Abstract
Surrealistic art is one of the most engaging and intriguing art genres. Surrealism itself is considered to have been the most influential art movement of the 20th century. Started in the 1920s as a literary movement that eventually took on a visual dimension, its foundational principles have continued to influence the thought process and style of many modern artists in the realm of self-expression. In their studies of many disciplines in the art including genres of painting, drawing and sculpture, students of art at the University usually find the concept of surrealism initially difficult to decipher mainly because of the uniqueness of its own description. The dream-like imageries of surrealism are derived from dreams and the unconscious mind; hence, the students have to contend with the derivation of subject matter from an unusual source. This is challenging for most of them since they are used to formulating subject matter from a purely academic perspective and from themes that they ordinarily relate to in their environment or can easily reference. Although students embark on drawing from their first year of study, they are introduced to surrealistic drawing as a unit in their final year. With their drawing background, it is presumed that by their final year, they have attained adequate levels of drawing skills for application in any artistic challenge. This study examines, through analysis of selected works, firstly, the extent to which students are able to internalise the concept of surrealism and apply it in the construction of the artistic composition, and secondly whether their drawings demonstrate an individual capacity for self-expression and the derivation of meaning, through dream-like imageries drawn from the unconscious mind. The students were exposed to preliminary studies and examination of surrealistic work, discussions of subject matter, origination, style and technique in the course of their unit programme. For the purpose of uniformity of medium, they were instructed to work only in pencil. They were subsequently accorded adequate time and space to embark on their work with class presentations and discussions at prescribed intervals. The resultant drawings were many and varied and the ones selected are those that displayed good artistic execution and/or displayed a certain profoundness of meaning or interpretation.
Highlights
The engagement with surrealism is always refreshing and fascinating in terms of the ability for one to draw upon their inner thoughts and express themselves freely without the inhibition of the usual artistic boundaries of composition and logical reasoning
This study examines, through analysis of selected works, firstly, the extent to which students are able to internalise the concept of surrealism and apply it in the construction of the artistic composition, and secondly whether their drawings demonstrate an individual capacity for selfexpression and the derivation of meaning, through dream-like imageries drawn from the unconscious mind
Most people are used to some element of reason and rationality in works of art, but surrealism is based on dream-like imagery based on the unconscious mind; the particular artist has the freedom to express any of his/her flowing imagery as it manifests in the mind and, does not need to conform to any creative norms
Summary
The engagement with surrealism is always refreshing and fascinating in terms of the ability for one to draw upon their inner thoughts and express themselves freely without the inhibition of the usual artistic boundaries of composition and logical reasoning. In view of all this, students are encouraged to harness their own surrealistic ideas based on environments that spur unconscious imageries They are made to comprehend that unlike other aspects of art, they cannot derive surrealistic ideas from the exploration of common themes and subject matter; their work has to emanate from their own individual human experiences embedded in the unconscious mind and which manifest themselves in their dream-like imageries that flow in their minds. These resultant thought processes are not the same as those that emanate from the conscious mind, which are usually re-arranged, compartmentalised, rationalised and logically placed within the strict boundaries of artistic composition. It implies big questions about the nature of accepted reality, and urges viewers to redefine themselves based on their own internal worlds.”
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