Surrealism Flashcards
Where and what did surrealism originate as?
Surrealism originated as a philosophical, literary, and artistic movement in France in the later 1910s.
What was it influenced by? Whose ideas in particular?
Strongly influenced by psychoanalytical theory- in particular Sigmund Fred’s ideas about free association and dream imagery.
What did surrealist writers and artists think?
Surrealist writers and artists embraced chance, randomness, and the unexpected, as they thought that reason obstructed access to the imagination.
What techniques did they develop to develop spiritual awareness?
They devised techniques such as automatic writing, drawing games, and trance-like states to unblock the flow of creativity and develop spiritual awareness.
Where does photography’s connection lie?
Photography’s connection and surrealism lies in its ability to represent the material world in strange and abstract ways.
What did surrealist photographer Man Ray do?
Man Ray used double exposure, solarisation, and reversed tonality to disturb the viewers’ recognition of things and to suggest the overlapping of dream and reality.
Give examples of photographers. and what do they have in common?
Edmund Kesting, Werner Rhode, Pat Brassington, Destiny Deacon and Francesca Woodman are all examples of photographers. They all put bodies and spaces depicted in ways that make them strange and haunting, and ordinary objects are made to seem sinister and extraordinary.
What does Mari Mahr do differently?
Mari Mahr evokes a dream-like narrative composed of real and imagined memories.
