Art Movement: Surrealism

Art Movement:Surrealism

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Summary

What is surrealism? What artists created surreal art? How will surrealism apply to our next project?

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The mind loves the unknown. It loves images whose meaning is unknown, since the meaning of the mind itself is unknown.-Rene Margritte

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What is Surrealsm?

A fun, imaginative art movement where artists paint dreams and the unexpected Started in the 1920s Artists use imagination and dreams to create surprising pictures Mixes real things with strange or impossible ideas

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Who Made Surreal Art?

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How It Began

The movement's development took quite a few years, but mainly due to WWI, which unfortunately kept it from growing much. Through those years, many people came together to create the structure of the movement by creating manifestos and literature that helped put words to the big ideas they worked with.

Top Left to bottom right: Sigmund Freud, Andre Breton, Max Ernst, and Joan Miro.

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Who Made It Work

By the end of WWI, the movement had momentum, and artists like Max Ernst, who was already a respected artist in the Dadaism movement shifted their styles towards the new idea. Soon, artists like Salvador Dali, Frida Kahlo, and Rene Magritte were becoming well-known around the world.

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How It Helped Art

• Surrealism opened the door to imagination: It showed artists it’s okay to paint dreams, feelings, and strange ideas—not just what they see in real life.
• It broke art rules: Surrealism encouraged artists to be creative and experimental, inspiring many new styles afterward.
• Inspired abstract and pop art: Later artists used surreal ideas to create abstract shapes or fun pop images that don’t look realistic but express feelings or ideas.
• Mixed media and new techniques: Surrealism’s use of collage and unexpected materials helped modern artists try new ways of making art.
• Encouraged personal expression: It taught artists to use their own imagination and emotions, which is a big part of lots of modern art today.

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What Will I Do With Surrealism?

• Think like a dreamer: What strange or silly images come to mind? Write or draw them!
• Mix and match: Take two things that don’t usually go together—like a fish and a clock—and imagine them as one.
• Ask “What if?” questions, e.g., “What if trees could float?” or “What if animals wore hats?”
• Use your feelings: What weird or magical images show how you feel?
• Don’t worry about rules: There’s no right or wrong in surreal ideas—let your imagination run wild!

Start by planning and coming up with ideas for the surrealist aspect of your work. Start coming up with ideas on the landscape. We will cover landscape basics next class.

We are now starting to focus on a surrealist landscape drawing with colored pencils and oil pastels.

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Max Ernst

• German artist who helped start Surrealism
• He loved to experiment with new techniques
• His art often shows dreamlike scenes with strange creatures and mysterious landscapes.
• Ernst also used collage to create surprising new images.
• He believed art should come from the unconscious mind, like dreams or imagination.

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• Mexican artist who mixed Surrealism with her own life story and feelings.
• She painted many self-portraits that show her emotions using symbols and dreams.
• Although she didn’t call herself a Surrealist, her art is full of imaginative and dreamlike images.

• She loved combining Mexican culture, nature, and surreal images in her colorful paintings.

Rene Magritte

• Belgian artist known for painting ordinary objects in strange, surprising ways.
• His art often makes you think because things don’t look the way you expect.
• Magritte loved using symbols, like bowler hats and apples, to create mysterious scenes.
• He wanted people to question what is real and what is imagined.
• His paintings look simple at first, but they have hidden meanings and surprises.

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• Spanish artist famous for painting weird, dreamlike pictures.
• He loved to surprise people by mixing ordinary things in very strange ways.

• He believed dreams and imagination were the best sources for making art.
• Dalí’s paintings often look like they tell a story from a dream or a fantasy world.