André Breton is considered the father of Surrealism. He coined the term in his first Surrealist Manifesto, issued in 1924. In his Manifesto Breton talks about the forefathers of Surrealism, including Guillaume Apollinaire and Gérard de Nerval. Breton says that it might even have been possible to adopt the term “Supernaturalism” to described their movement. Supernaturalism was a term used by Nerval, earlier coined by Thomas Carlyle.
Breton describes Surrealism in the following ways: As a noun: “Psychic automatism in its pure state, by which one proposes to express — verbally, by means of the written word, or in any other manner — the actual functioning of thought. Dictated by the thought, in the absence of any control exercised by reason, exempt from any aesthetic or moral concern.” As a philosophy: “Surrealism is based on the belief in the superior reality of certain forms of previously neglected associations, in the omnipotence of dream, in the disinterested play of thought. It tends to ruin once and for all other psychic mechanisms and to substitute itself for them in solving all the principal problems of life.”
The concept of the “Surrealist Voice” is particularly compelling. Breton believes that the surrealist artist is a tool, a vessel in a way. He believes that to make the greatest art one must get outside of himself. He cannot have a great ego, he must rise above it. He explains that earlier artists were not surrealists because they were too concerned with their own ideas, talent, and ego. He says “they did not want to serve simply to orchestrate the marvelous score. They were instruments too full of pride, and this is why they have not always produced a harmonious sound.” He also does not believe that talent is owned by the artist, but that is something that is rather lent to him, the artist is simply an instrument. He says that talent is like a “platinum ruler, this mirror, this door, and of the sky, if you like.” I am very drawn to this idea. I have always been into the notion of a “collective unconscious”. It is something out there you can tap into if you let go of yourself enough. If you allow your mind to flow free and let go and don’t try to control, you can kind of listen to what this unconscious is sharing with you. The artist is a medium to carry forth visions and inspiration from a realm that not all can access. In this way the artist is a visionary, gifted.
Breton believes that you must let go of the ego and to give yourself to whatever the voice of inspiration is trying to share. In order to do that one must get outside of himself. Some ways to do this are through sleep deprivation, the use of alcohol and psychoactive drugs, and through meditations. Other things to do are to find meaning in chance encounters, to do things randomly, to take a different turn just because. When the artist experiments and sets certain limitations, does things randomly by chance, allows a pen to simply flow while turning his mind off and tapping into the subconscious or unconscious, he then gives up control of himself and communicates messages from beyond. It is then his job to take these fragments and to make associations with them, to communicate their meanings and synchronicities.
Sources:
Dada and Surrealism: A Very Short Introduction, David Hopkins
Surrealist Manifesto, André Breton.
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