Surrealism

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What is Surrealism?, a 1934 lecture by André Breton.

"Although the driving force of Surrealism came from André Breton, there were dissidents who voiced their views in the periodical Documents beginning in April 1929. Writers Georges Bataille and Michel Leiris emerged as the main contributors. Documents was a direct challenge to "mainstream" Surrealism as championed by André Breton, who in his Second Surrealist Manifesto of 1929 derided Bataille as "(professing) to wish only to consider in the world that which is vilest, most discouraging, and most corrupted." After Documents folded a new group was formed: Acéphale. The antagony between Breton and Bataille have even led some to speak of "Bretonian" and "Bataillean" strains of Surrealism." --Sholem Stein

Interplanetary Bridge, Surrealism avant la lettre from Un autre monde (1844) by Grandville

Ubu Roi (King Ubu) is a play developed by Alfred Jarry premiered on December 10 1896, and is widely acknowledged as a theatrical precursor to the Absurdist, Dada and Surrealist art movements.

Surrealism avant la lettre from the Bizzarie di varie figure (1624) by Giovanni Battista Braccelli

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Rhombicuboctahedron by Leonardo da Vinci

Surrealism was a 20th century art and cultural movement that began in the mid-1920s in Europe, and is best known for the visual artworks and writings of the group members. The works feature the element of surprise, unexpected juxtapositions and non sequitur, however many Surrealist artists and writers regard their work as an expression of the philosophical movement first and foremost with the works being an artefact, and leader André Breton was explicit in his assertion that Surrealism was above all a revolutionary movement. From the Dada activities of World War I Surrealism was formed with the most important center of the movement in Paris and from the 1920s spreading around the globe, impacting many other fields.

1 Origin of the term
2 Bataillean vs Bretonian Surrealism
3 See also

Origin of the term

In May 1917, Guillaume Apollinaire coined the term "Surrealism" in the program notes describing the ballet Parade which was a collaborative work by Jean Cocteau, Erik Satie, Pablo Picasso and Léonide Massine:

"From this new alliance, for until now stage sets and costumes on one side and choreography on the other had only a sham bond between them, there has come about, in Parade, a kind of super-realism ('sur-réalisme'), in which I see the starting point of a series of manifestations of this new spirit ('esprit nouveau')."

Bataillean vs Bretonian Surrealism

Bretonian and Bataillean strains of Surrealism

Breton was obviously the driving force behind surrealism, and he ran the movement in a dictatorial style, even expelling several of its members. Several of these ex-members started adhering to Georges Bataille's subversive "Bataillean" surrealism and the latter's journal Documents.

-[[Image:Un autre monde by Grandville.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Surrealism [[avant la lettre]] from ''[[Un autre monde]]'' ([[1844]]) by [[Grandville]]]]
+{| class="toccolours" style="float: left; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 2em; font-size: 85%; background:#c6dbf7; color:black; width:30em; max-width: 40%;" cellspacing="5"
+| style="text-align: left;" |
+''[[What is Surrealism?]]'', a [[1934]] lecture by [[André Breton]].
+<hr>
+"Although the driving force of [[Surrealism]] came from [[André Breton]], there were [[dissident]]s who voiced their views in the periodical ''[[Documents]]'' beginning in April 1929. Writers [[Georges Bataille]] and [[Michel Leiris]] emerged as the main contributors. ''Documents'' was a direct challenge to "mainstream" Surrealism as championed by André Breton, who in his [[Second Surrealist Manifesto]] of 1929 derided Bataille as "(professing) to wish only to consider in the world that which is vilest, most discouraging, and most corrupted." After ''Documents'' folded a new group was formed: ''[[Acéphale]]''. The antagony between Breton and Bataille have even led some to speak of "Bretonian" and "Bataillean" strains of Surrealism." --Sholem Stein
+|}
+[[Image:Un autre monde by Grandville.jpg|right|thumb|200px|[[Interplanetary Bridge]], [[Surrealism avant la lettre]] from ''[[Un autre monde]]'' ([[1844]]) by [[Grandville]]]]
 [[Image:Véritable portrait de Monsieur Ubu, par Alfred Jarry (1896).png|thumb|right|200px|'''''Ubu Roi''''' (King Ubu) is a [[play]] developed by [[Alfred Jarry]] premiered on [[December 10]] [[1896]], and is widely acknowledged as a theatrical [[precursor]] to the [[Theatre of the Absurd|Absurdist]], [[Dada]] and [[Surrealism|Surrealist]] art movements.]]
-[[Image:Bracelli.jpeg|thumb|right|200px|thumb|Surrealism [[avant la lettre]] from the ''[[Bizzarie di varie figure]]'' ([[1624]]) by [[Giovanni Battista Braccelli]]]]
+[[Image:Bracelli.jpeg|thumb|right|200px|thumb|[[Surrealism avant la lettre]] from the ''[[Bizzarie di varie figure]]'' ([[1624]]) by [[Giovanni Battista Braccelli]]]]
 {{Template}}
-:''[[What is Surrealism?]]'', a [[1934]] lecture by [[André Breton]].
+'''Surrealism''' was a [[20th century art]] and [[cultural movement]] that began in the mid-[[1920s]] in [[Europe]], and is best known for the [[visual art]]works and [[writing]]s of the group members. The works feature the element of [[surprise]], [[unexpected]] [[juxtaposition]]s and [[Non sequitur (absurdism)|non sequitur]], however many Surrealist artists and writers regard their work as an expression of the philosophical movement first and foremost with the works being an [[artefact]], and leader [[André Breton]] was explicit in his assertion that Surrealism was above all a [[revolution]]ary movement. From the [[Dada]] activities of [[World War I]] Surrealism was formed with the most important center of the movement in [[Paris]] and from the [[1920s]] spreading around the globe, impacting many other fields.
-'''Surrealism''' was a [[20th century art]] and [[cultural movement]] that began in the mid-[[1920s]] in [[Europe]], and is best known for the [[visual art]]works and [[writing]]s of the group members. The works feature the element of [[surprise]], [[unexpected]] [[juxtaposition]]s and [[Non sequitur (absurdism)|non sequitur]], however many Surrealist artists and writers regard their work as an expression of the philosophical movement first and foremost with the works being an [[artefact]], and leader [[André Breton]] was explicit in his assertion that Surrealism was above all a [[revolution]]ary movement. From the [[Dada]] activities of [[World War I]] Surrealism was formed with the most important center of the movement in [[Paris]] and from the [[1920s]] spreading around the globe.
 == Origin of the term ==
-In May [[1917]], [[Guillaume Apollinaire]] coined the term "Surrealism" in the program notes describing the ballet ''[[Parade]]'' which was a collaborative work by [[Jean Cocteau]], [[Erik Satie]], [[Pablo Picasso]] and [[Léonide Massine]]:
+In May [[1917]], [[Guillaume Apollinaire]] coined the term "Surrealism" in the program notes describing the ballet ''[[Parade (ballet)|Parade]]'' which was a collaborative work by [[Jean Cocteau]], [[Erik Satie]], [[Pablo Picasso]] and [[Léonide Massine]]:
 :"From this new alliance, for until now stage sets and costumes on one side and choreography on the other had only a sham bond between them, there has come about, in ''Parade'', a kind of super-realism ('sur-réalisme'), in which I see the starting point of a series of manifestations of this new spirit ('esprit nouveau')."
 == Bataillean vs Bretonian Surrealism ==
-Breton was obviously the driving force behind surrealism, and he ran the movement in a dicatorial style, even expelling several of its members. Several of these ex-members started adhering to Georges Bataille's subversive "[[Bataillean]]" surrealism and the latter's journal ''[[Documents (journal)|Documents]]''.
+:''[[Bretonian and Bataillean strains of Surrealism]]''
-==Criticism of Surrealism==
+Breton was obviously the driving force behind surrealism, and he ran the movement in a dictatorial style, even expelling several of its members. Several of these ex-members started adhering to [[Georges Bataille]]'s subversive "[[Bataillean]]" surrealism and the latter's journal ''[[Documents (journal)|Documents]]''.
-=== Feminist ===
-[[Feminists]] have in the past critiqued the Surrealist movement, claiming that it is fundamentally a male movement and a male fellowship, despite the occasional few celebrated woman Surrealist painters and poets. They believe that it adopts typical male attitudes toward women, such as worshipping them symbolically through stereotypes and sexist norms. Women are often made to represent higher values and transformed into objects of desire and of mystery.
-One of the pioneers in feminist critique of Surrealism was [[Xavière Gauthier]]. Her book ''[[Surréalisme et sexualité]]'' (1971) inspired further important scholarship related to the marginalization of women in relation to "the [[avant-garde]]." However these criticisms are perhaps more so of other avant-garde movements like [[Situationist International|Situationism]], where women had a much more subordinate role to the men. Also, despite the theoretical objectification, Surrealism as a living praxis allowed room for women artists and painters in particular to work and produce work on their own terms.
-===Freudian===
-[[Freud]] initiated the psychoanalytic critique of Surrealism with his remark that what interested him most about the Surrealists was not their unconscious but their conscious. His meaning was that the manifestations of and experiments with psychic automatism highlighted by Surrealists as the liberation of the unconscious were highly structured by ego activity, similar to the activities of the dream censorship in dreams, and that therefore it was in principle a mistake to regard Surrealist poems and other art works as direct manifestations of the unconscious, when they were indeed highly shaped and processed by the ego. In this view, the Surrealists may have been producing great works, but they were products of the conscious, not the unconscious mind, and they deceived themselves with regard to what they were doing with the unconscious. In psychoanalysis proper, the unconscious does not just express itself automatically but can only be uncovered through the analysis of resistance and transference in the psychoanalytic process.
-===Situationist===
-While some individuals and groups on the core and fringes of the [[Situationist International]] were Surrealists themselves, others were very critical of the movement, or indeed what remained of the movement in the late 1950s and '60s. The Situationist International could therefore be seen as a break and continuation of the Surrealist praxis.
 == See also ==
-*[[Surrealism and comedy]]
+* [[Freud's influence on Surrealism]]
+*[[Surrealism avant la lettre]]
+*[[Faultlines in 20th century art ]]
+*[[Surrealist Manifesto]]
 *[[Impact of Surrealism]]
-*[[Surrealism and theatre]]
+*[[Criticism of Surrealism]]
-*[[Sade's influence on Surrealism]]
 *[[Timeline of surrealism and dada]]
-*[[Surrealism and international politics]]
-*[[Belgian surrealism]]
 *[[International Surrealist Exhibition]]
 *[[Surrealist groups]]
+*[[Proto-Surrealism]]
+===By field===
+*[[Surrealism and comedy]]
+*[[Surrealism and theatre]]
+*[[Sade's influence on Surrealism]]
+*[[Freud's influence on Surrealism]]
+*[[Surrealism and international politics]]
 *[[Surrealism and film]]
 *[[Surrealism (music)]]
 *[[Surrealism in literature]]
 *[[Surrealist photography]]
-*[[Surrealist Manifesto]]
+===By region===
+===Surrealist groups===
+==== Europe ====
+*[[Czech surrealism]]
+*[[French surrealism]]
+*[[Polish surrealism]]
+*[[Belgian Surrealists]]
+*[[British Surrealist Group]]
+**[[Birmingham Surrealists]]
+***[[Glass Veal Group]]
+*[[Spanish surrealism]]
+**[[Dau-al-Set]]
+*[[Swedish surrealism]]
+**[[Halmstad]] Group
+**[[The Surrealist Group in Stockholm]]
+==== The Americas ====
+*[[The Surrealist Movement in the United States]]
+**[[Chicago Surrealist Group]]
+*[[Caribbean Surrealism]]
+*[[Black Surrealism]]
+*[[Canadian Surrealism]]
+**[[Les Automatistes]]
+**[[Refus Global]]
+===Literature===
 *''[[The Waking Dream]]'', surrealism avant la lettre in masterprints
 *''[[Sade / Surreal]]''

Surrealism

From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia

Revision as of 09:12, 7 November 2019

Contents

Origin of the term

Bataillean vs Bretonian Surrealism

See also

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By region

Surrealist groups

Europe

The Americas

Literature

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