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An Inquiry Into Surrealism in The LANDSCAPES OF REVELATION: AN INQUIRY INTO SURREALISM IN THE LANDSCAPE by MICAH S. LIPSCOMB (Under the Direction of Judith Wasserman) ABSTRACT This thesis explores landscapes in which visitors can become emotionally and perceptually disoriented and imagine they are in a dream-like space. The surreal landscapes discussed range from an Italian Renaissance garden, to contemporary landscapes designed by professionals, to environments created by visionary artists. These diverse landscapes share elements of the art and literary movement of surrealism, especially their goal of eliciting revelations. The purpose of this thesis is three-fold: first, to analyze the techniques and forms that help create a surreal landscape; second, to elucidate the relationship between surrealism and landscape architecture; and third, to demonstrate the relevance of some of the ideas of surrealism to contemporary landscape architecture. INDEX WORDS: Surrealism, Landscape Architecture, Visionary Art Environments, Labyrinths, Grottoes, Walled Gardens, Andre Breton, Martha Schwartz, Geoffrey Jellicoe LANDSCAPES OF REVELATION: AN INQUIRY INTO SURREALISM IN THE LANDSCAPE by MICAH S. LIPSCOMB B.A., Eckerd College, 1997 A Thesis Submitted to The University of Georgia Graduate Faculty in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree MASTERS OF LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE ATHENS, GEORGIA 2003 ©2003 Micah S. Lipscomb All Rights Reserved LANDSCAPES OF REVELATION: AN INQUIRY INTO SURREALISM IN THE LANDSCAPE by MICAH S. LIPSCOMB B.A., Eckerd College, 1997 Major Professor: Judith Wasserman Committee: Ian Firth Henry Parker Art Rosenbaum Electronic Version Approved: Maureen Grasso Dean of the Graduate School The University of Georgia May 2003 DEDICATION To my wife, Suzannah, for her love and unwavering support during my education. iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to express my gratitude to all who helped me with this thesis. Thank you to: Ian Firth, who was a sage guide early in the process; Judith Wasserman for her advice along the way; Henry Parker and Art Rosenbaum for their service on my committee; and Tom Gibney for his insightful comments. I would like to express my deep appreciation for the support and encouragement of my friends and family, especially my parents and my wife. You mean the world to me. v TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS.................................................................................................v LIST OF FIGURES ......................................................................................................... viii INTRODUCTION ...............................................................................................................1 CHAPTER 1 TOWARDS A DEFINITION OF SURREALISM...........................................3 Common elements of surrealist art ...........................................................15 2 SURREALISM IN THE LANDSCAPE.........................................................16 Spatial Paradigms......................................................................................22 Structural Devices.....................................................................................26 Types of surreal landscapes ......................................................................31 Elements of surreal landscapes .................................................................32 3 SURREALISM’S RELATIONSHIP WITH LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE ..........................................................................................34 4 MODERN LANDSCAPES WITH SURREAL ELEMENTS........................43 Garden for Modern Living........................................................................43 Sutton Place ..............................................................................................45 Splice Garden............................................................................................47 Irish Hunger Memorial .............................................................................51 5 VISIONARY ART ENVIRONMENTS..........................................................57 vi Sacred Grove of Bomarzo.........................................................................61 Palais Ideal................................................................................................66 Watts Towers ............................................................................................73 Las Pozas ..................................................................................................80 Pasaquan ...................................................................................................86 Conclusion ................................................................................................92 6 CONCLUSION...............................................................................................94 REFERENCES ................................................................................................................105 vii LIST OF FIGURES Page Figure 1.1: Fountain.............................................................................................................4 Figure 1.2: Breakfast in Fur.................................................................................................9 Figure 2.1: International Exposition of Surrealism............................................................17 Figure 2.2: north side of Palais Ideal .................................................................................19 Figure 2.3: northwest corner of Palais Ideal ......................................................................19 Figure 2.4: Sam Rodia at gateway to Watts Towers..........................................................21 Figure 2.5: Grotto of the Redemption................................................................................23 Figure 2.6: The Grotto of the Animals...............................................................................23 Figure 2.7: Plan view of Watts Towers ............................................................................25 Figure 2.8: Gazebo at Watts Towers.................................................................................25 Figure 2.9: Ave Maria Grotto ...........................................................................................27 Figure 2.10: Raymond Morale’s Le-Parc Exposition.......................................................27 Figure 2.11: River of the Water of Life ............................................................................29 Figure 2.12: The Cyclop ...................................................................................................29 Figure 2.13: Bottle Village ...............................................................................................30 Figure 2.14: Leaning House, Sacred Grove of Bomarzo..................................................30 Figure 3.1: Dancer, Hans Arp...........................................................................................35 Figure 3.2: Painting, Joan Miro .........................................................................................35 Figure 3.3: Odette Monteiro Residence.............................................................................36 Figure 3.4: Contoured Playground, Isamo Noguchi ..........................................................36 viii Figure 3.5: Kaiser Center Roof Garden ............................................................................36 Figure 3.6: Bagel Garden..................................................................................................39 Figure 3.7: Tilted Arc .......................................................................................................42 Figure 4.5: Garden for Modern Living .............................................................................44 Figure 4.6: Magritte Walk, Sutton Place ..........................................................................45 Figure 4.7: Ben Nicholson wall of 1981, Sutton Place......................................................46 Figure 4.8: overhead view of Splice Garden ....................................................................47 Figure 4.9: Zen garden, Splice Garden .............................................................................49 Figure 4.10: French Renaissance Garden, Splice Garden.................................................49 Figure 4.11: the splice, Splice Garden..............................................................................50 Figure 4.12: aerial view of Irish Hunger Memorial..........................................................52 Figure 4.13: threshold of Irish Hunger Memorial.............................................................53 Figure 4.14: western view of Irish Hunger Memorial ......................................................54 Figure 5.1: Turtle, Sacred Grove of Bomarzo ..................................................................63 Figure 5.2: Dragon and Lion Battle, Sacred Grove of Bomarzo ......................................64 Figure 5.3: Gate of Hell Grotto..........................................................................................65 Figure 5.4: east side of Palais Ideal .................................................................................68 Figure 5.5: Egyptian tomb, Palais Ideal...........................................................................69 Figure 5.6: Three giants, Palais Ideal................................................................................71
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