A Closer Look at Surrealism

      For my second book, I decided to take a step back and get a better understanding of surrealism as a whole. To get a better understanding of what surrealism is, I read the book Essential Surrealists by Tim Martin. This book was very insightful on surrealism because along with an introduction and knowledge of what surrealism actually is, it gave many examples of surrealists, their work, and explanations behind these works.
      I found that although every surrealist had their own unique styles and techniques, like any other type of artist, they all had many things also in common. From reading the facts of their lives and gaining basic knowledge of these artists, it is clear that they used the art as a way to express emotions, dreams, or wishes. But what set them apart from other artists was the fact that these were all somewhat unconscious desires. They had used their canvas as a way to depict something that couldn't make any sense aloud.
      Everything that I had read about Dali was that he was putting his unconscious mind into his art but what I have found by reading this book is that that is what created surrealism. These artists were taking the raw, uncut depths of their minds and trying to express it in the only way possible.