Since I'm sure the true definition of "surrealism" is hotly contested in the art world, I'm not claiming that these images are truly in that category. After all, I have never professed to be an art expert. The Pagan Sphinx blog is a sort of personal art history project for me. I welcome true experts to comment and correct me where I am wrong. Otherwise, enjoy the art! I believe that is what it's all about, yes?
All artists are linked to a website, their own or a collective, if you'd like to find out more about their work.
(an interesting bio)
WowSo many new artists to discover! I had not heard of the most of them. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteThis set illustrates what has long been a conviction of mine - that it's easier to create something new or startling on the dark side than on the light side. Songs about loneliness, loss, fear, pain, etc. seem more inspired than songs about happiness, contentment, fulfillment. The latter almost need to be carefully set up in order to have impact - a backdrop of darkness and struggle out of which the light or the good rises like a phoenix. Like the dance and song at the end of the movie Flashdance, which doesn't really hit you hard enough unless you've seen the rest of the movie. Or the theme song from Working Girl.
ReplyDeleteThe same seems to be true for paintings. I can think of some knockouts that are also pleasant to look at, but most of the deeply moving pieces are hard to look at, or at least would not be somthing we would want to hang in our homes.
Maybe it's that we live with the ordinary, and surround ourselves with as much happiness as we can - and being "moved" therefore must put us somewhere else - outside our comfort zone. Surrealism certainly does that. Beauty could become mundane, and ignored, but a dose of ugliness or the creepy and horrific makes us grateful again for the light and pleasant.
And then there are the pieces that ARE beautiful AND disturbing both. Like the David Stoupakis piece, above... I'm not sure what that makes me feel. Off balance. That's good for us, and exciting, and weird. It makes me appreciate that we are complicated creatures, with complex desires and motivations. Does this make us less like the other animals on Earth? Or does it make us more like them than we normally like to think???
Like Jams, I had heard of few of these artists. Thanks for sharing. For someone on a self-taught art history lesson, you sure did a nice job selecting this sampling.
ReplyDeleteFrom my viewpoint (and I'm sure you're correct that the definition is contested, but no need for that here) these are all surrealism. I feel the most artistically inspired by this type of painting. And this post made me especially eager for my painting course next fall!
...The Stoupakis *totally* creeped me out, by the way...
-U
I love the surrealist art posted here. BTW: I just went on vacation in Europe, and I went to a bunch of contemporary and modern museums. One artist I was turned onto was the Czech artist David Cerny. You have to like mischievous, rebellious, and controversial artists, though.
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