04:56 - 10:13
5m 17s
"Surrealism" has become shorthand for the bizarre, the irrational, the hallucinatory. But what IS it? Or what WAS it? Integrating found objects, experimenting with automatism, or the disorienting effects of collage, and summoning the uncanny body to socially critical ends. If we could find meanings that exist beyond the rational mind, we might be free from the tyranny of the mundane logic, and that we might discover truths more real than reality. Today we delve into the history and make a case why Surrealism is important.
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The word "surrealism has become a catch-all for the bizarre, the irrational, the hallucinatory; but when it emerged in Europe during the tenuous turbulent years following world war one and leading into world war two. Surrealism has positions itself not as an escape from life but as a revolution art force within. A movement aimed at the wholesale liberation of the individual. Aesthetic as well as political; literary as well as visual. Lets explore what surrealism is.
You've probably seen a few cubes sitting in an art gallery and questioned why they were there. How could cubes be important? How did we get here? Minimalist art can still impart a strong feeling. A feeling for space, light, for presence and absence. You are aware of your own body in the gallery as you've never been before. You appreciate the architecture and the spareness, and in a world filled with complexity and information. This is the case for Minimalism.
Frida Kahlo is known for the masterful self-portraits she made during her turbulent life (1907 - 1954). We are fascinated by Kahlo for good reason. It's impossible to separate her remarkable and tragic life from her work, and she didn't want us to. Her beauty and resilience can make it hard to fully recognize the complexity and importance of the artwork that communicates it. We take a close look at her catalog, and consider what it tells us (and doesn't) about her as a person and her wider body of work.
Mexican surrealist artist Frida Kahlo celebrates her 25th year wedding anniversary with her husband Diego Rivera two weeks early because she acknowledges her looming death. The end of the scene captures her exit from life in the way most fitting to her: surreal.
Vincent Van Gogh's brother Theo pays him a visit and encourages him to rediscover his spark to overcome his depression. He calls Vincent an idler, but Vincent is quick to discern himself from a man who chooses to be idle. Rather, he indicates that he would love to work but cannot because of his current situation.