Exploring the Relationship Between Abstract Art and Surrealism

Exploring the Relationship Between Abstract Art and Surrealism

Abstract art and surrealism are two revolutionary movements that helped to shape a new way of looking at and understanding visual art. Unifed by their approach and intent, yet radical in their search to uncover boundaries and more importantly real and traditional representations, these two styles challenge the viewer's perceptions to probe the subconscious, emotions, and abstract concepts. The connection between the two artists has finally shed light on how artists can communicate that which cannot be communicated through abstracts.

Abstract Art: The Break from the Concrete

Abstract art was first depicted in the 20th century, marking a full departure from representationalism. Artists such as Wassily Kandinsky, Kazimir Malevich, and Piet Mondrian created works that were not a representation of objects in the physical world but concretized ideas, emotions, and spiritual truths with the help of form, color, and lines. Abstract art finds roots in the determination that such art does not have to look like the real world and, therefore, cannot truly be realistic for it to be meaningful or to evoke emotions. The subjects are unrepresentative that enables the viewer responding at a purely emotional or intellectual level, based on interpretation of shapes and color from his or her own self.

The Surrealist Movement: The Dreamlike Exploration of the Subconscious

The surrealist movement, however, emerged as a reaction to the monstrosity of World War I and ushered in the exploration of the deeply submerged layers of human consciousness. Influenced by the work of Sigmund Freud on the subconscious mind, surrealists in art-creating surreal scenes, as exemplified in works by Salvador Dalí, René Magritte, and Max Ernst-were critical of the logical rationale behind dreams. Their works were aimed at finding a way around the conscious mind, and hitting the subconscious level, making actuality out of thoughts, desires, and fears that could not find a voice in real life.

Abstract Art Meets Surrealism

There would seem to be at least an apparent world of difference between abstract art and surrealism, as surrealism surrounds dreamlike scenarios, while the purpose of abstract art is only to focus on pure form. But they do share common ground in their opposition to realism and in their desire to say things that lie beyond the confines of physical reality. Abstract elements abound in surrealist works: there are forms changed in shape, fragmented objects, and disjointed perspectives-all of which convey a sense of disorientation or break from reality. Similarly, abstract artists can take inspiration from the surrealist school about concepts of the unconscious and create art, anchored by inner feelings or thoughts that lie within.

Both have used different approaches, but both have challenged the observer to reconsider reality perception. Abstract art will take the journey more into an introspective look within the nonpresentational realm. Surrealism takes us on an external journey into the strange and otherworldly realm. Together they form the bridge between the conscious and the unconscious, between realities and imagination.

In summary, though abstract art and surrealism have distinct special differences, they pursue the same heady philosophical goal: the transcendence of conventional reality, and the resultant art form to be more in accordance with the complexity of human experience. Their relationships are only one of artistic experimentation and exploration of another dimension while encouraging us to see the world through a different, more abstract lens.

Exploring the Relationship Between Abstract Art and Surrealism