Over my nine years of teaching visual art in schools, surrealism has been one of my favorite styles of art to explore with my classes and a consistent student favorite, as well. Surrealism originated as a cultural, literary and artistic movement in the early 1900s, and it aimed to reject the conventional — to break free from the limitations of reality and the conscious, rational mind. The name "surrealism" in and of itself expresses this fundamental goal, with the roots of the word — sur indicating "above" or "beyond," and real meaning "fact" or "reality" — converging to literally mean "beyond reality."
Artists who championed the surrealist movement embraced the bizarre, the strange and uncanny, the unconventional or impossible, and the unconscious. Surrealists like Salvador Dalí, Frida Kahlo, Max Ernst, Dorothea Tanning and Remedios Varo all put paint to canvas to create dreamlike — or sometimes nightmarish — surrealist scenes rife with symbolic meaning. Contemporary surrealist artist Vladimir Kush emulates the surrealist style in his work, as well.
For kids and teens, surrealism presents an opportunity to exercise their imaginations. When pushed to reject or transform the normal and rational, young artists are able to flex their creative muscles, often coming up with far more original and exciting artistic compositions than are possible with realistic landscapes or still-life art.
Surrealism also offers a particularly expressive mode for students, as surrealist artwork can contain symbolism unrestrained by the laws of reality. For example, students might choose to communicate the concept of time by incorporating an hourglass into their artwork; to represent the notion of family with a home or a human heart; or the idea of transformation with a caterpillar and butterfly.
In one of my favorite surrealist art units, I have students begin by choosing a simple object — a teapot, a pair of headphones, a flower — and inventing a surrealist scene based around it. As they progress, students can build symbolism into the imagery they draw around it or forgo this thought process and simply let their unconscious mind guide them as they create as strange a scene as they can imagine.
Portraiture also lends itself well to surrealism, as young artists can easily transform a portrait to incorporate surrealist qualities by playing with the background or context of the portrait, or transforming aspects of the person portrayed.
Another personal favorite project — and a wonderful, accessible art-making opportunity for children who become frustrated with drawing and painting — is surrealist collage. By using scissors to carefully and closely cut out parts of magazine pictures or photos, then gluing those different pieces onto one background image, young artists can build incredible scenes.
Please note that many of the most prominent surrealist artists (particularly Salvador Dalí and Frida Kahlo) often incorporated adult themes or imagery into their artwork. Be aware of this when searching online or exploring the topic of surrealist art together.
This article was originally published in Seven Days' monthly parenting magazine, Kids VT.
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