Surrealism

シュルレアリスム / 1924–1950s / Style / Avant-garde

The movement that forced reality's objects into impossible meetings under the logic of dream and the unconscious. Dépaysement spread from painting into photography, film and advertising as the grammar of impossible adjacency.

Surrealism — Max Ernst, Habakuk, Düsseldorf — Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 3.0 · © Hans Peter Schaefer — Max Ernst, Habakuk, Düsseldorf — Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 3.0 · CC BY-SA 3.0 · © Hans Peter Schaefer

Surrealism — Max Ernst, Assistant, Frog, Turtle, 1967 — Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 3.0 · © Photo: Rufus46 Sculpture: Max Ernst — Max Ernst, Assistant, Frog, Turtle, 1967 — Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 3.0 · CC BY-SA 3.0 · © Photo: Rufus46 Sculpture: Max Ernst

Surrealism — Max Ernst《ハバクク》— Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 3.0 · © Photo: Hans Peter Schaefer ( Hps-poll at de.wikipedia ) http://www.reserva-rt.de Sculpture: Max Ernst — Max Ernst《ハバクク》— Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 3.0 · CC BY-SA 3.0 · © Photo: Hans Peter Schaefer ( Hps-poll at de.wikipedia ) http://www.reserva-rt.de Sculpture: Max Ernst

At a glance

Visual cues

Dépaysement
Dream perspective
Objects transformed
Precision serving absurdity

Best used for

Advertising and covers that make the viewer demand an explanation instantly
Carrying the visual side of a story about dream and the unconscious

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Dictionary entry

Type: No explanatory copy, only a quiet title outside the frame
Composition: Hold one horizon and displace objects out of their true scale
Material: Realist rendering and smooth finish, so technique carries the strangeness
Caution: Multiplying strange combinations dilutes each individual shock, and the result is merely a decorative photomontage.
Further study: Breton's manifestos / Magritte and advertising's mutual seepage / surrealist photography and the rediscovery of Atget

Related entries

Dada (ダダ)Same Avant-garde lineage.Compare Surrealism and Dada
German Expressionist Film (ドイツ表現主義映画)Shared effects: Rebellion / Calm.Compare Surrealism and German Expressionist Film

Often confused with

Magic Realism (マジック・リアリズム)compare

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