Tate Modern Exhibition: Surrealism Beyond Borders

SURREALISM BEYOND BORDERS

" Surrealism is not a style – but a state of mind. It aims to subvert reality. To find the uncanny in the everyday. To tap into our unconscious desires and bring dreams to life. And for many artists around the world, it has been a way to challenge authority and imagine a new world.

Previous stories of surrealism have focused on Paris in the 1920s. Based on extensive research, this exhibition will reach across the world and over 50 years. It will show how artists around the world have been inspired and united by surrealism – from centres as diverse as Buenos Aires, Cairo, Lisbon, Mexico City, Prague, Seoul, and Tokyo. "

I went to visit the "Surrealism Beyond Borders" exhibition at the Tate Modern. although Murakami writes in the genre of "magical realism" there are links between this genre and surrealism. However they are not the same. Unlike surrealism, magical realism tends to have realistic setting with mythical or fantasy elements whereas surrealism tends to be set in a dream-like world.

However I still thought this exhibition would be relevant to my project.

Notes on specific work:

Pincushion to Serve as Fetish by Dorothea Tanning

IMG-5895.jpg.1

Tanning, D. (1965). Pincushion to Serve as Fetish. [Velvet, Plastic funnel, Metal pins, Sawdust and Wool].

I was really intrigued by Tanning's work and would probably choose it as my favourite piece in the exhibition. in the description alongside the piece we can see Tanning describes the work as "not an image but bristling with images" which made me thing instantly of some of the complex multisensory passages present in Murakami's work. the description goes on: "It resembles a small animal, but the white lines on the black velvet, together with the pins pushed into it, also hint at the operations of magic or ritual."

Once again this made me think of Murakami, but a this time, a specific passage in Kafka on the Shore: " The path leads to a special place, a light source that spins out the dark, the place where soundless echoes come from." I thought of this passage as the artwork itself has a large hole on the side with the white lines that are spiralling around it.

I feel inspired by Dorothea's work and would like to experiment myself with sculpture, perhaps using imagery from Kafka on the Shore as inspiration.

Kinjuu-ki bangai: Masuku dori (Birds and Beasts Chronicle, an Extra Edition: Mask Bird)

by Ikeda Tatsuo

Tatsuo, I. (1958). Kinjuu-ki bangai: Masuku dori. [Pen, conté and watercolour on paper].

The next piece I wanted to mention was this artwork by Ikeda Tatsuo. Tatsuo was a post-war writer, making work in response to this difficult period using "fantastical figures and animist refrences". once again this reminded me greatly of Murakami's work. Previously in Rubin's book Murakami was described as the first "post-post-war writer" meaning that his work had less of a negative attitude than others before him. However Murakami also uses fantastical and animist figures in his work to represent this such as the strange colonel sanders and johnny walker characters in Kafka on the Shore.

This particular piece of art reminded me of the character of "the boy named crow" in Kafka on the Shore. This character is like the alter ego of Kafka Tamura and is much stronger and tougher than he. This links to the title of the piece "Mask Bird" as The boy named crow can be Kafka's mask while he is running from home.

This has inspired me to explore the appearance of animals more in my sketchbook, perhaps mimicking this surrealist style while looking at crow, fish and cat imagery present int the book.

Algiers Pan-African Festival by William Klein

The Pan-African Festival of Algiers. (1969). [35mm transferred to digiBeta] ONCIC.

I thought this film by William Klein was really interesting and featured some amazing music by Archie Shepp. The whole video had a very dream like feel with people moving around and the camera moving quickly from person to person. accompanied by the experimental jazz music, It really reminded me of the experience of reading Murakami's novels.

Overall I found this exhibition really inspiring as it helped me to see surrealism in a new light. It was presented in new and interesting ways that went beyond what I thought surrealism could be. It has made me want to push the boundaries within my own work. I will try and do this when completing design development, thinking of new and inventive ways that my designs would appear in the real world.

Research

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