Automatism and surrealism
In the First Surrealist Manifesto (1924) surrealism was defined in terms of automatism:
SURREALISM: pure psychic automatism, by which an attempt is made to express, either verbally, in writing or in any other manner, the true functioning of thought. The dictation of thought, in the absence of all control by reason, excluding any aesthetic or moral preoccupation. (1)
Initially, it was regarded primarily as a written technique. Many surrealists had initial misgivings about the very possibility of surrealist painting which, because of the nature of the medium, cannot hope to equal the spontaneous, uninterrupted and undirected flow of words that is the hallmark of automatic writing. However, André Masson, with his development of graphic automatism, a gestural equivalent of automatic writing, suggested one way forward whilst Max Ernst, with techniques based on frottage, showed another. Ernst’s methods depended heavily upon seizing chance effects and also allowed him to retard the flow of ideas and images rather than seeking to record them in real time as they came.
Because of these innovations, by the time Colquhoun came to surrealism, the search for a pictorial equivalent of automatic writing had ceased to be a central concern. Indeed, by the time of the Second Manifesto (1930) automatism was hardly mentioned at all: the debate had moved on to focus upon what Breton described as ‘the occultation of surrealism’ in the search for that certain point in the mind at which opposites cease to be perceived as contradictory. (2) However, artists continued to seek new ways of tapping into unconscious processes. For a time, it was popular for surrealist writers and poets to experiment with pictorial automatism, especially decalcomania which, in itself, requires no technical ability or artistic talent. For Breton, this was a distinct advantage. In his view, decalcomania offered a recipe ‘within everybody’s grasp’ for opening up ‘one’s windows at will upon the most beautiful landscapes in this or any other word.’ (3)
Notes
1. Breton, A. First Manifesto of Surrealism. Published in English translation in Seaver, R. and Lane, H.R. Manifestos of Surrealism, University of Michigan Press, Ann Arbor, 1967.
2. Breton, A., Second Surrealist Manifesto. Available in English in Seaver and Lane, op cit.
3. This statement originally appeared in an essay on Oscar Dominguez. Reprinted in English translation in Breton, A. Surrealism and Painting. Translated by Simon Watson Taylor, Harper and Row, New York, 1972 pp128-29. Italics in the original.
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