How the Surrealists Used Randomness as a Catalyst for Creative Expression

Lambert here: That seems appropriate…

By Mark Robert Rank, Professor of Social Work, Arts and Sciences, Washington University in St. Louis. Reposted from Alternet.

100 years ago, French writer and poet André Breton wrote:Surrealist Manifesto,” started an art movement known for creating bizarre mixtures of words and images.

These juxtapositions, often created by chance, were thought to stimulate the unconscious, fostering new insights.

Man Ray’s enigmatic photographs Collage out of focus Or the shocking paintings of Salvador Dali. melting clock and elongated elephant It was a typical form.

As I explain in detail in my book “random factors,” From the evolution of nature to our choice of friends and mates, many aspects of life are affected by randomness. The Surrealists also made randomness a cornerstone of their artistic practice.

manifestation of wonder

In 1928, the painter Otto Umberknown simply as Umbo, took random shots of the street scene below from his window.

The power of images – “mystery of the streets” – comes from direction, not content. Umbo decided to flip the photo over when developing it. The results are images of ordinary people, but whose elongated shadows have taken on extraordinary lives of their own.

As a contemporary photographer Sandrine Hermand-Grisel writes.“Surrealists question the documentary value of photography. They recognize the ability to capture surprising phenomena that can occur randomly.”

Surrealist painter Max Ernst often used the following technique:Decalcomani” involved applying paint to a surface such as glass and then transferring the wet paint directly to the canvas. Some of the paint will stick and some won’t. It doesn’t matter. Ernst built random patterns and textures to create his paintings.

Max Ernst’s 1940 painting ‘Lone Couple Tree’ used the decalcomania technique. Thyssen-Bornemisza National Museum

one of many

Another Surrealist practice involving randomness became known as:exquisite corpse.”

An early version of the collaboration involved gathering a small group of friends and breaking sentences into different parts of speech, such as nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, etc. Each part of the sentence is assigned to one person. The first person writes down the words for part of the sentence, folds the paper, and hands it to the next person. The second person then chooses their own words and passes the developed sentence to the next person, without knowing what the first person wrote.

In this way, the sentence is completed and written as it moves around the room, with no one knowing what the sentence looks like until someone unfolds the paper.

Through that process, sentences that people cannot create on their own are created. According to legendThe first sentence, composed by André Breton and his fellow Surrealists, reads: “The beautiful corpse will drink new wine.”

A photograph of Man Ray in conversation with the Surrealists. André Breton sits on the far left. Photo12/UIG via Getty Images

randomly designed

The principles of the exquisite corpse were applied to other creative ventures as well.

that Blackwing 602Manufactured by the Eberhard Faber Pencil Company, is one of the most iconic pencils of the 20th century. With the slogan “Half the pressure, twice the speed,” the product became famous for the quality of its graphite and its unique rectangular eraser.

Blackwing was a favorite of many writers and artists, including John Steinbeck, Leonard Bernstein and animator Chuck Jones of “Looney Tunes” fame. However, Eberhard discontinued Blackwing pencils in the 1990s.

Fast forward to 2010 and California Cedar Products Company re-released the Blackwing 602. In March 2018, the company designed a limited edition Blackwing pencil to celebrate the Surrealist by utilizing the exquisite movement of corpses in fashion. new pencil.

They divided the pencil into five parts: graphite, barrel, stamp, ferrule, and eraser. The first person on the design team chose graphite. Without knowing the first person’s choice, the second person designed the barrel, and so on.

The result is a gorgeous pencil that is one of my favorite pencils. Without the will to randomize, it would never have existed.

The pencil has a rose-colored barrel with turquoise markings, a silver ferrule, a blue eraser, and extra-hard graphite. The company gave me a nickname. Blackwing Volume 54 Celebrating 54 Rue du Chateau in Paris, this is the address of the house where the first exquisite corpses were trained.

leap of faith

Musicians, filmmakers, and graphic designers also incorporate randomness into their work. composer john cage His compositions frequently used randomness and chance. In one song, the pianist sits quietly 4 minutes 33 secondsIt forces the audience to experience random coughing and rustling sounds in the room.

his “imaginary landscape” In the series, the random elements created by electricity are part of the performance. For example, during one performance, Cage placed 12 radios on stage, each tuned to a different station and playing simultaneously. To explain this process, Cage wrote“Opportunity, to be precise, is a leap, offering a leap beyond one’s own reach for oneself.”

As museums around the world celebrate As we celebrate the 100th anniversary of Surrealism, it is important to recognize that embracing randomness allowed these artists to think outside the box. The use of chance as a tool of creativity continues to this day, providing a helping and surprising touch, taking artists and audiences to places hitherto unknown.