CELEBRATING A CENTURY OF SURREALISM
In the summer of 1924, French poet André Breton published his famed “Manifeste du Surréalisme” and visual artists answered the call and codified the modernist movement that remains a vital influence today.
The Surrealism movement conjures an array of images including Salvador Dalí’s melting clocks and high tea with the minotaur of Leonora Carrington’s dreams. Chance was key to the Surrealists, since they believed it probed mysteries of human subconscious. Surrealism was also influenced by Sigmund Freud and psychoanalysis and its imagery was often characterized by unsettling subject matter. This aligns well with entropy since we live in a world where everything ages, deteriorates and breaks down. Meaningful art may challenge society to look closely in those dark recesses.
Beyond the art world, 100 years ago physicists demonstrated the mind boggling wave/particle duality of light & matter along with quantum entanglement. This was when Edwin Hubble discovered the Andromeda galaxy, catapulting our awareness beyond the Milky Way. 1925 was the year of the"Monkey Trial" - the teaching of evolution in public schools - State of Tennessee v. John Scopes.
Today there is still no consensus of understanding regarding quantum mechanics or how to make sense of quantum entanglement, the number of galaxies in in the trillions and more than 50% of high school biology teachers in the US do not believe in human evolution.
Although anchored in the human psyche, Surrealism was born in the political and moral wreckage of World War I. Its acolytes denounced fascism, colonialism and authoritarianism.
Composers Erik Satie, Edgard Varese and Andre Souris were influenced by Surrealism. Varese’s work Arcana was drawn from a dream sequence and Souris had a long relationship with Rene Magritte. Surrealist principles are common in the music composed by Pierre Boulez, Gyorgy Ligeti, Thomas Ades and Olivier Messiaen.
As a movement, Surrealism has transcended geographical, generational and language boundaries with complex and varied influences and objectives. It's rebellious. Abstract Expressionism emerged in post-World War II New York and incorporated the Surrealist action without conscious thought or intention, characterized by brash, chaotic strokes and bold flings of color.
Dada, Surrealism and Cubism, owing to the phenomenon of imprecise time and space, absurdity, chance, and irony, have always been entangled with the bizarre and mysterious quantum realm.