‘Pure psychic automatism ... the dictation of thought in the absence of all control exercised by reason and outside all moral or aesthetic concerns’.
It's interesting to learn more about a movement I feel my work links quite well with. Although I don't feel hugely drawn to the paintings of artists like Dali on an aesthetic level etc, I am interested in some of the ideas and concepts of the movement, in particular the use of the sub conscious and imagination.
I have been looking at Breton's 1924 manifestos of Surrealism. Although I'm yet to read it in more detail, I was interested to read his view that: under the pretence of civilization progress, we have managed to banish from the mind everything that may rightly or wrongly be termed superstition, or fancy’.
Even through this was written some time ago, it still feels pretty pertinent today! It makes me think about what things we place societal value on and how we rank things in terms of importance. I guess the obvious for me as I work in education, is what we expect of children as far as progress is concerned - and imagination (or 'fancy') does often seem overlooked or under represented.
Using my imagination is a key driver in making art. When I paint something using purely imagination or process, the results can surprise or intrigue me, and can reveal new paths. I can then follow these paths and see where they lead. Sometimes, if I then allow the sub conscious to become conscious, it changes things. For worse or better I'm not sure, and I wonder what the Surrealists would have said about this.
I want to understand a little more about the Surrealist movement for my own work, but also so I can see better the paths that Ithell Colquhoun (and perhaps other female artists) felt compelled to follow.
I'll update this post as I uncover more.