Surrealism Flashcards
1
Q
Characteristics
A
- Founded by Andre Baton
- Dreams- took imagery from dreams, translated it into realistic images that were positioned illogically
- illogical over logical, subconcious over concious, dreams over reality
- Heavily influenced by Psychoanalysis as they believed dreams and the subconcious reflect what our concious supresses
- Appreciated convulsive/shocking beauty
- Wanted to create mystery
- Images often bare two meanings(visual puns) and hidden messages
1
Q
Brushstrokes and other techniques
A
- Fine brushtrokes
- Surface was smooth not tactile
- Hyper-real and dream-like use of colour
1
Q
Automatism
A
- A technique used by Sigmund Freud to reveal his patient’s subconcious mind
- Creativity is automantic in a hypnotic way as they paint/draw with no preconceived idea
- Characterised by organic, amoeba-like shapes
- Based off of the theory of chance
Automatic-handwriting, fottage, decalcomania, mixing oil, water, paint
2
Q
Fottage
A
Paper would be drawn over a texture object to transfer the print of that object
3
Q
Automatic Handwriting
A
Where one draws without conciousness and the drawing is analysed for signs
4
Q
Decalcomania
A
Black paint is applied to a piece of paper and another is compressed onto it and then removed to create a picture
5
Q
Rene Magritte
A
- used image of bowler-hatted man to show that he preferred the middle-class lifestyle
- Previously did advertisement which can be seen in the style of his artworks
- His art was expressionless and clearly portrayed the matter of his work
- Used repetition= Freud says repetition is a sign of trauma
- Was also fascinated by the interaction between words and visuals
- Bowler-hat man was self-portrait, wife Georgette, apartment in Brussel
- Loved exploring the concept and creating mystery
6
Q
Treachery of images
A
- Highlights the gap between words and meaning
7
Q
Son of Man
A
- Explores the interest in seeing what is visibly hidden and what is visibly present
- Its a self portrait but we cannot see his face
- His attire does not match the background
- Could be about how people always try to decipher the meaning behind his artworks to try to better understand him
- Many of the faces he paints are concealed because when his mother’s dead body was found her face was covered with her dress
8
Q
Salvador Dali
A
- Themes of decay, death, eroticism that reflected his subconcious
- Drew on childhood memories
- Symbolism in: fetishes, animal imagery, and religious symbols
- Created new technique “paranoiac critical” where you stimulate delusion while keeping sane
