2D Art

Dreamscape / Surreal Interior Projects

"My art is capable of liberating man from the tyranny of the 'practical, rational world.' " - Salvador Dalí

"Surrealism is destructive, but it destroys only what it considers to be shackles limiting our vision." - Salvador Dalí

Theory

Realism, photo realism and naturalism all have their place in art, especially when aesthetics and beauty are paramount, but there is much more to art than simply rendering life-like semblances of the world. Art is also a catalyst for awe and wonder: a portal through which we are allowed to glimpse foreign and unexpected versions of reality.

When an artist injects an element of the "unexpected" into an artwork, she can evoke feelings of affection, compassion, disgust, hatred, horror, hostility, pleasure, rage, sympathy, wonder or any of a hundred other emotions. This was part of the raison d'être of the Surrealists who, from the 1920's onward, juxtaposed unexpected images and ideas to elicit an emotional reaction from the viewer.

Andre Breton (a father of Surrealism) invokes the poet Pierre Reverdy by writing, "The image is a pure creation of the mind. It cannot be born from a comparison but from a juxtaposition of two, more or less distant realities. The more the relationship between the two juxtaposed realities is distant and true, the stronger the image will be (and) the greater its emotional power and poetic reality..." (Click this link to read the complete Surrealist Manifesto.)

Examples of Student Work

Project Description

OBJECTIVE: Create a drawing on good quality paper with any of the drawing materials that we've explored in class. Your drawing must depict a space (either an interior or an exterior) within which two, dream-like realities are juxtaposed.

There's mystery and sublime beauty in the imagery that a mind generates during sleep. It's therefore useful to prepare for this project by thinking about the astounding combinations of objects, environments, individuals and situations that regularly inhabit your dreams. Consider how such things seem perfectly reasonable while you're dreaming but, upon waking, you confidently assess them (provided you remember them at all) as being completely and utterly bizarre, but often fascinating.

As an exercise, for one week, keep your sketchbook on your nightstand and record your dreams as soon as you wake up. Provide as much detail as possible; make sketches, if you can. Describe the characters, colours, textures and shapes from your dreams. Think about them as you begin your day and allow the images to grow in your imagination as your day unfolds.

When you've collected a sufficient amount of dream imagery, begin sketching a composition. Work these elements into an imaginary environment, interior or exterior, implausible as it might seem. Allow the characters, shapes, colours and textures to establish their own universe of peculiar rules and relationships, no matter how strange your waking mind perceives them to be. The end result (your completed composition) should look very much like an unbelievable and yet fascinating "dreamscape".

Note

AESTHETIC: While you create your work, be aware of Emphasis, Variety, Movement, Balance, Unity, Rhythm, Proportion and Scale.

TECHNICAL: You are not required to use graphite, but you should begin with it. If you prefer to use pen and ink wash, or a graphic pen, you should trace over your graphite lines once the entire composition is laid in and there is no erasing that needs to be done.

Further Research

I would recommend these videos about art from an excellent PBS series:

The Case for Surrealism (Art Assignment, Season 3 Episode 31 | 10m 17s)