SCIENTIFIC SURREALISM Shannon Schmiedeke
If one utters the word ÒSurrealismÓ outside the company of art histori- (as quoted in Gamwell, 2002, p. 243). Thus the Surrealists took it upon ans, one can generally expect puzzled-faced responses, with occasional themselves to make known the world of unconsciousness. recognition of Salvador Dali, the token spokesperson of the Surrealist The world of dreams was of great interest to psychologists and Sur- movement. While people are often familiar with the famous melting realists. The Surrealists used the bizarre juxtaposition of subject matter clocks featured in DaliÕs Persistence of Memory, most do not understand experienced in the dream state as a source of inspiration. Such illogical, the cultural inßuences that Dali and other Surrealists strove to express. random combinations of objects and phenomenon as found in dreams The art of the Dali and the Surrealists was not merely created for the inspired visions such as those of Surrealist poet, Leuremont, who said, simple purpose of looking or sounding absurd and hallucinogenic. Sur- ÒBeautiful as the chance encounter of a sewing machine and an umbrella realism was a tribute to, as well as, an exploration of modern western on an operating tableÓ (as quoted in Beckett, 2000, p. 668). The Surreal- ideology. Just as people throughout history have tried to capture the ists did not seek a way through the mire of the mind, but rather, a means likeliness of Gods and Goddesses through art, so Surrealists, such as by which to express it. Salvador Dali, attempted to capture modern world-views by making While his lucid descriptions of dream phenomenon fascinated Sur- manifest the abstract concepts of psychologists and physicists. realists, FreudÕs intentions to unveil the dream were in stark contrast to The Surrealist art movement began in Paris in the early 1920Õs. those of the Surrealists. Using dream analysis, Freud sought to bring The First Surrealist Exhibit was in 1925 and included works by Max buried thoughts and associations from the unconscious mind, into con- Earnst, Arp, De Chiciro, Klee, Man Ray, Joan Miro, and Pablo Picasso. sciousness. Freud was searching for the buried, hidden meanings of Surrealism developed from the art movement known as Dadaism. Dada- dreams, latent in the unconscious mind by means of analytical inter- ism was a reaction against peopleÕs complacency and the social ills of pretation. Freud proclaimed in a letter to AndreÕ Breton, ÒA collection Òmodern lifeÓ following World War One. Many Dadaist works featured of dreams without the connected association, without knowledge of the common objects arranged in absurd, often disturbing ways to provoke its circumstances under which it has been dreamt, does not have any mean- viewer to question the stability of Òeveryday lifeÓ. Former Dadaist (and ing to me, and I can barely imagine what it would mean to othersÓ (as medical school drop-out, who fancied himself an authority on psychol- quoted in Gamwell, 2002, p. 247). To Freud, uninterpreted dreams were ogy and art) AndreÕ Breton published the Surrealist Manifesto in 1924. merely arrangements of unrelated words and images, which by them- Essentially, Surrealism was to be a more positive Dadaism. The intent selves were meaningless and therefore, valueless. While Freud strove of Surrealism was to preserve the imagination of the people against the to capture the message encoded in a dream, the Surrealists strove only tensions of contemporary life. It was a counter-attack against material- to capture the miasma. istic, mechanized society. Undaunted by FreudÕs disapproval, Surrealists continued to express The emerging science of psychology was the greatest inßuence on the irrationality of the unconscious mind, and to maintain the mystery the Surrealists and their works. Psychoanalysts and neurologists such of the dream. Dali proclaimed that he wanted to create what he called, as Sigmund Freud, Carl Jung, Jacques Lacan, Jean-Martin Chacot and Òhand-painted dream photographsÓ (as quoted in Beckett, 2000, p. 674). Pierre Janet were sources of seemingly endless inspiration for the Sur- He began painting unreality with meticulous realism; fantastic scenes realists. Enamored with psychological terminology and visions of the took form on vast, desolate, landscapes. Aspiring to capture the bizarre inner workings of the mind, Surrealists prized phenomenon such as hys- ephemera of the mind, the Surrealists created an unprecedented genre teria, paranoia, and narcissism. In The Fiftieth Anniversary of Hysteria: of art. 1878-1928, Louis Aragon and AndreÕ Breton proclaimÕ ÒWe surrealists Like dream interpretation, automated writing was another popular celebrate the Þftieth anniversary of hysteria, the greatest poetic discov- psychological tool that the Surrealists adopted. Using that technique, a ery of the late Nineteenth Century!Ó (as quoted in Gamwell, 2002, p. person was to write the free ßowing stream of ideas that passed before 244). Surrealism was a new psychological approach to the inside of the the mind, without conscious censorship, or attempts to rationalize the neurotic mind. outpour. Underlying the technique was the principle that if one sus- Sigmund FreudÕs ideas were the foundation upon which the surre- pended conscious control of the mind, the stream of thoughts ensued alist writers and painters created their symbolic vocabulary. Freud pub- would allow one access to the unconscious mind. This technique in- lished his Interpretation of Dreams in 1900, which made an immense spired the stream-of-consciousness poetry popularized by the Surreal- impact on Europe as a whole. According to Freud, the function of the ists, and inspired painters to allow similar streams of visions and sym- unconscious mind was to continuously reorganize psychic material, bols to take form in their works. making new symbolic connections below conscious awareness. Freud ÒParanoiaÓ was a psychological Òbuzz-wordÓ in the 1920Õs and be- stated, ÒThe unconscious is the true psychic reality, in its innermost na- came an exalted condition amongst artists of that time. In a nutshell, ture it is as much unknown to us as the reality of the external world.Ó paranoia is said to be a misconception of reality that is an extreme ver- 85 sion of everyday neurotic fantasies. French psychiatrist Jacques Lacan chological self-analysis. They then embarked to explore the illusions of was the primary theorist on paranoid psychosis. He inspired Surrealists perception through physics and metaphysics. with his perspective on the paranoid state, and incorporated DaliÕs anal- The theories of Einstein and Heisenburg became a new focal point ysis of the paranoidÕs perception of the world as Òa symbolic reordering for the subject matter of the Surrealists. HeisenburgÕs theory of quantum of realityÓ, to his own understanding of paranoia (as quoted in Gamwell, mechanics stated that within the model of physical structure, there is 2002, p. 248). Lacan visited DaliÕs studio, studying DaliÕs Òparanoid- a principle of uncertainty, as to the location and velocity of subatomic criticalÓ method of combining unrelated images to form a new symbolic particles, which limited the scope of classical physical ideas. The inde- whole. Said method was applied in the painting Metamorphosis of Nar- terminacy of science revived the principle of mystery upon which the cissus (1934) in which a crouching youth was combined metaphorically Surrealists thrived. They had no ethical reservations in accepting these with a pile of rocks. Dali said it was ÒparanoidÓ because Òjust as the new ideas, and volunteered their world-view to be deconstructed. Dali psychotic have delusions, so the artist creates a fantasy by forging a stated ÒIn the surrealist period I wanted to create the iconography of double imageÓ (as quoted in Gamwell, 2002, p. 248). the interior world, the world of the marvelous, of my father Freud. I The term Òparanoid-criticalÓ was coined by Dali, which he said succeeded in doing it. Today the exterior world, that of physics, has he applied to his works with intent to understand and master Òthe forces transcended that of psychology. My father today is Dr. Heisenberg.Ó (as and hidden laws of thingsÓ (as quoted in Moorhouse, 1990, p. 14). Dali quoted in Gamwell, 2002, p. 247). Themes of physics of anti-gravity deÞned his paranoid-critical method as, Òa spontaneous method of irra- and anti-matter, visions of the sub-atomic realm hovering within the ap- tional knowledge based upon the critical-interpretive association of de- parent physical plane, later dominated much of the Surrealists works. lirious phenomenaÓ (as quoted in Beckett, 2000, p. 134). Andre Breton The art of the Surrealists was based on rapidly emerging ÔmodernÕ stated in 1934 that the paranoid-critical method was an invaluable dis- sciences. Its shocking themes including such controversial subjects as covery for Surrealism, and that it was applicable to all forms of artistic masturbation, sadism, homosexuality, and Adolph Hitler were meant to expression (Moorhouse 1990, p.13). Essentially, DaliÕs technique was do more than disturb viewers. They were artistic manifestations of con- to allow one to cultivate the phenomenon of paranoia in the petri-dish temporary scientiÞc theories. One may observe the art of the Surrealists, of critical observation, whereby it could be synthesized and expressed noting the Òcutting-edgeÓ subject matter and immense artistic talents, in art. which shaped the Surrealist movement. But in order to truly understand Physics, like psychology, was gaining popular interest amongst and appreciate the work of the Surrealists, one must understand the cul- scholars and artists during the 1930Õs. EinsteinÕs theories on space and tural climate in which it was created, and how the Surrealist movement time inspired a new realm of thought for Surrealists, and a new perspec- was a reßection of the contemporary innovations of ÔmodernÕ ideology. tive on the universe and reality, as it was understood. Dali said in 1935, that the soft watches in his Persistence of Memory (1931), DaliÕs best EDITORÕS NOTE: This is an informational essay that was written for known painting, were a metaphor for EinsteinÕs ideas being Ònothing English 100, Expository Writing. else than the tender extravagant and solitary paranoiac-critical camem- bert of time and spaceÓ (as quoted in Gamwell, 2002, p. 241). The Surrealists had already challenged perceptions of reality through psy-
86