Surrealism is most noted as starting in the 1920s as more and more individuals started using the unique and dreamlike surprise philosophical and abstract concepts. Surrealist artists who started the movement did so because of war and the Dada movement which rejected the prevailing and prominent standards in the artwork movement which gave birth to the many different types of surreal mediums such as artwork and visual arts, literature, film and music of the time period which eventually remained and extended to modern times.

Salvidor Dali

The leader of the surrealistic movement is noted to be Andre Breton who was a neurological hospital worker and studied in medicine and psychiatry and performed many tasks to spread the word of surrealism. Since surrealists broke many of the rules of traditional artwork and expression, it was often associated with anarchy and communism.

The true aim of surrealism is meant to help those involved to continue the social revolution of artwork and to continually redefine what it means to be an artist. It is an evolving philosophical ideology that feeds off of imagination and the ability of humans to fuel this imagination that leaves little or no distinguishable ground between rational and irrational thought.

Automatism techniques were developed for visual arts as well as the literary arts and proved to be successful for the movement. Automatism was claimed to be a purely psychic and subconscious form of producing artwork and is easily found within visual artworks from this time period to modern times.

These drawings were made with random and near accidental markings on paper or whatever medium used and created purely chance driven artwork. The method for literary works was similar but involved the uncensored expulsion of thoughts to direct translation into literary works. These works were published and received well enough to continue such individual publications of nearly random and unintelligible rambling.

The many other techniques used to create artwork involving video, photography, or other types of pseudo manipulative art mediums have drastically changed the way that artwork is modernly produced. This period of artwork significance made way for various artistic styles such as avant-garde, pop art, punk rock music, freeform jazz, and many other alternative artistic forms.

Surrealism is a pathway to other forms of unique artistic freedom that has a firm footing in history. Many of the great artists that pioneered this era of artistic revolution have become well known and will continue to remain immortal through their artwork and interpretations of their artistic styles.