Fantasy
Surrealism
Part I
“Have you ever had a dream you were so sure was real?
What if you couldn’t wake up?
How would you know the dream from reality?”
What is Surrealism
• Surrealism is the expression of the dream state
or the human unconsciousness. Surrealism put
normal “things” in an abnormal context.
• Surrealism relies heavily on the ideas of Sigmund
Freud and the study of psychology.
– These include the concepts of psycho-analysis and the
interpretation of dreams as keys to understanding the
self.
Salvador Dali
• Spanish painter and
writer who joined the
Surrealist movement
in the 30’s.
• Work deals heavily
with the ideas of
psychosis and
sexuality.
Psycho-analytical method
• Dali began working in this method by
painting his dreams and
hallucinations.
– Freud’s “Interpretations of Dreams”
stated that by understanding the
symbolism of dream imagery, you could
gain greater understanding of a person.
Paranoiac-critical method
• Dali attempts to show different images
within a single painting.
• The idea is to create a feeling of
psychosis or a dream state in the
viewer.
– Dali wanted people to think they were
seeing things.
Rene Magritte
• French Surrealist, one
of the original
founding members of
the movement.
• Makes extensive use
of the “nonsensical
association” and
missed perception.
Suspension of reality
• Magritte uses the idea of dream imagery to
create illusions which at first glance appear
normal,
– but upon close examination are clearly unreal.
• He is know for the use of very subtle and
intelligent illusions.
Nonsensical associations
• This is the idea that by
placing objects together,
which in reality have
absolutely no connection, the
artist can force people into
finding a relationship.
Style
• The Surrealists initially adapt of more
stylized method of painting characterized by
Magritte.
• Dali’s use of “classical” highly realistic painting is
part of what gets him banished from the
movement in the 30’s.
– This classical style of high realism becomes the style of
choice for most Surrealists in later years (with the
development of better photography and computers).
Dave McKean
J.K. Potter
Jerry Uelsman
Storm Thorgerson
graphic designer - Pink Floyd
Thorgerson uses no computer
manipulation to achieve his surreal
illusions, only standard photography.
Thorgerson also uses the great
Surrealists of the past as inspiration for
some of his work.
Magritte
Dali
DiChirico
Some commercial applications of the
Surrealist theory...
Fantasy
Part II
“Have you ever had a dream you were so sure was real?
What if you couldn’t wake up?
How would you know the dream from reality?”
What is Fantasy ?
• Fantasy is different from surrealism in that
it is the creation of something that in theory
can never exist in reality.
• There are many different categories of
fantasy, but major themes are the
supernatural (ghosts), mysticism (religion)
and science-fiction.
– The first two have been around as long as man, but science fiction
has only been around since the industrial revolution, and has many
sub-categories.
Jheironimus Bosch
• Worked during the
14th and 15th
centuries in Germany.
• Know for large and
incredibly detailed
paintings of religious
subject matter
(specifically heaven
and hell).
Archimboldo
Mysticism
Part III
“Have you ever had a dream you were so sure was real?
What if you couldn’t wake up?
How would you know the dream from reality?”
Super Natural (Horror) and Mysticism
• Any work that has its
foundation in religion,
mythology and the
supernatural falls into
this category.
– Definitions in this category
can get “fuzzy”, as what
one person thinks of as
mythology may be
another’s religion.
Gustave Dore
Fuseli’s “Nightmare”
(horror)
Science Fiction
Part IV
“Have you ever had a dream you were so sure was real?
What if you couldn’t wake up?
How would you know the dream from reality?”
What is Science Fiction?
• Science fiction deals with imaginary but more or less plausible content .
• This includes future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel,
aliens, and extrasensory abilities (ESP etc.) .
• Exploring the consequences of scientific innovations is one purpose of science
fiction.
Science Fiction
• Science Fiction has only
been around since the
industrial revolution.
• It had a huge surge in
popularity however, in the
1940’s…
– With the dropping of the
atom bomb.
• …and again in the 60’s
– With the launch of Sputnick
and the space race.
Within sci-fi art, there are
many classifications of
different types of styles…
SPACE OPERA…
As typified by work like
Star Wars and Star Trek.
clean, bright, shiny high tech and utopian
CYBER PUNK…
As typified by work like
Alien, The Matrix and
Blade Runner.
dirty, dark, grimy high tech and dystopian
Science Fiction
(on Wikipedia)
Some material can cross
platform – being space opera in
aesthetic but punk in mood or
theme…
Some work defies easy classification…
It can fit into more than one sub genre or classification.
Is this sci-fi, fantasy, horror, supernatural?
Steampunk
• Steampunk is a subgenre of sci-fi which
came into prominence
during the 1980s and
1990s.
• It incorporates
elements of science
fiction, fantasy,
alternate history,
horror, and speculative
fiction.
Steampunk
• It is an alternate reality
where steam power is
widely used to run
advanced technology,
usually…
– Victorian era Britain or
– "Wild West“ era United
States.
Works of
Steampunk
feature
anachronistic
technology,
or futuristic
innovations set
in a Victorian
time period and
aesthetic.
Think of it as a world
where today’s
technology existed
100 years ago, but
steam powered.
Frankenstein; or, The Modern
Prometheus is a novel written by Mary
Shelley .
The novel, about a monster produced by
an unorthodox scientific experiment, is
often referred to as the quintessential
Steampunk novel.
Thomas Edison actually produced one of the first film
versions…
Thomas Edison’s Frankenstein
DARPA is actually creating mechanical
insects for use by the military…
Jules Verne
Jules Verne is one of science fictions early pioneers
with his Voyages Extraordinaires series of novels
that included Around the World in 80 Days as well
as From the Earth to the Moon.
H.G. Wells
H.G. Wells wrote a series of novels referred to
as his fin de siecle novels including The War of
the Worlds and The Invisible Man.
Michael Parkes
Steampunk on wikipedia
Paul Guinan’s Boilerplate, a 'biography' of a 19th century robot,
started as a website. People began to believe that Photoshop images
of the robot with historic people were real.
The site was eventually turned into an illustrated book
Boilerplate: History’s Mechanical Marvel.
Because the story was not set in
an alternate history, and
contained accurate
information about the
Victorian era,
the book is often referred to as
"historical Steampunk."
Boilerplate – Mechanical Marvel of the 19th Century.
On a related note…
H.R. Giger
• Contemporary Swiss artist, creates quasireligious and heavily sexual work in the
tradition of Dali.
• Created the science fiction style called…
– “bio-mechanics” and is best known for the movie Alien.
• His Biomechanics concept can be compared to
Steampunk.
– Why is it comparable?
This painting was the inspiration for the monster in
the movie “Alien”.
Your task you ask?
Your task you ask?