Surrealism Painting the Subconscious Expression

Surrealists believed in releasing the creative power of the subconscious mind and were interested in Freud’s theories on dreams। There were nearly as many ideas on how this was best expressed as there were artists involved in the movement। One of the techniques that the artists of the Surrealist and Abstract Expressionist movements developed was ‘automatism’. Using automatism the artist produced spontaneous paintings or drawings by suppressing conscious control over the movements of the hand and allowing the subconscious mind to take over. Once an interesting image or form had been achieved by chance it was then developed by consciousness. To paint or draw using critical paranoia you might stare at the patterns in a rock until you imagine a figure or scene emerge from the designs. Then draw or paint that scene while you consciously set aside your understanding that the scene is really a rock.The art created using the techniques of automatism or critical paranoia often depict the unreal dream space or even hallucinations of the subconscious mind. (Sharon Himes)

Bust of Voltare (by Salvador Dali)

The Bust of Voltaire image is a detail from a Surrealistic painting by Salvador Dali। The detail shows the double image effect that Dali created using his Critical Paranoia method. The figures in the slave market form the features of the bust of Voltaire while the negative space of an arch in the background creates Voltaire’s head.To practice automatism, sit with a pencil and paper and close your eyes. Let a pencil wander over a page without thinking about it. Then, opening your eyes, see what the lines or forms suggest to you. Go back with the pencil and bring out the figure or shapes that you see there that your subconscious mind has recognized.