Surrealism History and Concepts What is surrealism Andre

Surrealism History and Concepts

What is surrealism? ● ● ● Andre Breton - ‘Manifestoes of Surrealism’ (1924) ○ Celebrates unfiltered thought ○ Intends to free the mind from the past and everyday reality to come to new truths ○ Discourages stifling the imagination ■ “No wrong answers” ■ “No silly questions” ■ Don’t hold back from expressing something simply because you’re worried about how other people will react Became a movement in art and media pioneered by many different artists. Most notably, Salvador Dalí, Buñel, Ernst, and Tanguy Artists find that some emotions are too specific to be represented literally so they turn to surrealism to provide a medium to express their most complex emotions

Salvador Dalí, The persistence of Memory (1931) Max Ernst, The Elephant Celebes (1921) Yves Tanguy, Reply to Red (1943) Rene Magritte, The Son of Man (1964) Examples of Surrealist Art

Surrealism in Film Surrealism can be an effective technique in film as stories are created through choices and choices are made depending on the character’s emotions. As surrealism is such an emotion-driven medium, it can work to a filmmaker’s advantage to represent complex emotions. Un Chien Andelou [An Andalusian Dog] (Luis Buñel, Salvador Dalí, 1929) The Grandmother (David Lynch, 1970) Alice (Jan Švankmajer, 1988)

Surrealist Games The Surrealists came up with many games designed to free the mind from socially -enforced limits. Frottage The Exquisite Corpse