From DaDa to the Surrelism movement. World War I started in 1914 and it changed not only the world but artists. Between all the killing of soldiers and the state of crisis all the countries were in a band of artists in Switzerland got together and to protest the war and started the art movement of DaDa. Dada is a form of art which is anti: anti-art, anti middle class, anti society, anti manners, anti business etc... The movement of Dada started another movement of Surrealism (1920s), which wasn't much of a movement but a way of life. Surrealists appreciated the mystery of the unconscious and lure of the bizarre. Creating art that has: unnerving feel, illogical scenes, strange creatures, weird representations. Here are my examples of surrealism and it's odd way of life.
Merry-Go-Round, Mark Gertler, 1916, From the collection of: Tate Britain
This is my example of Dada, a painting by Mark Gertler. It clearly represents something deeper and you can distinguish what that is without to much hassle. The soldiers and their frozen looks and the colors bring out a sad kind of feel. I like this painting because it's a very good representation of DaDa and how it differs from surrealism
Untitled, Joan Miró, 1950 - 1950, From the collection of: Ca' Pesaro - Galleria Internazionale d'Arte Moderna
I included this painting from Joan Miro for its prime example of how simple surrealsim art can be. It doesn't have a title and it gets the viewer thinking about what they are looking at. Nothing in this painting is straight forward, a prime example of surrealism. I personally think this piece of art is a very early start to modernism.
The weatherman, Max Ernst, 1950 - 1950, From the collection of: Ca' Pesaro - Galleria Internazionale d'Arte Moderna
Not all surrealists were into the irrational scenes and the confusion of the piece. Ernst's weatherman has you guessing the entire time. There is not right or wrong, and this provides a good counterexample that surrealists were always constantly trying to tug at one's mind.This again I can see how it can relate to modern art later on in society.
Memory of Leonski, Albert Tucker, 1943, From the collection of: National Gallery of Victoria
This painting is very hard to understand at first glance. There is a mess of things going on in the center and its hard to figure out exactly what you are looking at. This is a example of surrealism and its weird way of making the viewer think of what they are looking at. Maybe even not quite be sure what they are looking at. This is just relaying the message of how bad the war is effecting the people and later down the road it will change artist's perspectives.
Oh! These Rumors!, Paul Klee, 1939, From the collection of: Fondation Beyeler
I included this piece for many different reasons. I think it captures the mysteriousness of the surrealists. Between the title and the piece its self you can't really tell whats going on. Which is something surrealist like to do. Another reason why I included it because of the timeline. It was made in 1939 right in the middle of the war. I think this gives the painting extra value for how emotionally the artist really is. This is just another prime example of modern art's beginning.
This disturbing piece by Kahlo has a lot of different things going. The backround, the odd spot of the bed, whats going into the oral cavity, and so forth. This is one of many good surrealist examples from Kahlo. I feel like it captures surrealism very well between the irrational scene and the weird layout of the piece. I think the contribution of the piece, is that you still have freedom in what you can express. Kahlo displays that in many of her artworks. I also think that relates to how later down in history the freedom of how artists express themselves.
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This user gallery has been created by an independent third party and may not represent the views of the institutions whose collections include the featured works or of Google Arts & Culture.
