Learning Project: Surrealism #diglit

If given the opportunity to learn anything what would I choose? That is a big question because there are so many things I would love to learn: how to drive a stick-shift, change my oil, crochet, french-braid, and the list goes on. What am I passionate about though?

Two semesters ago I took Art History II which focused on art from the Renaissance period through Post-Moderanism. My two favorite periods were the Rococo Period and the Surrealism movement. We didn’t get to spend a lot of time on surrealist paintings but they always stuck with me because they were so strange.

 The Human Condition by René Magritte

After finishing that class I never really studied any more surrealist artists or their works until I came across a set of poems by Hannah Weiner- Hannah Weiner poems. I was taking a poetry class at the time and she was one of the poets for the week. She wrote eight simple little poems about eight different paintings by René Magritte and it re-sparked my interest in Surrealist paintings.

René Magritte is one of the more famous surrealist painters but there are a ton more out there. I found a top ten list on History Lists of surrealist artists and I am excited over the next ten weeks to discover more about these artists and their works. I would also like to explore artists who are not in the top ten.

I never really knew I had a love of paintings until I took an Art History class. I cannot paint at all unless I really take my time and even then it is nothing like the great artists. I love studying their work however and the reasons behind their paintings. Normally I am the type of person that finds it annoying to dissect someone’s work to find the meaning behind it, but there are hidden meanings in paintings especially in surrealist paintings. I am also interested in surrealist movies because I watched a clip from one in my art class and it is even more strange than the paintings.

The Sun Sets Sail by Rob Gonsalves

I am super excited to begin this journey and learn more about these incredible artists and the inspirations behind their paintings.