SURREALISM MOVEMENT

TAG: GS- 1: HISTORY

CONTEXT: Recently, the 100th anniversary of Surrealism, a pivotal art and literature movement, was celebrated. Surrealism’s origins can be traced back to the publication of the Surrealist Manifesto by French poet and writer André Breton in October 1924.

EXPLANATION:

About the Surrealism:

• • Surrealism emerged in October 1924 with the publication of the Surrealist Manifesto by French poet and writer André Breton.
  • The term ‘Surrealism’ was first used by French poet and playwright Guillaume Apollinaire in 1917 for his play Les mamelles de Tirésias.

Relation with Dada Movement:

• • Surrealism evolved from the anti-establishment Dada movement (1915).
  • While Dada opposed artistic norms, Surrealism focused on positive expression, merging the conscious with the subconscious, and rationality with dreamlike experiences.

Breton’s Definition:

• • Breton defined Surrealism as “pure psychic automatism,” emphasizing the free expression of thought, unrestrained by reason, aesthetic, or moral considerations.

Controversy in Origins:

• • Yvan Goll published a manifesto weeks before Breton. Goll’s Surrealism rejected Freudian aspects, while Breton was inspired by Freud’s theories of the unconscious mind.

Prominent Surrealist Artists:

• • Salvador Dalí: Known for detailed, dream-like imagery (The Persistence of Memory, 1931).
  • Max Ernst: Used techniques like frottage and collage (The Elephant Celebes, 1921).
  • René Magritte: Played with illusion and reality (The Treachery of Images, 1929).
  • Joan Miró: Combined abstract forms with surreal imagery (The Harlequin’s Carnival, 1925).
  • Frida Kahlo: Though denying association with Surrealism, her symbolic work is often interpreted as surrealist (The Two Fridas, 1939).
  • In India, artists like Paritosh Sen, Bikash Bhattacharjee, and F N Souza explored surrealist elements.

Surrealism in Literature:

• • Louis Aragon: Explored the unconscious in works like A Wave of Dreams (1924).
  • Philippe Soupault: Developed automatic writing (The Magnetic Fields, 1920).
  • Paul Éluard: Used dream-like imagery in poetry (Capitale de la Douleur, 1926).
  • René Char: Fused reality and subconsciousness in his poetry.
  • Franz Kafka: Incorporated surrealist elements in works like The Metamorphosis (1915).

Surrealism in Cinema:

• • Entr’acte (1924) by René Clair and Francis Picabia was one of the earliest surrealist films.
  • Luis Buñuel collaborated with Dalí on surrealist films such as Un Chien Andalou (1929) and L’Age d’Or (1930).
  • Dalí also worked on a dream sequence for Hitchcock’s Spellbound (1945).

Enduring Legacy:

• • Surrealism influenced later movements like Abstract Expressionism and Neo-Surrealism.
  • Neo-Surrealism re-emerged in the postmodern era in the 1970s, continuing the tradition of liberating creativity from rational thought.

Source:

https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/explained-culture/100-years-surrealism-9605250/