|
Image1
|
|
Dada and Surrealism were European modes of literary and artistic vision
that grew up in the Post World War I years as a reaction to the horrors of
conflict. Promoting the unexpected, the concepts of psychic automatism and
the importance of chance, these movements had varied consequences in the
visual arts. Surrealism cannot be said to have a "style." It is more an
attitude and a manifestation of the desire to evoke the unconscious and to
represent in concrete terms the inner urges and desires of humanity. Andre
Breton, philosopher and essayist, is said to be the "high priest" of
surrealism.
In a Latin American context the term "surrealism" is a highly contested
one and one that should be carefully problematized. It has often been
stated that many of the Latin American nations, such as Mexico, were
"surrealist" (see Breton's pronouncements on the occasion of his trip to
Mexico in the 1930s). Yet if we accept this, we are buying into yet
another colonalizing, stereotyping strategy regarding the
conceptualization of Latin American culture. This lecture will examine
aspects of the art of the 1930s in several areas of Latin America -
principally Mexico - in order to evaluate the impact of those European
surrealists who came from Europe in the 1930s and 40s. These include
artists such as Leonora Carrington (Britain), Remedios Varo (Spain),
Wolfgang Paalen (Austria) and others. The story of these surrealists'
insertion into the artistic worlds of Latin America is a problematic one
and we will discuss this as well. An important part of the history of
surrealism in Latin America involves artists from Mexico and elsewhere who
consciously or unconsciously responded to this desire to evoke inner
thoughts, dream worlds etc. Painters such as Frida Kahlo, Maria Izquierdo
and the photographer Manuel Alvarez Bravo may be discussed as among the
principal Latin American "surrealist" artists.
Home
|
