Surrealism is an offshoot of one of the most prominent art movement of the 20th century. Like the other art movements, Surrealism is not limited to the 1920s movements, yet it is a product of the historical period (Nadeau, 1966). The movement date of completion remains to be a subject of debate with different contrasting views from art historians. Surrealism, to some, ended after the Second World War when the modern art movements became popular, while to others, the movement died after the death of its major exponent Andre Breton in 1966.
Other people argue that the art movement continues to date as it is reflected in the works done by the modern artists. Surrealism can be defined as psychic automatism that one can express either verbally, in writing or through any other means (Breton et al., 1936). It can also be described as the dictation of thought process without any controlled reason or ethical consideration. Surrealism finds its roots from the effects of warfare. Europe was left disillusioned and devastated after several years of fighting the First World War. The impact of the war became visible in Europe as economies stagnated, buildings were left ruined, and the survivors suffered depression for a long time (Baugh, 2014). There was a huge void which was left in most of the cities in Europe after they were destroyed and ruined by the atrocities of war.
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From the chaos, however, new political, artistic and scientific ideas emerged and developed in Europe. One of the activities during this period was the emergence of Dada which in turn led to the creation of Surrealism (Baugh, 2014). Dada is a term which signified disgust with the turbulent times. It is a word which has different meanings in different cultures and languages. One of the most significant inspirations for the Surrealists was the Freudian psychoanalysis. With Surrealism, many artists would explore the unconscious mind and dream imagery to uncover the desires of humans and openly talk about the taboos that surround sexuality.
Surrealism was majorly purposed to bring freedom. The movement was a reaction against the destruction of European cities as a result of wrought which was delivered by rationalism which many people believed had guided the culture and politics in Europe and had led to the First World War (Chadwick, 1998). In the Surrealist manifesto of 1924, the primary spokesperson of the movement, Andre Breton argued that surrealism was a way of uniting the unconscious and the conscious life experiences so that both fantasy and dream would be seamlessly joined to the rational world in absolute reality (Clifford, 1981). Going with the theories he adapted from Freud Sigmund, Breton believed that the unconscious was the wellspring of imagination.
Alongside Dada, surrealism brought a sense of anarchy to art that still lives today. It showed a fascinating twist of what artists are supposed to do in the shaping of the society. Some surrealists experimented using automatism while others explored the possibility of other unconscious art (Clifford, 1981). Today, surrealism has as many teachings as it had in the beginning. The profane and the sacred, the chaos and beauty all brought together to make the reality of life.
Surrealism aimed at attacking convention aggressively without sugar coating anything. Furthermore, surrealism did not seek to hide in cleverness but instead revealed everything as it was (Sheringham, 2006). Surrealism focused on positive expression and did not deal with negativity. Some of the most popular pieces of art of surrealism include The Persistence of Memory by Salvador Dali, The Son of Man and This Is Not a Pipe by Rene Magritte, The Artist Defying Classification by Andre Masson.
One of the impacts brought about by Surrealism is the fact that it introduced the representation of issues which are nonrealistic such as fantasy and dreams. Most of the recognized literary movements of the 20th century draw their inspiration from Surrealism. Many techniques and themes during this period are strictly identical to the idea of surrealism. Perhaps one of the writings which identifies with surrealism in this era is the Playwright, Theater of the absurd (Sheringham, 2006). Even though it was not a well-crafted movement, the playwrights have got traces of surrealism influence. Many beat writers continued to claim surrealism as their most significant influence. In some of the popular culture, the stream of consciousness writing by Bob Dylan and including some of his most recent writings have surrealism undertones and connections (Baugh, 2014). With the juxtaposition of the dreamlike and the usual, many American writes trace their inspiration from surrealism. Most of the huge magic realism in Latin America is credited to have been influenced by Surrealism (Baugh, 2014).
Surrealism has also had a significant impact on revolutionary and aggressive politics both indirectly and directly. Some surrealists have allied themselves or even joined revolutionary political groups and used the unconscious means of understanding to air their opinions (Sheringham, 2006). Surrealism has also impacted on politics indirectly through emphasizing on the intimate connection between free imagination and mind, as well as liberation from the oppressive social structures. This was evidenced in the New Left and the French Revolt in which the surrealists supported free imagination as a way to protest against the rationalism.
Surrealism has also significantly impacted the fashion industry in the contemporary world. Both in the past and in the modern world, surrealism movement has influenced the growth and progress in the sense of human appearance (Baugh, 2014). Most of the fashion of the contemporary world has traces of influence from surrealism. Most of the leading designers introduce the ideas of surrealism in their designs and other pieces of art.
References
Baugh, B. (2014). French Hegel: From surrealism to postmodernism . Routledge.
Breton, A., Davies, H. S., Éluard, P., & Hugnet, G. (1936). What is surrealism? (p. 65). London:: Faber & Faber.
Chadwick, W. (1998). An infinite play of empty mirrors: Women, surrealism, and self representation. Mirror Images: Women, Surrealism, and Self-Representation .
Clifford, J. (1981). On ethnographic surrealism. Comparative studies in society and history , 23 (4), 539-564.
Nadeau, M., Howard, R., & Matthews, J. H. (1966). The history of surrealism.
Sheringham, M. (2006). Everyday life: Theories and practices from surrealism to the present.
