Ð ictionary of the Š urreal

rogue's gallery

salvadore dalí

Salvadore Dalí, 1904-1989, controverial and eccentric Spanish artist, best known for erie desert landscapes populated by melting or stretched objects. In his book 50 Secrets of Magic Craftsmanship are three chapters devoted to sleeping, ‘The secret of the “slumber with a key,” ’ The secret of the sea-urchin slumber,’ The secret of the sleep with three sea-perch eyes.’
With regards to the ‘Sleeping with a key,’ Dalí assures us, “It is precisely during this sleep, which you wrongly regard as reducing you to a state of paradoxical inactivity and indifference before the imminence of the work which you are preparing to execute, that you will secretly, in the very depths of your spirit, solve most of its subtle and complicated technical problems, which in your state of waking consciousness you would never be humanly capable of solving... Be sure that the noise of its fall on the upside-down plate will awaken you, and you may be equally sure that this fugitive moment when you had barely lost consciousness and during which you cannot be assured of having really slept is totally sufficient, inasmuch as not a second more is needed for your whole physical and psychic being to be revivified by just the necessary amount of repose.”

hans richter

Hans Richter, 1888-1976, German artist and filmaker was part of the ‘Blaue Reiter’ or Blue Rider group. His film Rhythmus 21 is an important early abstract film. The film 8x8: A Chess Sonata in 8 Movements was in part a collaboration in 1957 with Max Ernst, Jean Cocteau, Paul Bowles, Fernand Léger, Alexander Calder, Marcel Duchamp and others. In 1961 he completed Dadascope with original poems and prose spoken by their creators: Hans Arp, Marcel Duchamp, Raoul Hausmann, Richard Huelsenbeck and Kurt Schwitters.

Assemblage is related to collage and includes other objects not necessarily of paper, an artistic process in which a three-dimensional composition is made by putting together found objects

Collage is glueing paper objects onto paper or canvas, invented by Braque and developed by Picasso, the concept has exploded into every aspect of contemporary creative arts.
“I see in collage the exploitation of the chance meeting of two distant realities on an unfamiliar plane...” M. Ernst.

Decalcomania press sheet of paper onto paint covered surface, peeling sheet off

Frottage simply is rubbing graphite over paper. For Ernst it was a technique to separate himself from the hyper-realistic technique of the salons and open one's mind to the suggestions of chance marks.

Grattage scraping, transferrable of frottage to the medium of painting on canvas, layer paint scraped away to reveal underlying structures, wire comb scrape into painted surface

Hypnagogic A stage within the border of being awake and being asleep.

Montage related to collage and most often refers to photomontage and sound collage

Oneirism 1. A condition marked by a dream prolonged from sleep into a period of waking 2. A dreamlike hallucination in a waking condition 3. A dreamlike state occurring while awake

Oscillation dripping paint from a can swinging on the end of a string

Polychromatic color, line and other elements act as expressive agents for mystical spiritualism--W.Kandinsky

Polyphony the simultaneity of several independent themes

Sleeping with a Key A technique used by Salvadore Dali (1904-1989) to induce WILD. While seated the subject delicately holds a heavy key between the fingers of one hand loosely held over the armrest of the chair. Beneath the key is a bowl. By the use of relaxation techniques and meditation, a WILD state is achieved in a short period of time. The moment the key drops, the noise of it hitting the bowl wakes the subject.
Surrealism the use of factual, realistic elements, reassembled with the mysterious logic of a dream--M.Ernst

Syncronisity each element or theme is a distillation of several ideas, personal experiences--P.Klee

Wake-Initiated Lucid Dreams (WILD) The best time is after sleeping 3-7 hours or in the afternoon nap. Methods to induce WILD include: 1. Visualizing and counting climbing or descending stairs 2. Chanting, using controlled breathing 3. Concentration on relaxing areas of the body 3. Accessing the third eye visualisation. The objective of these methods is to maintain conscious concentration while the body relaxes into sleep. Lucid Dreaming At the lowest level, the dreamer is aware of being in a dream but watches events passively. At the highest level the dreamer has control over actions in the dream.

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