Max Ernst

Max Ernst was born in Germany in 1891. His father enjoyed painting (as a hobby) but Ernst’s interest in art did not begin until he went to Bonn University in 1909 to study psychology and philosophy. He began painting in 1910.

When World War I broke out, Ernst was forced to serve in the army. He was not pleased to do so and thought of his time in the army as an annoying interruption of his passion: art. He was able to do some painting, though, and showed work in 1916 in Berlin, Germany.

After the war, Ernst became friends with some Dadaists and joined the movement. He created Fruit of a Long Experience from junk, just as you did if you created your own recycled art last week. In 1922 he moved to Paris to be nearer to other Dada artists.

Ernst turned to Surrealism as many other Dadaists did (including Salvador Dali). Most interesting about Ernst’s Surrealist paintings was the bird he used to symbolize himself. Rather than painting himself into his paintings, as many artists did including Sandro Botticelli, Ernst painted a bird. The bird was called Loplop and can be found in a number of Ernst’s paintings: Loplop Introduces Loplop, Surrealism and Painting.
During World War II, Ernst was twice sent to a concentration camp. The first time he was freed. The second time he had to escape. Peggy Guggenheim (Goo-gen-high-m), a lover and collector of art who set up museums all over the world, helped Ernst to safely reach the U.S. He and Peggy Guggenheim married but the relationship didn’t last long.

In New York, Ernst helped to bring about Abstract Expressionism (the art movement that included Jackson Pollock).

Ernst moved back to France in 1953 where he lived until his death in 1976.
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No post on Monday. I'm going to Massachusetts to visit my family! Enjoy your weekend and be sure to check back on Tuesday.

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Update

Sorry for the lack of post today. I was out celebrating last night. I'll tell you about it later. Check back tomorrow to learn about another Surrealist!

Salvador Dali

Salvador Dali strove to shock people, not only through his art, but with his actions and his words as well. He was a Surrealist in all aspects of his life, so much so that the other members of the Surrealist movement eventually tried to separate themselves from Dali.

Born in Catalonia, Spain in 1904, Salvador Dali showed artistic talent early. His father was very strict but his mother was much gentler and encouraged him to explore his interest in art. In 1916 he began drawing classes. Then, in 1922, Dali went to Madrid to study at the Academia de San Fernando.

While at school, Dali painted in the Cubist style and experimented briefly with Dada. It was also during this time that he developed the first of his many strange styles of dress: He grew his hair long and wore sideburns and he dressed in suit coats, stockings, and short pants that stopped at the knee. After nearly four years of school, his ego had grown so large that he decided he was too good for any of the professors to judge him. When he expressed this feeling, he was kicked out of the academy.

After he left the Academia de San Fernando, Dali began to experiment will Surrealism. He also grew a thin mustache that curved up at either end. Both the mustache and the surrealist style would last the rest of Dali’s life.

I cannot show you paintings here (due to copyright law) but I will direct you to some of Dali’s most famous paintings. First, look at The Persistence of Memory. The melting clocks portray the idea that time is not always steady. That weird shape in the middle of the painting is a face. It was based on a rock formation off the shore of Catalonia, Spain.

Next, look at Swans Reflecting Elephants. It is the reflections that make this painting so fantastic.

Dali included reflections in other paintings as well, including Metamorphosis of Narcissus. Focus hard and you’ll see a hand holding a blooming egg (the flower is a narcissus) and, beside it, a man leaning toward the water. The story of Narcissus tells of a man who was so in love with himself that he drown trying to embrace his own reflection. The gods then created a flower in his memory and named it after him. This paintings is Dali’s interpretation of that story.

Dali not only painted, but created sculpture, worked on films (including one for Disney), made jewelry, experimented with photography, and helped design the Dali Theater and Museum in Figueres, Spain.

In 1989, Salvador Dali died. Some believe that, on his deathbed, he was forced to sign blank canvases. As the rumor goes, paintings were later created on the canvases and passed off as Dali’s work.

There are lots of crazy stories about Dali. Sometime I'll write a post just about his wackiness but for now his art is more important.



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Create Your Own Surrealist Collage

Happy Earth Day! Today we must remember how important it is to care for our planet. Your project today should be made entirely from things you find around your house. Use throw-away flyers, newspapers, or old magazines to create your Surrealist collage. Be sure to ask permission before you cut anything!

Before you begin, look for inspiration at these galleries of Surrealist painters:
Salvador Dali, Rene Magritte, Max Ernst.

Yesterday you learned about Surrealism. When making your collage, keep in mind that your finished artwork should look like a dream. Group unrelated pictures together (like I did) or use strange colors (try coloring black and white images with crayons) to create the effect of a dream. I cut out a bunch of pictures I liked without thinking about how they might fit together. Then I used a glue stick to combine those pictures:
Stretch your imagination but, in honor of Earth Day, only use materials that would have been thrown away or recycled. For another project suitable for Earth Day, check out Recycled Art, Dada Style.

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Surrealism

Dadaism, which you read about on Thursday, led to Surrealism. The same distaste for World War I and for the thinking of the society of the time created Surrealism.

Writers began the Surrealist movement. In 1924, Andre Breton explained Surrealism in his Surrealist Manifesto, and a few years later artists began to paint in the style he described. Surrealists wanted to free their minds of rational thought, to write or paint the ideas that were buried deep in their minds. These artists did not wish their work to make simple, logical sense.

This is why many of the paintings look like scenes from a dream (or nightmare). Many Surrealist paintings, like Salvador Dali’s Swans Reflecting Elephants, include imaginary creatures or real-life creatures shown in unnatural ways. Some paintings, such as Max Ernst’s Seascape, include several seemingly unrelated objects. Others twist realistic images by using strange colors.

In any Surrealist paintings, there is a lot to look at.

This week is Surrealism week so check back for posts about some important Surrealist painters.

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