Surrealism The Big Ideas (Director's Cut)

[Music] this is Salvador Dali he's a famous artist with a famous mustache and this is on Draper Tom he's also famous but you've probably never heard of him he did not have a mustache Burton and Dali both became known for their role in a group called the surrealist and when you look at what that group did you might think they were all crazy but they were actually quite serious and they ended up changing the course of history well art history anyway people use the word surreal to describe things that are crazy whoa or too strange to be real surreal but surrealism was about more than just melting clocks it was about philosophy politics art and revolution surrealism was a movement a group of people who focused on the world of dreams in order to create a new reality a reality that was beyond real or surreal to understand surrealism you have to understand Paris in the early 1900's it was stuffy proper full of rational well mannered people buying mild decorative art and living life on their best behavior and then the world went to war world war one changed everything Andre Burton who was a 19 year old poet at the time was sent to war as a medic and that is a seriously traumatic way to grow up for four straight years Europe was violence disease and death soldiers watched whole cities crumble suffered gas attacks and rotted alive in the trenches nearly 60% of the men who went to war suffered casualties by the end of the war almost 38 million people were injured imprisoned missing or dead afterwards Europe was a disaster Britain and everyone else who made it out alive were scarred for life and the world as they knew it was basically ruined the war made people question their own society and start to look for a different way to live Burton and his friends figured that if the traditional rational approach to life had ended in war maybe it was time to try something new they began rebelling against Authority the government the church the well-to-do members of society and did everything they could to disrupt order they'd join an aggressive group called Dada that used art to make political statements and they acted out against anyone telling them how to live their life this was a totally different type of art but Burton and his friends truly thought they could avoid another war by inspiring others to reject the reasonable rational way of thinking that Europe was used to they were looking for revolution they didn't find it in Dada but after months of experimental writing for Tom had a breakthrough he had an inspiring dream about a man cut in half by a window when he woke up he realized we're not in control of everything that goes on in our mind there's a hidden part a disorderly imagination and this is called the unconscious [Music] sigmund freud's the father of the unconscious first identified this hidden or unconscious part of our brain he said the conscious mind contains the thoughts were aware of but it only makes up a small part of what's going on in our head inside the unconscious mind is the stuff we're not aware of the deep hidden part of ourselves that drives our fears desires and strange ideas the unconscious mind creates our irrational thoughts or the thoughts that confuse scare and disgust us this was the revolutionary idea Burton had been looking for you believe that when people ignore or suppress their irrational thoughts they become imbalanced and that leads to an imbalance Society which then leads to horrible things like war to create more balance Burton wanted to access the unconscious mind and set the irrational thoughts free he and a bunch of other radical writers got together to do just that they called themselves Surrealists as their leader Burton wrote and published a book called the manifesto of surrealism where he defined the word and officially established the group and their goals the unconscious mind communicates through symbols in our dreams so the surreal is focused on the dream world they rejected society's demand for everything to make sense instead embracing the things that don't make sense they said it's okay to be awed it's okay to be scared it's okay to shock or be shocked it's cool surrealist did every as a group and develop new techniques by just messing around together they were really into automatism a process where they basically just wrote or drew everything that came into their minds no matter what it was literally whatever after writers painters joined the group and surrealist ideas started spreading throughout Europe involving the public through surrealist magazines books films and art shows cyrillus use a lot of the same artistic elements and recognizing these is a good way to spot a surrealist art piece look for the dreamlike effect that's often seen in surrealist art and writing elements like dislocation juxtaposition and transformation surrealist artwork doesn't follow just one style or look it's the thinking behind it that makes it surrealism it doesn't need to be pretty it doesn't have to make sense and it can shock and disgust people and still be art so long as it comes from the unconscious mind so back to Salvador Dali you know the mustache well Dali was just a child in Spain during World War one so he didn't share the traumatic experiences of the early surrealist but later as an art student Dali followed the surrealist from afar he was a fan of Freud and was forever looking for the next big thing to be part of and the Surrealists were it but by the time Dali came to Paris surrealism was in crisis Burton's priorities were shifting and he wanted the group to be more political his vision was to use creativity and political action to change the world but not everyone agreed with him so he threw those people out then Dali and his friend Luis buñuel made a film called off Shan and Alou this one it was shocking violent and full of the dreamlike sequences surrealist were going nuts for the Parisian public was scandalized by it but they couldn't wait to see more one of the main goals of Surrealism was to shock and surprise and dolly had that covered Burton and the Surrealists loved the film and they latched on to dolly he was a never ending idea machine full of life and humor and he brought enthusiasm and fun back to the group surrealism soon spread to all types of media not just paintings there were drawings sculptures film collage and Dali was one of the only surrealist who created something in nearly every single one Dali used surrealism to express his deepest thoughts and struggles instead of hiding his fears and burying his issues he used art to fully express himself turning the uncomfortable parts of his life into unbelievable visions that audiences couldn't look away from Delhi had a good run with the surrealist but as another world war threatened Europe everyone in the group went back to being serious and political again Britain insisted art be created for revolution not profit Dulli wasn't really into all that after just 10 years with the group he moved on America offered Dali an escape for more plus endless opportunities for his talents so that became his next big thing Dali introduced surrealism to the general public and made it fun his work was everywhere in fashion magazines film America loved it and him they made only a celebrity embracing his personality humor and paintings an accepting surrealist imagery as a lasting part of everyday culture as the Second World War became a reality for taun in the remaining surrealist fled Europe and the group pretty much fell apart they couldn't stop the war but the surreal is forever changed the way we see the world they used art and philosophy to overthrow an established way of thinking and revolutionize how we express ourselves and that's pretty impressive surrealism encouraged us to take our dreams seriously made beam strange okay and showed us how art and thinking differently can be a powerful force for social and political change surrealism gave us the Salvador Dali we know and love by providing a group in which he could be his true self and realize his full potential as an artist in turn Dali meets surrealism accessible to all and because of that its effects are still felt today we are left with a legacy of surrealist techniques terms and images that inspire us to find our hidden thoughts and embrace our inner weirdness so do that trust in the uncertainty of life capture your unconscious and go make art with purpose revolutionary art that changes the way people view the world surrealist art begins with your big idea [Music] you

Channel: The Dalí Museum

Views: 239,707

Rating: 4.8906546 out of 5

Keywords: Salvador Dali, Surrealism, Art, Education, History, magritte, create, learn

Id: rp2PRA0qaD4

Length: 11min 33sec (693 seconds)

Published: Wed Oct 10 2018