Surrealism is an art movement that took place in Paris in the early 1920s, becoming more popular between the First World War and the Second World War. Dadaism is a movement prior to Surrealism and occurred as a response to the brutality of the war. However, Surrealism is less aggressive and almost playful in the sense that it can be interpreted in many ways. While Surrealism has been around since the 1920s in the form of art pieces, it became more prominent in the material world in the 1930s. This led it to become more of a design movement in terms of how it affected interior, fashion, and graphic design. The majority of artists involved in the Surrealist movement were commercial designers and were influenced by ‘The Interpretation of Dreams’, Sigmund Freud's book, which was an insight into what dreams mean and how the unconscious mind affects them. Freud’s book also touches on his dream theory, which consists of his belief that our dreams represent our unconscious thoughts. Sigmund Freud's theories are mainly what differentiates Dadaism from Surrealism. Andre Breton was a French writer who was a member of the Dada group but also wrote the first Surrealist manifesto (‘Manifeste du Surrealisme’) after reading Freud's theories of the unconscious mind. He later became very influential in the Surrealist movement. Breton also mentioned in his manifesto how real life and dreams became 'an absolute reality, a surreality' (Surrealism - Wikipedia, 2021), which draws a link back to Sigmund Freud's theory of how the subconscious mind affects dreams.
Surrealism is a movement that I am particularly fond of due to the multiple ways in which it can be interpreted. It is almost unique to every viewer as it is a very personal experience. Surrealism is a very important aspect of design as it doesn’t require a certain observer or a particular opinion, however, it forms a different story in each person’s mind.
As Surrealism spread into aspects of design, Salvador Dali is a particular artist who influenced the Surrealist movement. Dali was a Spanish artist who created paintings and art pieces that were surreal.
In many of Dali’s paintings, he used a technique called the ‘paranoiac-critical method’, which was used “to help an artist tap into their subconscious through a systematic irrational thought and self-induced paranoid state” (Paranoid Critical Method: Salvador, 2021); almost suggesting that to create pieces so surreal, you must forget stereotypical ways of thinking and develop a new mindset in which nothing is out of the ordinary. ‘The Persistence of Memory’, a Salvador Dali piece is one of the most iconic pieces of Surrealism that ever existed. Dali included a lot of illusions in his work and his pieces left viewers with a lot of questions due to the artwork being so bizarre. However, it could be argued that this is exactly what he wanted to come from his work.
While Dali’s early work was influenced by Impressionism, in the 1920s, he moved towards Surrealism. Like many other artists, Salvador Dali experienced financial issues. However, it could be argued that this is what led to his success. Due to his financial difficulties, Dali had to find a sponsor in order for him to develop his work and become more successful. Luckily, Edward James, a poet, agreed to work with Dali. ‘The Lobster Telephone’ is a Surrealist art piece created by Salvador Dali in 1938, which encapsulates the idea of allowing the “unconscious mind to express itself” (Surrealism – Wikipedia, 2021) and leaves viewers able to interpret the piece in a variety of different ways. This piece is an actual object rather than just a painting that shows his development into the material world.
Roughly a year later, Salvador Dali began to move his work further into the physical side of art, which led him to design an entire interior space. By using his previous knowledge of Surrealism and his influences, Dali was able to create a Surrealism-style interior. With Dali’s experience with Surrealism and James’ practical approach, they were able to create the Mae West sofa. The sofa is the most prominent aspect of this design as it is bold and stands out from the otherwise bland Victorian decor in the rest of the space. The sofa was influenced by Dali’s paintings of Mae West, as she was known for her red lips, which is clear from the piece itself. The sculpture was once described by John Glen in the Guardian newspaper as “the single most important example of surreal furniture ever made in Britain” (Dalí and his Mae West Sofa| The Dalí Universe, 2021), which highlights the significance of the piece.
Salvador Dali not only worked in the interior design sector while working with Surrealism, but he also worked in fashion design in collaboration with Elsa Schiaparelli. Schiaparelli was a fashion designer who was very influential between the First World War and the Second World War. Her originality and creativity within her designs led her to be one of Coco Chanel’s biggest rivals at the time. Schiaparelli’s designs originally consisted of knitted sweaters in the 1920s, but she later developed from this when she began to make a full line of clothing. Her knitwear can be seen in the image to the left, and even though this is her initial work, it is still apparent that she had a certain level of inventiveness within her fashion designs. By using different colored wool to create a design for the jumper that typically would be a separate addition to the piece, it is clear that there is ingenuity involved in designing her work. Schiaparelli later collaborated with a variety of Surrealist artists, along with Salvador Dali.
The Tears Dress is a fashion piece made as a result of the collaboration between Dali and Schiaparelli and was included in Schiaparelli’s Spring 1938 ‘Circus’ Collection and is regarded by some as one of her most iconic pieces. It was once described by Miuccia Prada as “the only relevant experiment of this kind that was meaningful” ('The Tears Dress' by Elsa Schiaparelli and Salvador Dalí, 2021), highlighting the importance of this collaboration within the Surrealism movement. This fashion piece is almost simplistic at first glance, however, when taking a closer look, it is apparent how complex and intricate the piece is. By eliminating the stereotypical connotations of a dress and adding a surreal aspect, the dress creates an effect that is unlike any other piece of fashion. This dress incorporates the appearance of tearing while remaining a wearable piece of clothing. The illusion that the dress is ripped links back to the Surrealism aspect of the design as it almost contradicts what you think is going on. Schiaparelli once said that she makes her pieces, not for the purpose of “merely making a dress to sell”, but in fact to go “beyond the crude and boring reality” ('The Tears Dress' by Elsa Schiaparelli and Salvador Dalí, 2021) of that and instead making a piece of fashion that is a significant piece of artwork rather than just a piece of clothing that can be worn.
Surrealism also played a part in graphic design. Cassandre is a French poster artist and typeface designer who was strongly influenced by the Cubism and Surrealism movement. His early works were created in 1923, including ‘Au Bucheron’, which was an Art Deco style poster for a cabinet maker. This poster was the starting point for his career and his style was later recognized by many. It also won the Grand Prix at the International Exhibition of Decorative Arts. Cassandre once said that “designing a poster means solving a technical and commercial problem… in a language that can be understood by the common man” (A.M Cassandre, The Legendary Art Deco Poster Artist, 2021), which proves how almost simplistic he wanted his posters to be, however, through the influence of Surrealism, it is obvious how much these changes throughout his career. Although this particular design is less surreal in the sense that the image and message can easily be depicted, it still contains a certain abstract approach that is developed in his later pieces.
Cassandre later created a poster for L’Intransigeant, a Parisian newspaper established in 1880, due to the editor of the newspaper wanting to change the target audience of the newspaper from left-wing to right-wing after the First World War, so he decided that it was best to advertise. Cassandre was commissioned to create this poster in 1925, and while it still has an Art Deco style, it contains a certain level of Surrealism. While it is clear that the focal point of the piece is a face, it is unclear what is projected around it. By embracing Surrealism and including it in his work, Cassandre was able to form a surreal piece of art that poses a range of questions. One of the main questions is what the poster is actually about. The main purpose of the poster being ambiguous adds to the Surrealism aspect of not knowing fully what is going on in the artwork. Even though Cassandre’s work is not fully surreal, it is still clear how he has been influenced by the movement, which highlights how much Surrealism has affected all aspects of design, maybe not fully, but in a certain sense.
Overall, Surrealism has affected many aspects of design by a variety of different artists. While most of the artists involved in the Surrealist movement didn’t originally start their design journeys as Surrealists, they crossed paths with this aspect of art at some point in their careers. The significance of Surrealism and the impact that it has had on design is very apparent from the number of pieces of art that have been created and the influence that Surrealism has had on design as a whole. Sigmund Freud was one of the most influential individuals in the Surrealist movement in terms of inspiring others to experiment with it. Through ‘The Interpretation of Dreams’, many artists were encouraged to explore and develop their work to be more surreal. Salvador Dali was one artist of many who found inspiration from Freud’s book, and this enabled him to develop his work from the 2D aspect of art in terms of paintings into the material world. Through the Surrealist movement, designers have been influenced to think less about normality and things that are ordinary and have been inspired to tap into their subconscious to form pieces of art that are far from typical to create a sense of confusion within their work while keeping their work relevant and captivating. The development of Surrealism in design has been made possible through the range of techniques used by artists. Also, added influences from each field of design have allowed the Surrealist movement to evolve. While some struggle to understand the relevance or even importance of Surrealism, it is appreciated and accepted by many and its effect on design can be seen over time.