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Art 102 Fall 2013. Cubism, Surrealism Lecture. Cubism. Cubism is not an expressive movement. It is more about the architecture of objects, how that architecture can be de- and reconstructed. It is not abstract—there is always an object in the artwork, even if it is hard to see
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Art 102 Fall 2013 Cubism, Surrealism Lecture
Cubism • Cubism is not an expressive movement. It is more about the architecture of objects, how that architecture can be de- and reconstructed. • It is not abstract—there is always an object in the artwork, even if it is hard to see • Uses form instead of color to explore the external character of objects • Begins in 1907 in Paris • Created by painters Picasso and Braque
Braque Maisons a L'Estaque1907 Painting exhibited in 1907 Salon d’Automne. Matisse says it looks like it is made up of “little cubes” Braque removes it from the exhibition
Picasso Les Demoiselles d'Avignon 1907 Very important painting in the development of Cubism: Fragmentation of the figure Use of multiple perspectives simultaneously Takes up tradition of composition of female nudes and makes it shocking Masklike heads are evidence of Picasso’s interest in African art
Braque Maisons a L'Estaque1907 Fundamental discovery of Cubsim: The facet The facet is equivalent to the idea Of the “cube”—is a small area bordered by lines 3 principles of the facet: Painted at slight angle to surface of picture plane. Overlapping and shading of facets means figure could not be sculpted 3. Edges dissolve, so contents of facets blend into one another
Braque Le Portugais 1912 Cubists want to be able to show back and front and insides and outside of objects simultaneously. Undoing conventions of Renaissance perspective. These paintings are never abstract—always represent some real object (in this case a guitar player). Stenciled letters and numbers show the 2- Dimensionality of the image, and show the struggle between form and picture plane This is an example of “hermetic cubism”: a period in cubism when it becomes extremely difficult to recognize the object
Picasso Ma Jolie 1911 2 phases of Cubism: Analytic Synthetic Analytic is earlier phase. Motifs portrayed from different perspectives simultaneously. Fragmentation of whole into smaller parts. Tendency towards monochrome
Pablo Picasso Still Life with Chair Caning 1912 Synthetic cubism involves the use of collage: Sticking objects onto surface of canvas Instead of painting them Synthetic cubism happens after hermetic cubism—Picasso and Braque want to reintroduce objects from real world into painting
Robert Delaunay Simultaneous Windows on the City 1912 This is an example of “Orphic Cubism” Orphic cubists wanted painting To be a sensation of pure colors Becomes more abstract than Other phases of cubism
Surrealism • Another movement that starts in France, though many artists are not French • Led by André Breton, who wrote manifestos for the movement in the 1920’s • Surrealism uses disorientation and the unconscious as a way to liberate the imagination and get away from conventional approaches to representation • Deploys automatism, or the relinquishment of conscious control by the artist of his own production • Breton wants to resolve two states of dream and reality into a new state of surreality. Surreality comes from hypnotic or trance states.
Max Ernst La Cle des Chants 1933 Breton sees in Ernst’s art a “spark” that brings together distant realities. The surrealist image brings objects and phenomena into contact that would normally seem unrelated. Pleasure of surrealism is described in terms of artworks “as beautiful as the chance encounter on a dissecting table of a sewing machine and an umbrella”
Andre Masson Automatic Drawing 1924 This is an example of an automatic drawing, where the artist would simply allow his pen to move over the paper without conscious control. This is an example of automatism.
Miro Bouquet of Flowers Smile of My Blond 1924 Miro is one of the first painters associated with the Surrealist movement We see a loosening of line and color relative to Cubism This is an representation of Miro’s beloved. Surrealist paintings are not abstract— they represent objects, but the objects are meant to transmit the internal rather than the external world.
de Chirico Conquest of the Philosopher 1912 DeChirico is working prior to the Surrealist movement, and never aligns himself with them, but his imagery strongly influences them. Hallucinatory, dreamlike imagery—objects that seem unrelated High degree of psychological symbolism. Clock is about anguish of departure. Train may be memory of engineer father. Paintings are devoid of human beings
de Chirico Song of Love 1914 May be about fall or end of classical beauty in Italy. Generally, very enigmatic and strange imagery. Obscure meaning because paintings are about private or unconscious associations of the painter They are intentionally hermetic
Tanguy Infinite Divisibility 1942 Influenced by the dreamlike canvases of DeChiricio. This is not abstract—objects cast shadows and exist in some kind of real space, but this is not an ordinary of recognizable space we would encounter in the real world. Paintings intended to be disorienting
Magritte Personal Values 1952 Magritte is a Belgian Surrealist, and kept His distance from Breton. Many of his paintings question the notion Of reality and representation. His paintings are naturalistic but of subjects That could not exist in the natural world He often plays with scale Very cerebral painter, dealing not only With questions of visual representation but also with language.
Dali The Dismal Sport 1929 Dali joins the Surrealists in 1928 Paintings all about the nature of reality, The unconsious, dreams, and symbolism Uses idea that hidden meanings are embedded In the surface content of images Tries to represent the workings of the Unconscious, to make the unconscious conscious Dreaming is seen as the path to liberty
Dali Giraffe in Flames 1935 This painting is about an oedipal castration fantasy, including phallic imagery Dali says he finds significance in irrationality, brings delirium into reality Surrealist objects are found objects that are transformed into something else They are, according to Breton, supposed to exhibit a “convulsive” beauty.
