Surrealist strategies

For Middle or High School Art Students learning about perspective and surrealism.

1. SURREALISM
is a literary and artistic
movement that developed
between 1910 and 1920’s.
Artists and poets plumbed
the subconscious mind and
dream imagery, heavily
influenced by the
psychological studies of
Sigmund Freud.
Rene Magritte,
‘Le Portrait’, 1935.
MOMA, NYC

2. "My painting is visible images which conceal
nothing; they evoke mystery and, indeed, when
one sees one of my pictures, one asks oneself
this simple question 'What does that mean'? It
does not mean anything, because mystery means
nothing either, it is unknowable.” -
René Magritte

3. His paintings are expressive
for their juxtaposition of
common objects, often
altered in scale, and placed
in absurd settings.
Magritte is deeply interested
in the process of thought,
and his paintings tend to
raise the awareness of the
viewer to their own thought
processes.

4. Surrealistic Techniques -
“How to make the
ordinary look extraordinary”
Scale
Levitation
Juxtaposition
Dislocation
Transparency
Transformation

5. SCALE
Changing an object’s
scale, or relative size.

6. SCALE

7. Artist; Rene Magritte
Personal Values, 1952
René Magritte (Belgian, 1898-1967)
Surrealism
SCALE

8. Japanese
Surrealist Artist:
Tetsuye Ishida
SCALE

9. LEVITATION
Floating objects that
don’t normally float

10. LEVITATION
Rene Magritte- Le château des Pyrénées

11. Golconde
LEVITATION

12. JUXTAPOSITION
Joining two images
together in impossible
combinations

13. JUXTAPOSITION

14. JUXTAPOSITION

15. DISLOCATION
Taking an object form its usual
environment and placing it in an
unfamiliar one

16. DISLOCATION

17. TRANSPARENCY
Making objects transparent
that are not usually transparent

18. TRANSPARENCY

19. TRANSPARENCY

20. TRANSFORMATION
Changing objects in
unusual way

21. TRANSFORMATION
La Durée poignardée (Time Transfixed)
Rene Magritte, 1938, Oil on Canvas
Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago

22. TRANSFORMATION

23. TRANSFORMATION

24. Surreal Landscape Drawing Criteria:
•create a drawing using direct observation of their
cityscape (with a foreground, middle ground, background
and horizon line).
•Apply a surreal element, using at least one surreal
technique; juxtaposition, transformation, scale change,
dislocation, levitation, transparency
•Use photographs as reference to produce a
drawing that is accurate to the details of the object.
• Utilize symbolism related to their identity.
•Move the viewers eye around the work,
use balance and contrast.