my art is my art
hilters of fantasy' about curiosities of the past). In this context, the three young poets began to lead a battle against impressionism. André Breton and his two friends were soon joined by Paul Eluard, Jacques Rigaut, Benjamin Péret, and several other poets. Expressionism, cubism, orphism, rayonnism, synchronism, vorticism, and futurism became there techniques for creation and all there aims. Another individual was Jacques Vaché. It was this young cynic who expressed his scorn for art. It was he who started Dada and became involved with Breton. Dada was not a movement but rather a anti-movement which opposed all the academicism's, as well as the avant-garde schools. Dada was a detonation of anger. It was a disgust with a world racked by war, dogmas, and an art which did nothing but reflect a limited universe. It's aim was to destroy traditional ideas of painting and sculpture. Dada was to burn itself out in latter years. However, Breton refused to take part in this. He then began the surreal movement. At first, Breton began his studies with a group of people who preformed automatic writing. A form of writing techniques made in a trance state. Experiments of this kind produced a kind of intoxication that was exhilarating. It fuled Breton to write the surrealist manifesto, manifests du surréalisme in 1924. It used a noble and impassioned language and struck up an enthusiastic hymn to the imagination. Breton wanted surrealist painters to give a form to humanity's most secret longings. He wanted the surrealist to eschew all pretensions to talent and style and behave in a modest manner ,not to be hypnotized by the art they did. Poets and painters soon gathered under the banner of surrealism presented by Breton. They banded together to protest against intellectual privilege. They affirmed the rights to dream, to love, to be aware, and to encourage the human mind to be open. There was many people who joined the movement. They included the likes of : Jean Arp, Hans Bellmer, Victor Bruner, Alexander Calder, Leonora Carrington, Giorgio Chirico, Salvador Dalí, Paul Delvaux, Oscar Domínguez, Marcel Duchamp, Max Ernst, Alberto Giacometti, Vosdanig Adoian (Arshile Gorky), Frederick Kiesler, Wifredo Lam, René Magritte, Georges Malkine, André Masson, Roberto Echaurren (Matta), Joan Mirò, Francis Picabia, Pablo Picasso, Man Ray, Andrea Chirico (Alberto Savinio), Max Svanberg, Yves Tanguy, Dorothea Tanning, Marie Germinova (Toyen), and Clovis Trouille. It is the giants of Dalí, Mirò, Duchamp, Tanguy, and Magritte that stand out the most. The surrealist artists did not confine their originality to their works. They also invaded new ways of presentation. They could imagine nothing more boring than the usual line of visitors to a museum walking slowly past a collection of works of art. They came up with ways to enhance the spectator's receptiveness and arouse laughter, revulsion, and desire. Also, the Surreal invaded architecture. The surrealists were always interested in architecture; but before making any practical proposals for this art form, they used it to achieve an effect of exile, of disorientation, in there painting and poetry. Surreal architecture includes designs for towns and homes both classical and contemporary which does not include ideas of comfort. It's aim is rather to represent monumental creatures and objects. In 1966 André Breton died. This marked a kind of end to the classic surrealism movement.------------------------------------------------------------------
The Pop Art movement:
André Breton always showed profound scorn for what he called called "bazzar surrealism". He gave no credit to painters who merely imitated the methods of the true surrealists. There had to be an adventurous and rebellious spirit. It was the pop artists who took up this task. Pop art itself came from the idea of progress and Americanism in the fifties. It draws upon the culture of the day and mass media. It is a revolution just as surrealism was in its hay-day. It cries out against the depersonalization of society, with a strong discuss for the media. Both surrealism and pop art arose from a rebellion against an accepted style. Were surrealism tried to free the mind from material realities, pop art puts the material realities of popular culture in the face of the public. The commercialization of people and things are made apparent. Visual pollution and stereotypes used by the media are ploys used by the pop art movement. It is the pop artist that understands the contemporary vulgarities of glamour, fame, and gossip best. Pop art reduces the horror of day to day life to that of a voyeur, who sees without involvement. Leaching from personal concerns and reducing it to a media indictment. Objects and events are distorted, enlarged, simplified and/or decorated using strange colors. The movement eliminated distinctions between "good" and "bad" taste and between fine art and commercial art. Jasper Johns and Robert Rauschenberg were some of the first pop artists. Other pop artists include: Ryan Carleton, Erró, Red Grooms, Richard Hamilton, Jasper Johns, Allen Jones, H. C. Westermann, Andy Warhol, Robert Rauschenberg, Larry Rivers, Keith Haring, and Richard Duardo.
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Surrealpop Art (A.K.A. Massurrealism):
It is only natural that two art forms that share so much in common be united. The concept of a collected unconsciousness has born familiar images we all share. It is these images surrealpop art tries to manifest. Surrealpop art combines the common cultural symbols of dream-like images with a true adventurous spirit, a willingness to try something new. It is the end result of several art movements starting with surrealism. The art of surreal/pop is based on the unconscious and metaphysical but draws upon the media and archetypes of society. To put it simply, surrealpop is the bastard child of surrealism and pop art (hence: surrealpop). Surrealpop artists include: Matt Gordon, Kris Hoglund, Mark Ryden, Eric White, Glenn Barr, Winston Smith, Todd Shorr, James Seehafer, Cecil Touchon, Ginnie Gardiner, and Peter Steinlechner. To name just a few. It is hard to get an idea of how many artists could be considered surrealpop artists as the movement is very open to convictions and impressions.
Arti Industi definds the Massurreal movement as:
"The ideology behind Massurrealism is rather oriented on the writings and theories of Marshall Mc Luhan, Jean Baudrillard, Cecil Touchon than on Freud or Breton. To explain massurrealism in words is rather difficult, and might be done best by example, as the visual expressions are in continuous progress."
The movement itself is very new and is still developing. There are many thories still being debated in regards to the movement. For an induction to Massurreal please read:
Introduction To Massurrealism — A Free Association of Contemporary Influences at the following URL:
[link]
or view the Massurreal About page at this URL:
[link]
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A new medium, Digital:
It has been asked over and over, if the surrealists had computers would they have used it to produce digital art? Perhaps a better question would be, if the cavemen had cars would they still walk? While many would argue that they would not, that fear of change and difference would have kept them to there usually methods. However, it is the nature of surrealism to try new things, to be adventitious. So it should come to no surprise that digital art has been embranced by the new surrealism movement. An artists, especially a surreal artists's aim is only to express by what ever means are provided. And digital art has provided a new window to expression. It has opened doors to things no classic surrealist chould have dreamed of. It is now possable to more acuretly produce the stuff of dreams. It allows one to pin-point there visions and quicky bring them to life in new and exciting ways. It has put the skills of the masters in the hands of the person who has not the time invested in learning traditional methods and thus speeded up the world of art to a fevious pace. We now can have master digital artists. This does now replace traditional art but rather adds to the ever growing palette of the artist. It has awaken the visions of otherwise unremarkable talents in terms of classic style, but with skills in computer arts. And given a new life to the world of art. In the twentieth-century we have devoted ourselfs to a pursuit of a sense of magic. And it is in the virtual world of digital art we have found ourselfs. This is a revolution in art, the third of its kind. Began so long ago with Dada, it has evoled into the an astonishing entity: digital fine art. I do not speak of a style or a method of artwork but rather the liberation of art itself.
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About Dreams and the surreal:
At the heart of surrealism is dreams and visions. The subconscious is and has always been the key to what surrealism is. Many old masters of the surreal studied the writings of Sigmund Freud and latter Carl Jung. Personally, I find Freuds projections of his own sexual preoccupation's much more interesting than any thing he said about dreams. Carl Jung seems to be more on the mark about the world of dreams in my view. The association for the study of dreams says this about dreams: "people tend to see what they believe they should see ( in there dreams), it is called "observer bias." A statement that reflects the surreal movement as well. So you can see how the surreal is interconnected with the world of dreams. Carl Jung said in The language of dreams" Many dreams present images and associations that are analogous to primitive ideas, myths, and rites....The term suggests that they are psychic elements left over from times long ago and still adhering to our modern mind." I have found the images, word associations, and sounds used though out the surreal movement offend try to bring to light these same elements. In a sense, surrealism manifests the same psychic energies as our dreams. Only surrealism does this in a fully alert state, were as dreams do so in a state of sleep or under a hallucinogenic/psychotic states of mind. It is no wonder so many of the best surrealists have been mentally ill. As the closer one comes to this world of dreams the better one is able to perceive and thus transcribe what is seen and felt there. There have been many attempts to reach this state with out being "crazy" including such practices as lucid dreaming, mysic states , and automation. Drugs have also played a role in the reaching of this dream state. Visions and daydreams are also of great important in the realm of the surreal. The mind seems to see the world in a pure symbolic way. This is reflected in our dreams as well. Dreams present a world were these common symbols can be experienced in a way we can more easily understand. Sometimes the symbols can even come from events we did not experience first hand, but are imbedded in our psychological make up. Things that happen long ago and things yet to happen can be perceive by our dreams. As there are no boundaries of time/space to the world of dreams. This implies that there other dimensions we are connected to outside our normal universe. It wasn't until recent times that science started to realizes the realities you have always know of in your dreams. As a matter of fact, One will find the use of quantum mechanics of great importance to surrealism and dreams as well. Consider this statement made by Richard Feynman, speaking about quantum theory: "I am going to tell you what nature behaves like. If you will admit that maybe she does behave like this, you will find her a delightful, entrancing thing. Do not keep saying "But how can it be like this?" you will get into a blind alley from which no one has yet escaped. nobody knows how it can be like this!"
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