The term sur\u00adre\u00adal\u00adism\u00a0\u2014 or rather, sur\u00adr\u00e9al\u00adisme \u2014 orig\u00adi\u00adnates from the French words for \u201cbeyond real\u00adi\u00adty.\u201d That\u2019s a zone, we may assume, reach\u00adable by only dar\u00ading, and pos\u00adsi\u00adbly unhinged, artis\u00adtic minds. But in fact, even the most down-to-earth among us go beyond real\u00adi\u00adty on a night\u00adly basis. We do so in our dreams, where the accept\u00aded mechan\u00adics of space and time, life and death, and cause and effect do not apply. Or rather, they\u2019re replaced by anoth\u00ader set of rules entire\u00adly, which feels per\u00adfect\u00adly con\u00adsis\u00adtent and con\u00advinc\u00ading to us in the moment. Such \u201cdream log\u00adic\u201d may frus\u00adtrate the friends and fam\u00adi\u00adly we attempt to regale with tales of our night visions, but as the sur\u00adre\u00adal\u00adists found, it could also be put to the ser\u00advice of endur\u00ading art.<\/p>\n
In the Hochela\u00adga video above<\/a>, that chan\u00adnel\u2019s cre\u00adator Tom\u00admie Trelawny pro\u00advides a long his\u00adto\u00adry of sur\u00adre\u00adal\u00adism in a short run\u00adning time. Trac\u00ading that move\u00admen\u00adt\u2019s roots, he goes all the way back to the ancient cul\u00adture of the Aus\u00adtralian Abo\u00adrig\u00adi\u00adnals, for whom the con\u00adcept of the \u201cdream\u00adtime\u201d still plays an impor\u00adtant role \u2014 and has inspired \u201cpos\u00adsi\u00adbly the old\u00adest unbro\u00adken artis\u00adtic tra\u00addi\u00adtion in the world.\u201d<\/p>\n In oth\u00ader places and oth\u00ader eras of antiq\u00adui\u00adty, dreams were also con\u00adsid\u00adered \u201ca bridge for the spir\u00adit world and the phys\u00adi\u00adcal one.\u201d For the Egyp\u00adtians, \u201cthese night\u00adtime voy\u00adages were a chance to see real\u00adi\u00adty more clear\u00adly,\u201d as evi\u00addenced by resut, their word for \u201cdream,\u201d which also means \u201cawak\u00aden\u00ading.\u201d Unsur\u00adpris\u00ading\u00adly for reg\u00adu\u00adlar Hochela\u00adga view\u00aders, Trelawny also finds dreams in the Bible, \u201ca book full of visions of the divine and glimpses into the cos\u00admic unknown.\u201d<\/p>\n In every peri\u00adod between antiq\u00adui\u00adty and now, art \u2014 includ\u00ading the work of Hierony\u00admus Bosch<\/a>, Albrecht Dur\u00ader<\/a>, and Edvard Munch<\/a>, as well as Japan\u00adese wood\u00adblock prints<\/a> \u2014 has attempt\u00aded to cap\u00adture the sort of expe\u00adri\u00adences and imagery encoun\u00adtered only in dreams, and indeed night\u00admares. But it was only in the wake of Sig\u00admund Freud\u2019s The Inter\u00adpre\u00adta\u00adtion of Dreams<\/a>, first pub\u00adlished in 1899, that sur\u00adre\u00adal\u00adism<\/a> could take shape, inspired by the ques\u00adtion, \u201cIf the mind can reveal itself through dreams, what if it could reveal itself through art?\u201d Apr\u00e8s Freud came the uncon\u00adscious\u00adness-inspired paint\u00adings of\u00a0Gior\u00adgio de Chiri\u00adco<\/a>, Ren\u00e9 Magritte<\/a>, and of course Sal\u00advador Dal\u00ed<\/a>. Yet none of them could have fore\u00adseen the tru\u00adly sur\u00adre\u00adal\u00adis\u00adtic d\u00e9luge that arti\u00adfi\u00adcial intel\u00adli\u00adgence has brought us. If AI reveals to us some\u00adthing of how we think, its hal\u00adlu\u00adci\u00adna\u00adtions reveal to us even more about how we dream.<\/p>\n Relat\u00aded Con\u00adtent:<\/p>\n An Intro\u00adduc\u00adtion to Sur\u00adre\u00adal\u00adism: The Big Aes\u00adthet\u00adic Ideas Pre\u00adsent\u00aded in Three Videos<\/a><\/p>\n What Makes Sal\u00advador Dal\u00ed\u2019s Icon\u00adic Sur\u00adre\u00adal\u00adist Paint\u00ading The Per\u00adsis\u00adtence of Mem\u00ado\u00adry a Great Work of Art<\/a><\/p>\n Watch Dreams That Mon\u00adey Can Buy, a Sur\u00adre\u00adal\u00adist Film by Man Ray, Mar\u00adcel Duchamp, Alexan\u00adder Calder, Fer\u00adnand L\u00e9ger & Hans Richter<\/a><\/p>\n Europe After the Rain: Watch the Vin\u00adtage Doc\u00adu\u00admen\u00adtary on the Two Great Art Move\u00adments, Dada & Sur\u00adre\u00adal\u00adism (1978)<\/a><\/p>\n David Lynch Presents the His\u00adto\u00adry of Sur\u00adre\u00adal\u00adist Film (1987)<\/a><\/p>\n The Fan\u00adtas\u00adtic Women Of Sur\u00adre\u00adal\u00adism: An Intro\u00adduc\u00adtion<\/a><\/p>\n Based in Seoul,\u00a0Col\u00adin<\/a>\u00a0M<\/a>a<\/a>rshall<\/a>\u00a0writes and broad\u00adcasts on cities, lan\u00adguage, and cul\u00adture. He\u2019s the author of the newslet\u00adter\u00a0Books on Cities<\/a> as well as the books \ud55c\uad6d \uc694\uc57d \uae08\uc9c0<\/a> (No Sum\u00adma\u00adriz\u00ading Korea) and Kore\u00adan Newtro<\/a>.\u00a0Fol\u00adlow him on the social net\u00adwork for\u00admer\u00adly known as Twit\u00adter at\u00a0@colinm<\/a>a<\/a>rshall<\/a>.<\/p>\n \t\t