The beginning of the 20th century was invaded by the cultural and artistic scenario of events that determined the course of art in various manifestations: the dissemination of Freud’s thoughts on the human mind and a series of avant-garde movements that proposed a new conception of creativity . Surrealism
Origins of Surrealism
From 1916 onwards, the French poet André Breton would come into contact with Freudian thoughts, on the other hand, Apollinarie’s poetry would become known. Thus, both Freud and Apollinarie were interested in an enigmatic dimension of reality : the world of dreams. These dreams express the unconscious of the human mind that is not subject to rationality. In this way, the oneiric world and irrational or automatic thinking are elements that form surrealism as an artistic movement. Surrealism
Breton and other creators wrote in 1924 the first surrealist manifesto, among which they defended free mental associations as a form of artistic expression . On the other hand, the surrealists were inspired by the works of the painter El Bosco, from the 16th century, with the work “The Garden of Delights”; the Italian painter Giorgio Chirico played with the illogic of dreams and created imaginary landscapes; beyond the creative world of Salvador Dalí. It should be noted that the surrealists also fixated on the provocative attitude of Dadaism, an avant – garde movement contrary to the logical thought that defends individual freedom and spontaneity.
A general approach
Surrealism starts from the idea that there is no other reality, that is, a super-reality. This dimension of the real is not evident, as it is something mysterious. In other words, absolute reality is a combination of reality and dreams.
Surrealism as a cultural movement adopts a rebellious stance and opposes the classic relationship to cause and effect, as well as conventionalism and resignation . His artistic proposal defends the purity of the child’s mind and proposes the combat of everything that puts the brain to sleep.
Surrealists questioned the role of logic, the abstract and the predominance of the intellectual over the imagination, since these are thoughts that hinder artistic and creative freedom.
Surrealist thought defends the idea of going beyond classical distinctions: the beautiful and the ugly, the good and the bad, the true and the false. In the search for another reality, it bets on the uncertain and the anti-dogmatic. In this sense, the surrealist artist is a rule-saboteur and a nonconformist, more especially an individual who criticizes the values that pervade Western culture. Surrealism
Surrealist concerns have notably influenced writers such as Federico Garcia Lorca and Pablo Neruda, as well as filmmakers Luis Buñuel and Federico Fellini.
