SURREALISM MOVEMENT

TRAN QUY SON - s3925942

Assignment: Research essay
Due: 9 December 2021
Course: GRAP2740 History and Theory of
Design 1
Degree: Bachelor of Design Studies
University: RMIT University Vietnam
Lecturers: Rachel Jahja & Chiat Teoh
Word count: 804
 Surrealism Movement (1920s – 1960s) was created by poets in France as a result of

Dadaism’s fall and was heavily influential in the field of visual art after being a literature

movement in the initial phase of its development. It has mostly been understood as a project of

creative expression and unlike its predecessor - Dadaism, which focuses on protesting and

violence, Surrealism focuses on exploring the unconscious world in the human mind. This

essay is going to discuss three core principles of the movement: Dream-like scenes,

Juxtaposition, and Hidden analogical link, and how they inform the design of the print pattern.

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Fig.2. Tran, QS 2021,
Surrealism Movement pattern,
digital, 10x10cm, RMIT
University Vietnam, photo by
author.
Fig.3. Tran, QS 2021, Surrealism
Movement pattern, digital,
10x10cm, RMIT University
Vietnam, photo by author.

Fig.1. Dalí, S 1931, ‘The Persistance of Memory’, oil on canvas, 241

The first principle of x 330mm, Museum of Modern Art, New York (Shanes 2011, p.119).

Surrealism which will be discussed is Juxtaposition. French poet Pierre Reverdy explained that

a Surrealist image results not from a comparison but from a juxtaposition of two realities that

are more or less distant (Breton 1969/1924, p.20). It is significant to Surrealism because it can

be said that this principle helps surrealist paintings catch their viewers’ attention first. As a

result, Surrealist paintings always include elements and images that have a different meaning

for each viewer. Louis Aragon (cited in Bohn 2001, p.147) states that “In Surrealism . . .

meaning is created without your participation. Words grouped together end up signifying

something”. This can be seen in Spanish Surrealist artist Salvador Dali’s painting ‘The

persistence of time’ (Fig.1). According to English art historian and painter Eric Shanes, much

of the impact of this painting is advanced by its contradiction of our certainty that objects made

of metal like watches cannot be soften or eaten by ants (Shanes 2011, p.118). The design of

the print pattern also involves this principle as well. The sense of randomness and absurdity

comes from the juxtaposition of flowers, skulls (Fig.2) and eyeballs (Fig.3). Flowers often

represent beauty while skulls and those sporadic eyeballs often make people feel creepy and

think of death.

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 The second principle of

Surrealism is Hidden analogical

link. An image can only be called

Surrealist if it contains a concealed

analogical link (Bohn 2001, p.151).

It is significant to this art

movement because it can be

claimed that an analogical link is
the main thing that distinguishes a
Fig.5. Tran, QS 2021, Surrealism Fig.6. Tran, QS 2021, Surrealism
Movement pattern, digital, Movement pattern, digital, 10x10cm,
10x10cm, RMIT University Vietnam, RMIT University Vietnam, photo by
photo by author. author.

Surrealist painting from an automatic

drawing. American professor Willard

Fig.4. Magritte, R 1960, ‘Menmoirs of a Saint’, oil on canvas, 800
Bohn states that “to be successful, we x1000mm, The Menil collection, Houston. (Brodskaya 2009, p.151).

recall, an image must juxtapose two

realities that are apparently unrelated yet have something in common” (Bohn 2001, p.151).

The job of the analogical link is also to achieve the goal of surrealism, which is “to bridge the

gap between conscious and unconscious worlds” (Bohn 2001, p.151). We can see how it is

translated in the painting ‘Memoirs of A Saint’ (Fig.4) by Belgian Surrealist artist Rene Magritte.

Magritte (cited in Lipinski 2019, p.97) claimed in an interview that “the sky is a form of curtain

because it hides something from us. We are surrounded by curtains”. In the print pattern, this

link is hidden in the flower-skull figure (Fig.5). At first, they might seem disconnected, but they

actually have a connection. Skulls remind people of death; bodies go into the ground when

people die. From that, decomposition makes the soil becomes nutritious and makes plants

grow, flowers grow. The textures (Fig.6) surrounding those elements act as dirt and germ

which have a huge role in the decomposition process.

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 Fig.7. Dalí, S 1929, ‘The Enigma of Desire’, oil on canvas,
Fig.8. Tran, QS 2021, Surrealism Movement
1102 x 1498mm, Private collection, (Shanes 2011, p.103).
pattern, digital, 10x10cm, RMIT University
Vietnam, photo by author.

The last principle of Surrealism is Dream-like scene, which aims to liberate the

unconscious and tap its powerful forces using the analysis of dream (Bohn 2001, p.129). This

one is significant to the movement since Surrealist usually brings images from their

unconscious, dreams into their paintings. The ‘Declaration of 27 July 1925’ (cited in Brodskaya

2009, p.44) refers to Surrealism as “a means of   total  liberation  of   the  mind  and  of

everything in common with it.” We can see how Dali translated this principle through another

one of his paintings ‘The Enigma of Desire’ (Fig.7). Shanes states that in this painting, the

humanoid – rocky form with which he denoted himself is asleep projects the sense that we are

looking at a dream (Shanes 2011, p.103). In the print pattern, this principle is fulfilled by the

contributions of the first two principles. Flowers, skulls, and eyeballs altogether create a whole

new image by their juxtapositions (Fig.8), an image which has the properties of a dream-like

image: strange, unexpected, creepy. And like dreams always have meanings, this image also

has its own meaning – a hidden analogical link.

In conclusion, Surrealism Movement is a visual art movement that emerged in France.

Its focuses on liberating the human mind and exploring the unconscious world, unlike the

predecessor – Dadaism, which can be seen as an artistic revolt and protest. The print pattern

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was created using the three core principles which were used in the creation process of every

artwork of this movement. The three principles include Dream-like scenes, Juxtaposition, and

Hidden analogical link.

Bibliography
Breton, A 1969, Manifestoes of Surrealism, trans. University of Michigan, University of

Michigan Press, Ann Arbor, MI.

Brodskaya, N 2018, Surrealism, Parkstone International, NY.

Bohn, W 2001, The Rise of Surrealism, SUNY Press, Albany, NY.

Shanes, E 2011, The Life and Masterworks of Salvador Dalí, Parkstone International, NY.

Lipinski, L 2019, René Magritte and the Art of Thinking, Routledge, London, UK.