Surrealism in Photography

Rene Magritte - Sirens

What is Surrealism?

Surrealism is an artistic and literary movement which emerged in Paris in the mid 1920's. Strongly influenced by the psychological works of Sigmund Freud, Surrealism sought to express the unconscious mind through the use of various visual techniques such as symbolism, juxtaposition and solarisation.

The movement was launched by French poet, Breton whose Surrealist Manifesto was published on October 15th 1924. The manifesto expressed interest in the irrational with focus upon truth above realism. Based on Freud's book The Interpretation of Dreams, much of surrealism was focused on dreams as Freud believed that these subconscious visions reveal the true workings of the mind. This is particularly evident in the work of Salvador Dali, Max Ernst and Rene Magritte.

Surrealism and Photography

Surrealists saw the camera as a method of sidestepping the rational mind. The camera created an element of chance that perhaps, an unplanned moment of life may be captured. A huge benefit of modern photography, that of being able to capture images of life instantaneously has enabled that subconscious actions that take place within a split second can be recorded. Famous Surrealist photographers include Man Ray and Cartier-Bresson.