Read through the article “An Amusing Lack of Logic: Surrealism and Popular Entertainment,” posted on Canvas under the Surrealism and New Objectivity Module and then respond to the prompt below, in 300-500 words:
Andre Breton, the founder of the Surrealist movement, set out his revolutionary aims for the movement in his ‘Manifesto of Surrealism.’ The artists were tasked with the ambitious goal of uniting the unconscious and conscious worlds, to break down the barriers between the irrational dream world of the mind and the rational ordered reality of our everyday lives. Breton and his clan of misfits, many former members of the Dada group that recently disbanded, wanted to radically free all the repressed stuff of the unconscious – repressed urges, desires and fantasies, the symbolic and the magical, were to mingle with and overtake the stuffiness of social decorum, the boring rituals of tradition.
In the American context, Surrealism was introduced and essentially ‘sold’ to the general public in a much different way than Breton and his cohort would have originally desired. A miscellaneous group of gallery owners, museum directors, business men, movie men and even fashion designers took up aspects of Surrealism and drove it straight into the heart of the popular culture of the 1930’s. Using the essay on Surrealism and Popular Culture, discuss how Surrealism was introduced to the American public during the 1930’s and explain why it became such a big part of the popular culture. Be specific: In what ways was the movement, its premise/artworks/visual language adapted for the unique environment of the American context? Who were some of the major players in promoting and spreading Surrealism in America? And what existing cultural forms/imagery or entertainment was Surrealism aligned with?
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