Glossary Term: Surrealism
Surrealism is an invented word—"sur" means beyond or farther than, so "surreal" means to go beyond real. It was named this because surrealist art derives much of its meaning from the theories of Dr. Sigmund Freud and the unconscious.

Surrealism grew out of the Dada movement and flourished in Europe between World War I and World War II. Surrealism employed many of the techniques of Dada but emphasized the positive rather than the negative. Surrealism tried to meld the conscious and the unconscious, the world of dreams and fantasy along with reality so that the line between these ideas was completely blurred. Many artists of this time felt the unconscious was where the true center of art lay, and that artists could tap into this genius by bending and softening the lines between what one's eyes see and the dreamworld. Much of Surrealistic art portrays alternate realities; some created by accident, some using the unconventional realities of blind feeling and impulse. Some of the art of this time is quite cruel and violent as well as very beautiful. The artists, like the Dada artists before them, wanted to shock their viewers with the unexpected and make people think in new ways.

Some well-known artists of this period were Andre Masson, Rene Magritte, Max Ernst and Salvador Dalí. Learn more about Dali in Look to Your Dreams, a grade 3-4 art and art history lesson.

Photo credit: Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, FSA-OWI Collection, [reproduction number, e.g., LC-USF35-1326]
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