Surrealism

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Surrealism

• A world of dreams and imagination

Presentation created by Heather Olson
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What is Surrealism?

• The word surrealism means over-reality or
  beyond reality.
• This art movement began in Paris after World War
  I.
• The artists that were part of this movement were
  interested in bizarre, dreamlike images.

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Qualities of Surrealist Works of Art

• Scale
• When an object is very small or very large in
  comparison with its environment

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Juxtaposition

• Putting two different things side by side that
  dont normally go together

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Transformation

• Turning something familiar into something
  unusual and disturbing

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Dislocation

• Objects are placed where they shouldnt be.

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Rene Magritte (1898-1967)

• Magritte painted in a realistic style.
• He combined ordinary objects in unusual ways.

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This is a good example of how Magritte would take
two ordinary objects (a train and a fireplace)
and combine them in an unusual way.
Time Transfixed, 1938
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Golconde, 1953
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What makes this painting surreal?
The Great War, 1964
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Salvador Dali

• Dali was a strange artist who painted bizarre
  images like melting watches.
• He also liked to do crazy things like wearing
  hats made out of bread.

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In this painting, Dali is asking us to look at
the world in a different way.
The Persistence of Memory, 1931
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Sleep, 1937
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The Disintegration of Persistence of Memory,
1952-54
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Sandy Skoglund

• Skoglund is a painter, sculptor and photographer.
• Her works of art have a surreal quality to them.
• She likes to combine real and unreal images.

Revenge of the Goldfish, 1981
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Skoglund made the germs from chewing gum. Is
this an appropriate choice of media? Why? Is the
woman aware of the germs? Are the germs aware of
the woman?
Germs Are Everywhere, 1984
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Do any of the dogs or people in this work seem to
be communicating with each other? How would the
meaning of this piece change if the dogs were
real and the people were sculpted? Is this a
happy place? How can you tell?
The Green House, 1990
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What do you think is happening in this
picture? What kind of games are the foxes
playing? Are the people playing, too? Would it
ever be possible for this scene to happen in real
life? Does that make a difference when deciding
whether something is good art?
Fox Games, 1989
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Resources

• http//www.magritte.com
• http//www.salvadordalimuseum.org
• http//www.dali-gallery.com/html/dali.htm
• http//www.sandyskoglund.com