9.1 European Surrealism's Influence on American Artists

European Surrealism rocked the American art scene in the mid-20th century. Artists like Breton, Dalí, and Magritte fled to the US during WWII, bringing their mind-bending ideas with them. Their presence sparked a creative explosion, inspiring American artists to explore the unconscious and embrace the bizarre.

Surrealist techniques like automatism, dream imagery, and unexpected juxtapositions found their way into American art. Pollock's drip paintings, Gorky's biomorphic forms, and Cornell's enigmatic boxes all show the movement's influence. Surrealism's impact on American art was deep and lasting, pushing boundaries and expanding artistic possibilities.

Key Surrealist Figures

Influential European Surrealists

Top images from around the web for Influential European Surrealists

• 

  Surrealism - Wikipedia View original

  Is this image relevant?

• 

  drapak.ca - Visual Arts: Surrealism View original

  Is this image relevant?

• 

  René Magritte - Wikipedia, la enciclopedia libre View original

  Is this image relevant?

• 

  Surrealism - Wikipedia View original

  Is this image relevant?

• 

  drapak.ca - Visual Arts: Surrealism View original

  Is this image relevant?

1 of 3

Top images from around the web for Influential European Surrealists

• 

  Surrealism - Wikipedia View original

  Is this image relevant?

• 

  drapak.ca - Visual Arts: Surrealism View original

  Is this image relevant?

• 

  René Magritte - Wikipedia, la enciclopedia libre View original

  Is this image relevant?

• 

  Surrealism - Wikipedia View original

  Is this image relevant?

• 

  drapak.ca - Visual Arts: Surrealism View original

  Is this image relevant?

1 of 3

• André Breton led the Surrealist movement as its primary theorist and founder
• Salvador Dalí created iconic melting clocks and dreamlike landscapes in his paintings
• René Magritte challenged perception through his witty and thought-provoking images
• Max Ernst pioneered innovative techniques like frottage and grattage in his surrealist works
• These artists developed unique styles and approaches within Surrealism
  • Breton focused on automatic writing and exploring the unconscious
  • Dalí embraced hyper-realistic depictions of impossible scenarios
  • Magritte played with language and visual paradoxes
  • Ernst incorporated elements of collage and texture into his paintings

Impact on American Artists

• American artists encountered European Surrealists who fled to the US during World War II
• The presence of these figures in America sparked interest in Surrealist ideas and techniques
• Surrealist exhibitions in New York exposed American artists to the movement's concepts
• Many American artists incorporated Surrealist elements into their work, including:
  • Jackson Pollock (automatic drawing techniques)
  • Arshile Gorky (biomorphic forms and dreamlike landscapes)
  • Joseph Cornell (assemblage and juxtaposition in box constructions)

Surrealist Techniques and Concepts

Experimental Creative Methods

• Automatism encouraged spontaneous creation without conscious control
  • Used in both writing and visual arts to tap into the subconscious
  • Resulted in free-flowing, stream-of-consciousness works
• Exquisite Corpse involved collaborative creation of images or texts
  • Participants took turns adding to a composition without seeing previous contributions
  • Produced unexpected and often absurd results
• Collage combined disparate elements to create new meanings and associations
  • Incorporated found images, text, and objects into artworks
  • Challenged traditional notions of artistic composition

Visual and Conceptual Strategies

• Biomorphic forms featured organic, abstract shapes resembling living organisms
  • Evoked natural structures while remaining ambiguous and dreamlike
  • Appeared in paintings, sculptures, and even architecture
• Juxtaposition placed unrelated objects or ideas in close proximity
  • Created unexpected relationships and surreal scenarios
  • Challenged viewers' perceptions and sparked new interpretations
• Symbolism used objects, figures, or elements to represent abstract ideas or emotions
  • Personal and universal symbols appeared in Surrealist artworks
  • Invited viewers to decipher hidden meanings and psychological content

Surrealist Influences and Themes

Psychological Foundations

• Dreamscapes depicted vivid, often bizarre scenarios inspired by dreams
  • Blurred the line between reality and imagination
  • Explored the symbolic language of the unconscious mind
• The subconscious served as a primary source of inspiration for Surrealists
  • Artists sought to access and express hidden thoughts and desires
  • Techniques like automatism aimed to bypass conscious control
• Psychoanalysis, particularly Freudian theory, heavily influenced Surrealist thinking
  • Concepts like free association and dream interpretation informed artistic practices
  • The exploration of repressed desires and childhood memories became central themes

Movement Development and Principles

• The Surrealist Manifesto, written by André Breton in 1924, established the movement's goals
  • Called for the liberation of the mind from rational constraints
  • Emphasized the importance of dreams, the unconscious, and the irrational
  • Proposed Surrealism as a revolutionary force in art and society
• Surrealism evolved beyond visual arts to influence literature, film, and philosophy
  • Writers like André Breton and Paul Éluard experimented with automatic writing
  • Filmmakers such as Luis Buñuel created surrealist cinema (Un Chien Andalou)
  • The movement's ideas spread to various cultural and intellectual spheres