In week ten and eleven of Introduction to Digital Imaging I focussed on surrealism which provided a great introduction to tackle assignment #3.
Surrealism
Surrealism is an artistic movement which focuses on the aesthetic consciousness, separating the rational in view of the subconscious and dreaming mind (TATE n.d.). Surrealists are influenced by psychologist Sigmund Freud and the application of automatism, to create through an automatic process (without rational thought) (MoMA n.d.). Popularised by André Breton in his 1924 Surrealist Manifesto described surrealism as “Psychic automatism in its pure state, by which one proposes to express…the actual functioning of thought…in the absence of any control exercised by reason, exempt from any aesthetic or moral concern.” (1969, p.26). Essentially, to transcribe the true inner psychological and fantastical into reality.
Surrealism Inspiration
https://www.pinterest.com.au/smile/art/surrealism/
Internal Fractures
Our task was to create a surrealism inspired composition that fell into the category of portraiture, still life or landscape.
Internal Fractures is a surrealism inspired composition in the portrait category. It was created to represent the conflict of mental illness and how it can shatter the mind, body and spirit. In creating this work, I chose to use an image of an attractive female to capture the non-bias invisibility of mental illness. ‘Perfect’ on the outside ‘broken’ on the inside. I incorporated texture and hues of blue, red and purple to enhance the message and hopefully translate the emotional impact.
Images Used
Portrait, woman, brunette and nude HD photo by Andreas Fidler (@speckfechta) on Unsplash https://unsplash.com/photos/k-RK8sqwnZ0
Crack, texture, paint and cracked paint HD photo by Vincent Burkhead (@creativejunkie) on Unsplash https://unsplash.com/photos/LhlxYMfnTF0
References
Breton, André. 1969. Manifestoes of Surrealism. Translated by Richard Seaver and Helen R. Lane. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press.
Burkhead, Vincent. 2016. Crack, texture, paint and cracked paint HD photo by Vincent Burkhead (@creativejunkie) on Unsplash. Unsplash: https://unsplash.com/photos/LhlxYMfnTF0.
Fidler, Andreas. 2017. Portrait, woman, brunette and nude HD photo by Andreas Fidler (@speckfechta) on Unsplash. Unsplash: https://unsplash.com/photos/k-RK8sqwnZ0.
MoMA. n.d. “MoMA | Tapping the Subconscious: Automatism and Dreams.” accessed 7 May 2018. https://www.moma.org/learn/moma_learning/themes/surrealism/tapping-the-subconscious-automatism-and-dreams.
Tate. n.d. “Surrealism – Art Term | Tate.” accessed 7 May 2018. http://www.tate.org.uk/art/art-terms/s/surrealism.