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Surrealism & Cubism
To quote poet Andre Breton from his Manifesto of Surrealism from 1924: "Surrealism noun, masc., pure psychic automatism by
which it is intended to express, either verbally or in writing, the true
function of thought. Thought dictated in the absence of all control exerted by
reason and outside all aesthetic or moral preoccupations..."* In the world of painting, artists rejected the
suppressive "rules of art" and gave in to a more dream-like creativity. Among
many, some highlights of this style are Miro, Dali, Picasso and Kahlo.
*History of Modern
Art; H.H. Arnason and M.F. Prather; Prentice Hall (1998).
In the summer of 1907, Pablo Picasso created what was to
become the pre-cursor to his next endeavor: Cubism. In the fall of
1908, Georges Braque presented his Landscapes at the Galerie Kahnweiler in Paris. Upon viewing
these, the critic Vauxcelles wrote that Braque had reduced everything "to
cubes", leading others to refer to the new movement as Cubism. The simplified
style hails back to Cezanne's work, but some scholars believe that the
comparison is misleading.* Regardless of
various opinions, Braque and Picasso began an artful journey into new
territory, territory which undeniably impacted all of art to come. Two styles
of the Picasso/Braque Cubism movement emerged: Analytic Cubism, which breaks
down an image then proceeds to build the pieces back up to create a new form,
and Synthetic Cubism, which constructs up an image from separate materials and
forms, not unlike collage. No more is the viewer looking out through a window,
observing the world as the eyes would actually see it. They created a new
paradigm, one that future artists would not only emulate, but also build upon. So
look around and check out the numerous interpretations of Cubism. And as always, if
you don't see the image you are looking for, contact us. We can still recreate
it.
*The Yale Dictionary
of Art and Artists; E. Langmuir and N. Lynton;
first published as a Yale Nota Bene book (2000)
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