Surrealism was an international artistic and literary movement that was founded in Paris in 1924. Evolving out of Dada, the new movement embraced the same revolutionary politics, distaste for cultural conventions, and use of chance in the creation of art. In contrast to the irreverent, subversive and liberating tendency of Dadaism, however, Surrealism sought to fuse reality and the unconscious to arrive at a “super- reality,” or “surréalisme.” The goal was to create “automatic” art that came from the true functioning of the mind without any intervention. Artistic creativity was freed from the constraints of reason, morals, and aesthetic concerns. In exploring this, the Surrealists were deeply influenced by the ideas of Freud and his study of the power of the subconscious and the importance of dreams in exploring the subconscious.
Each of the works of art selected for this 2008 exhibition subverts the normal in a unique way. They evidence a wide variety of approaches and media toward the representation of dreams and unconscious thoughts. The disruptions of space and time and coexistence of the real and bizarre, all painted with great attention to detail and in a realistic manner, speak to a part of the viewer buried deep inside the brain. Surrealist art doesn’t have to make sense. The feeling of disorientation that the works induce in the viewer is intended to speak to the subconscious directly.
Artists responded by investigating the world of dreams in their art. To evoke the strangeness of the dream state, the Surrealists used symbols they found in their dreams, transformed and metamorphosized objects into other things, and juxtaposed and dislocated things by putting unrelated objects in unusual places. The result was often odd and not always enjoyable to look at, as it made the everyday seem otherworldly. Through attention to detail and realistic style, the real and the bizarre can coexist. According to Dali: “The poetic fact held them, moved them subconsciously, despite the violent protests from their culture and their intellect.”
During the Second World War, Surrealist émigrés in New York had a profound influence on the American artistic scene. While the disruption of the war ended the coherency of the movement, individual Surrealists continued to create art long after the war had ended. One of the most important artistic movements of the twentieth century, the art of Surrealism continues to affect artists today. René Magritte (Belgian, 1898–1967) Les Pommes Masquées (Masked Apples), 1967–68 Colored etching and aquatint Museum purchase (69.100)
This print embodies one of the central techniques Magritte used to create Surrealistic art: the unexpected juxtaposition of objects. The apple, a simple common object, is often associated with the genre of still life. These two apples occupy an empty nocturnal landscape. Enlarged to fill practically the entire picture frame, the apples are the protagonists.
The masks they wear anthropomorphize them into two heads. At the same time, the masks obscure them, rendering them faceless and without individuality, each possessing the same three leaves. The theme of hidden and ambiguous identities is common in Surrealist art. Apples are also a well-known symbol of carnal knowledge. Disguised, they become tantalizing objects of desire.
The economy and clarity of execution combine with the enigmatic subject to create an extraordinarily striking piece that speaks to the subconscious. By challenging the viewer’s expectations, Magritte invites new interpretations of the real world. Moving to Paris in 1927, Magritte became an active member in the newly formed Surrealist group. He had his first solo show in New York in 1936. His recognition continued to grow throughout his life and his art exerted a strong influence on many artists. Salvador Dalì (Spanish, 1904–1989) Space Elephant, 1971 From the series Memories of Surrealism Etching and lithograph Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Marvin Small (79.111.9)
Description by the artist: “In the text of picture 8 we refer to the famous stork leg. Now in order to make it legitimate and monumental I shall proceed to give it a shape; not the shape of a crutch but of a true stork leg in the legs of the famous Dalinian elephant. This can only be a true Triumphal Arch, since Boulle, the great cabinet maker of Louis XIV, had always thought that he should erect this elephant, which, thanks to Dalì will forever have stork legs, in the exact place of the present Arc de Triomphe in Paris, built from Chalgrin’s plans, dedicated on July 29 1836, etc. (After a mile of prose on the Arc de Triomphe, full stop.)” Marcel Jean (French, 1900–1993) Fascination, 1970 Mixed media collage on masonite Bequest of David March (91.326)
A famed artist and writer, Marcel Jean was one of the original members of the Surrealist group founded by André Breton in 1924. His The History of Surrealist Painting continues to be consulted today. The skills he learned though Automatism, a Surrealist technique of spontaneous writing and drawing, which freed the author from outside constraints, later served him during the Second World War when he forged documents to help people acquire exit papers.
This collage is the result of a slow and intricate process involving the complex layering of transparent papers combined with translucent and opaque colors. The world he creates is a magical one, enlivened by the spidery network of paper fibers. In creating this enigmatic playground paved with green grass, Jean balance balls on ropes suspended from a fanciful construction that recedes in the distance, giving depth to his world. On the right, a large amorphous form with two eyes appears to be contemplating the scene. Jean’s open-ended art continues to invite personal interpretation. Richard Hamilton (British, 1922–2011) Marcel Duchamp, c. 1966 Lithograph and laminate Gift of W. J. Plunkett of Plunkett and Co. (70.69)
A French painter, sculptor, and writer, Marcel Duchamp, the subject of this piece, is one of the most influential artists and theorists of the first half of the twentieth century. Constantly testing the possibilities of art, he experimented with Cubism and Futurism, originated the ready-made, supported his Dada friends, and participated in several Surrealist exhibitions in Paris and New York. Although he often seemed peripheral to Surrealism, in 1938 when the Surrealists wanted to create an exhibition that in and of itself would be creative, they turned to Duchamp. The goal of the exhibition was to force viewers to look at things differently, something which Duchamp did his entire life. According to Duchamp: “Only in art is (man) capable of going beyond the animal state, because art is an outlet toward regions, which are not ruled by time and space…I tried at least to be as universal as I could.”
Richard Hamilton, often called the intellectual founder of Pop Art, greatly admired Duchamp’s anti-elitist attitude, contradiction of convention, and spirit of relentless critical inquiry. In 1966, he organized a Duchamp retrospective at the Tate in London, for which he recreated, with the elder artist’s guidance, one of Duchamp’s most complex and intricate works of art, The Bride Stripped Bare by her Bachelors, Even. Made in conjunction with the Duchamp retrospective, this portrait shows the French artist at the age of 79, holding a glass fragment relating to the piece that Hamilton replicated. William Blahd (American, b. 1952) The Labyrinth, 1988 Oil on canvas Gift of Museum Associates (91.259)
A Washington DC artist, Blahd has continually explored the topic of religion in his art from a contemporary, agnostic viewpoint. A sense of ambiguity is central to his art, as he combines elements of the past with contemporary elements from his imagination to create a superbly unreal dreamlike environment. In this painting, the artist unexpectedly places a zebra in the mosque at Cordoba, founded in 785.
In contrast with the ancient mosque, the colors are contemporary in their hue and vibrancy. The use of an intensely bright blue throughout the composition is done to evoke the ecstatic, sometimes hallucinatory nature of the religious experience. He further adds to the energy through the independent, freestanding areas of impasto. The intellectual gap between the zebra and the symbolic depths (both physical and spiritual) of the architecture creates a tension and invites interpretation. Hermeneutics, the science of interpreting, becomes an issue as the viewer tries to make sense of the impossible. According to the artist: “It is said that all art is a revolt against man’s fate. In my art, by combining images of life and death, power and tranquility, vitality and vulnerability, nature and civilization, I aspire to embrace man’s fate and to reveal its beauty.” Eduard “Buk” Ulreich (American, b. Austria, 1889–1966) Untitled, 1945 Oil on cardboard Gift of Mr. David T. Owsley (86.22)
Ulreich’s spiritual beliefs exercised a tremendous influence on his art. The spiritual teachings of Christian Science that he adopted in the 1920s became the framework for his art. “Art is in its highest sense a reflection of Truth (infinite intelligence) fashioned by the hand of love, appealing to the spiritual rather than the material sense. A work of art is only so when it is truly inspired.”
His search for inner truth and representation of dream- like imagery with spiritual connotations and juxtaposition of unrelated images recalls the art of the Surrealists. Rather than concentrating on the realistic representation of details, he sought to symbolize truth.
A gigantic sculpted head (recalling Buddha), peacefully reclines in the foreground, surrounded by flowers. A group of figures dressed in white dances near the sculpture while monuments of nature and those built by man dot the untainted landscape. Ulreich’s inscription on the back of the painting: “Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace,” which comes from the book of Isaiah 26:3, harmonizes with the tranquil dreamy scene. Aaron Bohrod (American, 1907–1992) Monsterpiece, 1965 Oil and gesso on wood panel Gift of the artist (67.142)
Nationally known in his lifetime, Bohrod studied art at the Art Institute of Chicago and the Art Students League in New York. During the 1950s he became aware that his paintings lacked an incisiveness. To remedy this, he began portraying objects with a meticulous realism so that they appeared real and not painted. A heightened form of illusionism, Surrealist artists often used trompe l’oeil or eye-fooling tricks to explore the world of dreams.
The extraordinary attention to detail in the representation of the rocky outcrop, to which Bohrod illusionistically attaches a piece of paper with his signature, suggests the essence and feel of an actual mountain. At the same time, the mountain is reminiscent of a petrified creature. Bohrod uses the same exaggerated realism to depict an extensive craquelure pattern covering the entire body of the ivory-colored ceramic lizard. The heightened realism of the painting combines with an imaginary subject to create a dreamlike image. While the monster appears to be a memorial, an airplane flying through the blood red sky prepares to engage the silent unmoving beast. The monster thus recalls one of the most memorable threats of all time, King Kong. Adeline Kent (American, 1900–1957) Untitled, c. 1945 Plaster (Hydrocal) and watercolor Gift of the Betty Parsons Foundation (85.100)
A sculptor of great originality, Kent developed an abstract style that was deeply rooted in Surrealism. She studied sculpture in Paris in 1924, at the height of the Surrealist movement, and her subsequent work in San Francisco continued to show the influence of Surrealist ideas. Following this, she became influenced by the wave of abstraction that made its presence felt in the Bay area in the 1930s.
A leading proponent of “direct-cut” sculpture, she used synthetic compounds like Hydrocal, which she carved and then painted. This piece recalls the vertebra of a massive beast. While the forms appear grounded in reality, the anthropomorphic inventiveness gives an unreal and enigmatic quality to the piece. A melancholic atmosphere also pervades the piece: the stark forms represent all that remains of some mighty beast. The juxtaposition of clarity and ambiguity create a surreal effect. Gertrude Abercrombie (American, 1909–1977) Alice Through the Keyhole, 1971 Oil on masonite panel Gift of Professors Frank Schmidt and Sharon Stevens (2006.11)
Like many of the Surrealists, Abercrombie had a vocabulary of archetypal personal emblems, which reappear throughout her art. The barren tree, crescent moon, owl, and door combine to create an ambiguous setting that is both inside and outside at the same time. The elongated figure with her hair caught in the keyhole of the door is a self-portrait: “It’s always myself that I paint, but not actually, because I don’t look that good or cute…everything is autobiographical in a sense, but kind of dreamy.”
Abercrombie’s life was often marked by a sense of darkness, depression, and troubling relationships. While she never explained her use of symbols, she admitted that they came directly from her subconscious. An introspective person, she went through several phases of psychoanalysis. Her art reflects the isolation of the dark inner world she explored. The unique combination of sharply rendered imagery and fantasy mix to create an alternative dreamlike reality, filled with a stillness and chilling loneliness. Of the Surrealist artists, she admired the art of Magritte, whose work manifests a similar stillness and isolation. Her use of exaggerated or non-existent shadows also recalls the art of the European Surrealists who preceded her. She never linked herself with them, however, considering herself a Midwestern artist with deep roots in Chicago and the state of Illinois.