Language
Country/Area
No result found
The Mystery of Surrealism: How Did Andre Breton Define Automatism?
In the early 20th century, the Surrealist movement rose rapidly, and one of its key artistic creation methods was "Automatism". This is an artistic technique in which the artist suppresses conscious control during the creative process and allows the subconscious mind to play freely. André Breton, the main proponent of this movement, further expanded the definition of automatism and its importance in artistic creation.
André Breton once said: "Psychological automatism in its purest form is the best definition of Surrealism."
The origins of automatism can be traced back to Dadaism in the early 20th century, and many avant-garde artists such as Hans Arp and André Masson had already begun to explore this method. These artists used random dramatic manipulations to create their works, while Britton placed more emphasis on the expression and release of the subconscious. Les Champs Magnétiques, a 1919 work he co-wrote with Philippe Soupault, is an example of automatism.
Automatic painting and automatic writing
Automatic drawing is an artistic technique in which the artist's hand moves randomly across the paper, which essentially eliminates rational control of the creative process. This approach relies on chance and accident, allowing the resulting work to reveal thoughts and emotions that are repressed in the subconscious. Some mediums and practitioners of psychological art have also used similar automatic drawing techniques.
In his book The Book of Pleasure, British artist Austin Osman Spare pointed out that automatic drawing is a means of art.
Additionally, surrealists such as Joan Miró and Salvador Dalí also used automatic painting techniques in their art, which evolved into different artistic styles. The Automatic Message is an important theoretical work published by Brittain in 1933, which elaborates on various aspects of automatism.
Hyperautomatism and Contemporary Technology
As time went by, automation techniques were also modified by new media. Contemporary artists use computers and digital technology to create automatic writing or automatic painting, which not only retains the core of the original concept but also inspires more infinite possibilities. For example, today's image editing software such as Photoshop and GIMP can use filters to simulate the effects of automatic creation.
For example, there is an app called Grandview that displays a word across the entire screen, allowing the user to trigger automatic writing as they type.
In the 1940s, the French automatist group "Les Automatistes" took this concept to an extreme, almost completely eliminating all representation in their work. Through their manifesto “Refus Global”, these artists hope to pursue universal values and ethics and call on society to pay attention to this cultural paradigm that keeps pace with the times.
Contemporary manifestations of automatism
The technique of automatic painting is not limited to traditional media, but can now be created using digital media. In the art world, various methods of automatic creation continue to evolve, and artists' unconscious explorations seem to never stop. For the Surrealists, although their creative process was guided by the subconscious, there was still a certain degree of conscious intervention.
As Masson describes it, his "automatic" images are produced by a dual process of unconscious and conscious activity.
How automatism is re-understood and applied in contemporary art is worthy of our in-depth discussion. Will future artistic creation rely entirely on the subconscious, or will there be conscious intervention? Is this a question worth pondering for every art lover?
