Surrealism was a revolutionary movement that began in the 1920’s. Surrealist artists believed in Freud’s theories on dreams and the conscious and subconscious and the ability of these theories to lead to a truer reality. The artists used juxtaposition and surprise in their artwork to express this. Surrealism stemmed from Dadaism and the idea that excessive rational thought had brought about World War I.
Rene Magritte was born in 1898 in Lessines, Belgium. In 1914 he enrolled in the Academy of Fine Arts in Brussels and in 1927 he joined the Surrealist movement and held his first one man exhibit. His exhibit showed his skill in painting realistic objects while taking them out of context, sometimes known as Magic Realism.
Jerry Uelsmann is an American photographer born in 1934. He didn’t care for the way that photography was being defined by realists so he would use multiple negatives and enlargers to create a final image. he used photomontage as a way to share the images from his imagination with the viewers.
One of the difference in Uelsmann and Magritte’s work is how Magritte makes one image while Uelsmann uses many images to create a collage. While both artists use juxtaposition, they also use different mediums to accomplish their goals.
Unititled - 1969
I liked this image because you can’t quite tell if there are different images and where they separate.
The Blank Cheque- 1965
I chose this image because I like how well the optical illusion was accomplished.
