was like no other. He embodied the whole idea that surrealism is the true demonstration of the unconscious mind being brought out and put on canvas. Dali let his brush paint freely what was emerging from his dreams and from his unconscious realities. The themes that the surrealism movement embody are just as relevant today as they were a century ago, if not moreso. Surrealism taught the world to see art not merely visually or literally; but to appreciate it in a subconscious level as well. Today, surrealism is a familiar form of art that continues to grow globally. (Arandilla, 2011) Themes such as selfportrait, landscpape, interior, still life, fantasy, sexuality, humour and anti-reason all stemmed from the surrealism movement in the 1920s, but are still very much used today. Artists today can be a lot more expressive in the way that they paint and draw, and so the surrealism movement

has been a huge inspiration to them. The reactions against war and politics that were so fundamental to the surrealists are very much still an issue that many people face in todays society. The surrealism movement has changed art and is still evident in the works produced by the artists of today. Artists such as Man Ray, Rene Magritte, Salvador Dali and Max Ernst have changed the way that art is seen. Memorable pieces of art such as The Son of Man and The Betrayal of Images have influenced the artists of today and challenged them to think differently about art. Art is no longer seen as literal precise paintings of what is in front of you, but rather as a tool to express oneself and show people your inner desires, thoughts and expressions. Although people reacted very badly to the Surrealism movement almost a century ago, people nowadays are greatful for all that it has taught us. Surrealism will continue to influence the art that is

produced and has given artists the opportunity to break away from the restrictions of traditional art and propell themselves in to the world of the unknown, the unconscious and the surreal.

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