Intro to Surrealism: Dream vs. Reality
Surrealism isn't just a style; it’s a philosophical rebellion. Emerging in the early 20th century, surrealism sought to dismantle the supremacy of reason and let dreams, irrationality, and the subconscious mind shape artistic expression. André Breton, often hailed as the movement’s founder, described surrealism as “psychic automatism in its pure state,” where thoughts emerge without the filter of logic or control.
At its core, surrealism is about fusing the real with the unreal—what Yi Ting Paung calls a “bridge between reality and the subconscious.” Artists like Salvador Dalí and René Magritte gave form to dream logic, often meticulously depicting impossible scenes. Their art does not ask to be understood but felt—its meanings lurking just beneath the visible surface.
Shelby Wright’s thesis, The Art of Dreaming, expands on this by aligning surrealism with Freudian and Jungian psychoanalysis. For Freud, dreams represent repressed desires; for Jung, they reveal archetypes and universal symbols. Wright shows how painting one’s nightmares can be an act of healing and insight—a conversation between the conscious self and the hidden mind.
But surrealism's true power lies in its refusal to conform. It rejects tidy explanations, inviting viewers to step beyond the canvas and into ambiguity. As Jennifer Mundy argues, surrealist painting is not a surface to be analysed but a window into the uncanny, the poetic, and the unknowable.
Today, surrealism continues to thrive in galleries and fashion, cinema, and even AI-generated imagery. It resonates because it reflects the fundamental tension of human existence: the coexistence of rational structure and chaotic emotion.
At Sanbuk.Art, we celebrate this legacy by curating works that explore the surreal—not just in aesthetics but in spirit. To dream is to create, and in that dream, reality takes a backseat.
📚 References
- Breton, A. (1924). Manifesto of Surrealism.
- Wright, S. (2021). The Art of Dreaming: A Surrealist Approach to Dream Analysis.
- Paung, Y. T. (2019). Surrealism: Art of the Subconscious.
- Mundy, J. (2001). Surrealism and Painting: Describing the Indescribable.
- Jalocha, A. (2016). The Sleep of Reason Produces Surreality: Philosophy and the Surrealist Image.
