Surrealism
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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Surrealism is a 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.
Origin of the term
In 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')."
Bataillan strain of Surrealism
- Surrealism was a 20th century art movement. Hans Bellmer was a surrealist. So was Georges Bataille. For subversive surrealism check Documents (journal).
See also
- Timeline of surrealism and dada
- Belgian surrealism
- International Surrealist Exhibition
- Surrealist groups
- Surrealism and film
- Surrealist manifesto
