Surrealism

Descriptive word: bizarre

“Surrealism, n. Pure psychic automatism, by which it is intended to express, whether verbally or in writing, or in any other way, the real process of thought. Thought’s dictation, free from any control by the reason, independent of any aesthetic or moral preoccupation."

-André Breton

Jones, Jonathan. “Arts: Andre in wonderland: In 1928 the first photobooth arrived in Paris - and for Breton and the surrealists, it was a dream come true.”  The Guardian (London).  16 June 2004, final edition: p. 12.

Jonathan Jones is a staff writer for the London Guardian newspaper.  He writes for the arts and design section of the newspaper.  In his article of André Breton and surrealism, he writes briefly about the rise of the surrealism revolution with its founder Breton, and the influence that it had in photography.  Jones states that Breton’s definition for surrealism is “pure physic automatism,” which flowed together well when the first automatic photo machine (called a photomaton) was invented and released in Paris.  According to Jones, “the photomaton was a readymade surrealist photography that removed the conscious, controlling mind of the photographer and took a stream of images too quickly for the sitter to compose her or himself in any but the most basic ways. The close range of the portraits and the flat background add to the sense of being surprised, taken aback, even abused, that we feel after sitting for a strip of passport pictures. The brutality that makes photomaton portraits uncomfortable makes them, for the surrealists, insightful.”  Portraiture and especially self-portraiture were very common in surrealism, because they were very fascinated by the “self.”  As Jones points out, the majority of the photomaton portraits of Breton and his group show them with their eyes closed.  In accordance with Breton’s manifesto of 1924, this will help us to recognize “the omnipotence of the dream.”  Towards the end of Jones’s article, he analyzes the photomaton portraits in a contemporary light.  Calling them “anti-aesthetic, deliberately banal, photo-based art” he believes them to be antecedents of Andy Warhol’s work.

While my work is not about examining the self or dreams, I think it can definitely benefit from the surreal movement’s exploration of the bizarre and uncanny.  Since I am experimenting in combining imagery to create a made up space, I think it is appropriate to consider the history and process behind this movement. Photography played a big part in surrealism with its departure from the ordinary use of a camera, and instead of using as a practical tool to record what is in front of it, it was used to create what the artist imagined.  I think this theory can be useful to my process.

Photo:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/photography/genius/gallery/images/ray.jpg