SURREALISM
Surrealism is for those who have no boundaries; who can easily get out of their comfort zone; who can see the beauty, and art, in the unfamiliar. Salvador Dalí, to me, is the godfather of surrealism. Most folks are familiar with his melting clock in the desert--The Persistence of Memory.
Surrealism can be confusing, perplexing, and uncomfortable. It's the juxtaposition of the unexpected; the coming together of concepts or ideas we might not even fathom. The old TV show, The Twilight Zone, had a lot of surrealism, as did the old Alfred Hitchcock shows.
Think of something you don't think about. That's hard to do, right? If you don't think about it, how can you think about it? That sentence alone is an example surrealism.
Surrealism makes us say, "What the.....?" "What am I looking at?" "How in the world.....?"
With that introduction, I will now share some of my images that fall under the category of surrealism, as I explain what you're looking at and what attracted me to photograph it or to create it.
I'll start with something simple, like a vase in the desert. Well, it's not actually in the desert, but it looks like a desert. It's actually in the high plains of Colorado.
What makes this image surreal is that the viewer sees it out of context-- a large clay pot in the middle of nowhere. Clay pots belong inside homes, or in front of a house, or in the backyard, but not in the desert. It is out of context, unless you took the picture and know why it's there. The ornate pot is actually part of the early stages of an RV campground owner's plans to revamp the campground. He had graded part of the hillside and placed the pot there temporarily until he decided where it was going to be as part of his master plan. In the meantime he had just left it there until whenever.
Here, you see what appears to be a blue-tinted mountain scene with a lake running through it. But, wait. There is a window in the landscape. That window/landscape incongruency is what categorizes this image as surreal. We don't associate the word "window" with "landscape."
So, what is it, really? Someone painted a mural on the side of an abandoned building. The artist painted the mural around the window on the building's facade.
You would think subjects like boots would not be interesting subjects to photograph, unless it's for a commercial shoot or opening gifts at Christmas. When we think of boots we don't think of silver-studded boots--and therein lies the surrealism. Are these boots made for walking?
Similar to studded boots, how about a sequined telephone? Oh yeah, now that is surreal.
This doorway was part of what remained of an old decaying ice plant. The surrealism to me was obvious--what used to be the interior of the building had become part of the exterior of the building, with trees growing inside!
It was a cold, cold winter in Steamboat Springs, Colorado. I went into my favorite local coffee shop, Moca Molly's, which doesn't exist anymore. I went to the restroom before I ordered. I had my camera with me because I had done some shooting that morning. Before I "took care of business," I locked the door behind me, set up my tripod and photographed what I ended up titling, "It's A Jungle In There." Too bad that surreal mural doesn't exist anymore!
Now, here's an interesting surreal scene. Look closely. Yes, We're Open--really? Welcome-- wow, what a welcome! Office Staff Parking--wow, you really treat your office staff that well, huh?
Can you see it? Do you see the surreaism in this scene? The words "Open" and "Welcome" are incongruent with the less than well-kept office staff parking area.
This last example was inspired by Salvado Dalí's
Christ of St. John of the Cross, and is part of my current photo art project, "Renditions of Famous Paintings." My book about this project will be released in 2022. Stay tuned for that informational, educational, and entertaining read.
So, go out there and look for those slices of life that most of us overlook, disregard, or just simply take for granted. Look for the unexpected; things that are totally out of context; the surreal.
Feel free to ask me any questions about the subject of surrealism or about my project and upcoming book.
