Type of Assignment: Research Paper Proposal
Title: Unleashing the Unconscious: Surrealism and the
Dissolution of the Self
Research Question: How does Surrealist art, through
its exploration of the unconscious, challenge traditional notions of the self,
and what does this reveal about modernist anxieties regarding identity?
Rationale:
My desire to follow this topic came from the desire of
surrealism to represent visually deeper truths about the fragmented nature of
identity. They do this by embracing dreams as their muse, and use of
juxtaposition as a means of describing the self. This is an interesting topic
to develop because I want to see the parallelism of this with the notion of the
ever changing rapidly in todays world.
Generalization of the idea:
Surrealism
as a movement saw its birth and rapid growth into society, in different
works of art by the early 20s. Among artists there was the idea and desire
to put the unconsciousness of the mind be the focus of their work,
frequently being depicted in forms of art that were surreal to the human
understanding of the time. As quoted by the work of Andre Breton, the idea
of the artworks was: “to resolve the previously contradictory
conditions of dream and reality into an absolute reality, a
super-reality”. It was displayed in works like painting, writing,
theater, filmmaking, photography, and other media. Their muse was the unconscious, they
desired to turn inwards to express the repressed feelings that rested
inside the hidden workings the human psyche, alongside visualising dreams
like the work of Salvador Dali “Un Chien Andalou”. Here a connection with
freud will be made using the notes from the presentations in class.
These
points will be made in reference of the text bellow:
§ “SURREALISM,
n. Psychic automatism in its pure state, by which one proposes to express —
verbally, by means of the written word, or in any other manner — the actual
functioning of thought…” (Breton, Manifesto of Surrealism, 26).
§ Breton
consistently attacks rationality and advocates for “the absence of any
control exercised by reason, exempt from any aesthetic or moral concern”
(26)
§ “I
believe in the future resolution of these two states, dream and reality, which
are seemingly so contradictory…” (14)
Thesis:
Surrealism subverts the rational construction of self, mirroring anxieties
about identity within modernity.
Point of focus:
I want to dive
deeper in the idea of how surrealism taps into the fragmented self, and the
reflection of modernist anxieties about loss of control and shifting realities.
This will be alongside the notion of whether Surrealism’s view of the self
is bleak or points to a liberation from rational constraints
Preliminary Research
Primary
Sources:
Surrealist
artwork (online collections, museum websites)
Manifesto
of Surrealism by André Breton
Surrealist
poetry
Secondary
Sources:
Art
History texts on Surrealism and the unconscious.
Scholarly
articles on Surrealist psychology/philosophy.
Studies
on modernism and representations of the self.
Potential Challenges
Surrealism’s
scope – need to focus on specific artists/works.
Connect
artwork analysis to theories of the self.
References
Breton, André. Manifesto
of Surrealism. Trans. Richard Seaver and Helen R. Lane. University of
Michigan Press, 1969.
Besid ethe above points, another point of reference would be the surrealist interpretation of freuds motivation. Freud focused on the notion that there are tw intrinsic motivators. The libido and the death drive. The surealist do not focus on the death drive and only on the libido.
Modernisms: A Literary Guide 2nd edition, Nicholar, Peter. Macmillar press, 1995 use this book for references 2nd. Ed. London: Macmillan Press, 1995 2nd. Ed. London: Macmillan Press, 1995Modernisms: A Literary Guide 2nd. Ed. London: Macmillan Press, 1995Modernisms: A Literary Guide 2nd. Ed. London: Macmillan Press, 1995Modernisms: A Literary Guide 2nd. Ed. London: Macmillan Press, 1995
