Think Surrealism
and you may think of visual artists
like Salvador Dalí or
Rene Magritte
but the movement actually began in literature
in 1924,through the poet André Breton.
Influenced by the writings of Sigmund Freud
Surrealists saw the subconscious
as the means of revolution
and sought nothing less
than to change the world.
Surrealism rose from the ashes of Dada.
Like Dada, it was an avant-garde movement
reacting against the corrupt, hypocritical society
responsible for sending millions to their death
in the First World War.
Both sought to shock the establishment
and shared a distrust of logic
and a love of the absurd.
Surrealism was also influenced by the ideas of Symbolism.
Symbolist artists such as Gustave Moreau
were seen by Breton as precursors
of the Surrealist movement.
Surrealist artists sought to liberate
the subconscious mind in their art.
Some like Salvador Dalí
did this through depiction
of dreamlike images rendered in precise detail.
Other artists like Miró explored automatism
the means of creating expressive images
without engaging the rational mind.
If a technique celebrated the serendipitous
or the random, then Surrealists embraced it.
Georges Hugnet used decalcomania
to produce this work.
Paper is painted, stuck together,
then pulled apart to reveal
images that can be read or deciphered
in many different ways.
The element of chance
was important to Surrealist artists.
Surrealism started in Paris
but quickly spread throughout the globe.
In 1936 the International Surrealist Exhibition
was held in London.
Breton and Dalí gave lectures there
Dalí in a deep-sea diver suit
from which he had to be rescued
when it became clear he couldn't breathe
Surrealism thrived elsewhere in Europe too
particularly Belgium and Czechoslovakia.
Toyen was a Czech Surrealist
born Marie Cerminova.
The name Toyen was adopted in early adulthood.
Toyen identified using the Czech language’s
masculine form, and dressed in men's working clothes.
This exploration of gender has made Toyen a cult figure.
This work, The Message of the Forest
depicts a huge blue bird
against a dark, mysterious wooded background.
It embodies a recurring theme in their work
nature's power over humanity.
This world is barren, dreamlike
and inhabited by lone girls, fragmented female figures and birds,
it is bizarre even sinister, and its discussion
of dreams and nightmares
suggests intense anxiety.
As the Second World War ravaged Europe
many surrealists fled across the Atlantic.
Some found a new spiritual home in Mexico
and others settled in America
where they inspired a new generation of artists.
Abstract Expressionists, such as Jackson Pollock
were inspired by the Surrealist approach to automatism
and the idea that art should come
from the unconscious mind.
Other artists have found inspiration
in dreamlike imagery and the unexpected
juxtapositions of Surrealism.
The photographer Francesca Woodman
was a keen student of Surrealism.
In her photographs she included props
with clear Surrealist associations
like the mirror.
But was the mirror a device of Surrealism?
Or was Surrealism the mirror,
one helping us see the world with fresh eyes?