Introduction
Surrealist is the work of art that has its roots in the early 1920s it was aimed at creating a connection between what most people referred to as dreams and fantasies to the reality. Surrealist work of art was designed to create a bridge between the conscious and the unconscious features of experiences to build absolute reality from primary imagination. Surrealist work of art developed from psychological processes and not any logical and rational process. Surrealist work art was aimed at establishing an evaluation of psychic characteristics (Barr, Alfred Hamilton, and Georges Hugnet). To develop psychic responses in the minds of the audience surreal artists used frottage and grattage techniques. Frottage techniques involved rubbing of completed work of art with graphite over wood whereas grattage involved scraping the canvas which resulted to unfinished work of art and the audience would imagine the rest part to complete the art (Gaggi, Silvio 2015).
Question 1
The most central theme in most surrealist arts of the 20th century was the idea of desire in its different manifestations. People express desire of various points of view, at the museum of modern art (MoMA), there is a number of surrealistic work of art that are on exhibit.
- Hands holding the void (invisible object)
This outstanding sculpture is on exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum of Art; the sculpture was created by Andre Breton, who had previously seen it in Giacometti studio. The sculpture expresses the variety in a surrealist encounter; it shows the desire to love and to be loved in return which creates a prelude to an erotic experience. In other words, it indicates the view of a surrealist artist about love in that most people have the desire to build contact with the people they are in love with and yet at the same time wants to keep distance (Broer, Peter Niclas, and Paul Immanuel Heidekrueger 2016).
- Self-portrait with cropped hair (1940, the Museum of Modern Art)
This self-portrait by Frida Kahlo is an expression of retaliation against Diego Rivera to whom Frida was married, divorced and remarried again. The painting was done in the time of their separation; Frida was getting rid of the things her husbands adored in her feminist appearance.
Salvador Dali, the persistence of memory (1931)
This piece of art is a hand painted dream photograph that has become an important symbol of the surrealist movement. The work of art is meant to express the theme of decay and infinity.
Willem de Kooning, Woman I (1950-1952)
The painting is an interplay between enormous eyes and breasts, the figure has violent marks that translate as a misogynistic representation of the post-war art world.
Kazimir Malevich, white on white (1918)
Another important work of art in an exhibition at the museum of modern art in New York is the woman with her throat cut (Femme Egorgee) by Alberto Giacometti, which was inspired by the serial killer Jack the Ripper and Andre Masson automatic drawing.
Question 2
Alberto Giacometti has the most outstanding surreal art facts at the museum of modern art and also inspired a number of other artists in their artwork.
Question 3
Andre Masson automatic drawing is the most surreal work of art at the museum of modern art; the artwork is an accurate representation of surreal ideals in that the drawing followed no particular formula but was drawn to the expression of free human spirit. The drawing also leaves much to the imagination of what the artist was thinking and what they were trying to put across. At the same museum of modern art, the exhibition of the self-portrait is much less surreal than the other work of art at the stand because it is not a free mind expression but the portrait was meant to be a response to rejection, the portrait does not leave much to the imagination as well (Sylvester, Christine 2015).
Question 4
If I wanted to see surreal quality work I would choose to go to the museum of modern art, the museum has a well-planned and has a variety artwork of the most surreal artists like Andre Breton and Alberto Giacometti (Barr, Alfred Hamilton, and Georges Hugnet). The museum also gives a rich and diverse surreal artwork as well as a comprehensive development of surreal artwork since the early 1920s. The museum of modern art also has other arts from the recent artistic revolution that can help create a comparison between recent and past surreal work of art (Gaggi, Silvio 2015).
Question 5
Marcel Broodthaers exhibition at the museum of modern art in new york aims at uniting most of his art in the short span of his career. Marcel Broodthaers arts at the exhibition in the museum of modern art include;
1. A panel of mussels (1964).
This artwork Broodthaers aimed at satirizing his homeland where mussel’s shells were a major delicacy in the restaurants.
2. I Return to Matter, I Rediscover the Tradition of the Primitives, Painting with Egg (1966).
In this piece of art, Marcel depicts the revolution of art from drawing in which paintings were made from egg as the medium. Instead, Marcel makes a piece of art with egg shells as a medium to reminiscence a period when paints were made using egg pigment.
3. Department of Eagles (1968).
These were made by surreal characteristics of cryptic text and imagery subvert of the clarity
Other works of art by Marcel Broodthaers at exhibit in the museum of modern art include;
Belgian lion (1968), veritablement (1966), Le roi midi (1954) and eye in a plastic container amongst others.
The above pieces of art are more surreal that the others because they possess great imagery and creativity in the way Marcel expressed himself.
On the other hand, street Rene Magritte Street (Rue Rene Magritte Street), Gas stove (1968), four eggs (1966) and Belgian Lion (1968) are closely related to Rene Magritte work in which he inspired him to make work of art that has an opposite meaning from the depicted work of art. Marcel Broodthaers deserves to be referred to as a surreal artist in that most of his art is inspired by Rene Magritte, who was a surreal artist from Germany. Most of his work represents revolutionary art and are an expression of the free spirit (Sylvester, Christine 2015).
Work Cited
Barr, Alfred Hamilton, and Georges Hugnet, eds. Fantastic art, dada, surrealism. The Museum of modern art, distributed by Simon and Schuster, 1947.
Broer, Peter Niclas, and Paul Immanuel Heidekrueger. "Common Birthplace? Modern Plastic
Gaggi, Silvio. Modern/postmodern: A study in twentieth-century arts and ideas. University of Pennsylvania Press, 2015.
Surgery and Surrealism." Aesthetic Surgery Journal (2016): sjw050.
Sylvester, Christine. Art/museums: international relations where we least expect it. Routledge, 2015.
